Anita Lane

Anita Lane first gained notice via her connection to Nick Cave, for whom she wrote lyrics on several Birthday Party and Bad Seeds tracks, among them “Kiss Me Black,” “From Her to Eternity,” and “Stranger Than Kindness.” Additional guest appearances followed on recordings by Barry Adamson, Einstürzende Neubauten, and Mick Harvey. Her own recording activity remained intermittent, beginning with the four-track EP Dirty Sings, whose bruised vocal delivery drew immediate attention. A decade’s worth of scattered sessions was later assembled as the 1995 compilation Dirty Pearl; Nick Cave, assorted Bad Seeds musicians, and Einstürzende Neubauten all contributed, while Mick Harvey handled the bulk of the production and Barry Adamson assisted with arrangements. Lane’s debut proper arrived in 2001 with the album Sex O’Clock, an almost danceable, pop-leaning set realized in close partnership with Harvey, who supplied both music and instrumentation; several of its arrangements originated as tape loops of mid-nineties Bad Seeds jams. The record also included her reading of Gil Scott-Heron’s “Home Is Where the Hatred Is.” Anita Lane died on April 28, 2021, at the age of 61.