Mutiny in Heaven: * * * * The Birthday Party

Mutiny in Heaven is a documentary of a band that split up nearly forty years ago.  Remarkably their legacy continues.  Indeed, to listen to them today they sound as challenging and exciting as ever - well, at least they do to me; but to be honest I don't have much interest in more recent popular music.

I'm glad that this documentary exists: like The Go-Betweens, The Birthday Party were one of the best band to ever come out of Australia.  Also like The Go-Betweens, they were one of the most criminally under appreciated.  But that's what happens when you are cutting edge: a lot of folk just don't get it.

The (in)famous five

The unfortunate thing about "underground" and more non-commercial bands from years ago is that there really isn't that much footage of them.  They existed before the digital age.  

The Birthday Party were a band that you had to see live to fully appreciate, and against it's own interest this documentary acknowledges that.  Yet director Ian Hunt has done well in collecting clips of the band live - and you'll get a good taste.

Mutiny in Heaven tells their story well,  from their beginnings in Melbourne to their down and out times in London, their return to Australia, then back to London and America and finally the epiphany that Berlin would suit them better.  It also gives good insight into each (very colourful) member.

Regrettably there is next to no film of them being interviewed in their time, but there are audio recordings. There is some input from the the most famed member, Nick Cave, but his commentary is from previous interviews and not specifically for this film - that is left to the other two surviving band members Mick Harvey and Phil Calvert. Rather than having them talking on screen Hunt mostly uses cartoon type drawings to pictorialise their narrative.  It works quite well.

Mutiny in Heaven is a gift to the fans.  I think some young people are going to appreciate it too, I hope so. 

(And by the way, I did see them live many times, along with their predecessors, The Boys Next Door and The Young Charlatans. (If that makes you feel envious, just bear in mind that to have seen them you'd have to be as old as me, and you really don't want that!))