The 9 artists that disappointed Nick Cave on a personal level: “Damn them!”

Nick Cave has described nine artists he deeply admires as having disappointed or alienated him at points in their careers. His reflections show how admiration can coexist with disagreement, and raise the question of how listeners relate to artists whose choices diverge from their own beliefs.

In an April 2024 Red Hand Files response, Cave named Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Nina Simone, Kanye, Van Morrison, Morrissey, Brian Eno, Leonard Cohen and Patti Smith. He said they had followed their own paths to their own truths, even when those paths were not what he would have wished. Cave connected his continuing interest in them to their authenticity, and has elsewhere called Simone “the real thing”.