Right turn

I've long loved Nick Cave's finest put-down. You know the one: "I'm forever near a stereo saying 'What the fuck is this garbage?' And the answer is always 'The Red Hot Chili Peppers'." So it came as something of a disappointment to learn that Cave has disowned the comment, declaring it "just the sort of obnoxious thing I would say back then to piss people off".

In truth, he's right to acknowledge that Flea's response, at least, was "classy", in that the bassist reiterated his love for Cave's music even though the feeling wasn't mutual. What's all the more remarkable is that bridges have since been built to such an extent that Flea joined Cave and Warren Ellis on stage during the Carnage tour, and that Cave has contributed vocals to a song on Flea's solo trumpet album.

Cave won't work with just anyone, though. He may have praised Morrissey as "probably the best lyricist of his generation - certainly the strangest, funniest, most sophisticated and most subtle", but he turned down Moz's invitation to lend vocals to "an unnecessarily provocative and slightly silly anti-woke screed he had written" - one that "began with a lengthy and entirely irrelevant Greek bouzouki intro".

What's troubling, however, is that Cave conceded "I suppose I agreed with the sentiment on some level". Factor in his robust anti-BDS position, his unrepentant stance on attending the Coronation two years ago and some of the statements made on The Red Hand Files, and it's becoming harder to avoid drawing the conclusion that his politics are drifting increasingly rightwards.