ROWLAND S. HOWARD

GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS

A unique and inimitable stylist through his work with bands like The Birthday Party and The Boys Next Door, the late Howard was a fan of and major exponent of the glories of dissonance. His playing wasn’t always pretty, but he played it like he lived it, every note telling a story

WHERE TO START

Shivers

The Boys Next Door classic was written by Howard when he was 16. He had an uneasy relationship to the song, but it’s a great place to start in order to give his later work context.

BOSS LEVEL:

Nick The Stripper

Ugly, dark and confronting... The song, that is. We dont know the stripper, although he’s portrayed in equally grotesque terms in the lyrics. This song is a masterclass in how nobody could play like Howard, distilling inner-city angst and danger into notes and riffs.