I first heard this song played by the Boys Next Door back in the late 70s. I swear they were playing this song back in 1978 however the record it's on didn't come out until 1979. And even if they did start playing it in 1979 it's hard to imagine they would cover something that just came out. This vexed me for a while until Phil Calvert let me know that the song appeared on a live comp from CBGBs in 1976. Mystery solved.
Be that as it may, Nick Cave and the Boys Next Door were miles ahead of the other bands on the scene back in the late 70s. Nick was and still is pure charisma. When I got my first car, a Datsun Bluebird, they were one of the first bands I saw. Rob Wellington took me to a church hall in Springvale to see them. And they were mesmerising. I didn't get a chance to explore any other kinds of music because this was where I wanted to be. My band, the Fiction was supporting them six months later.
Early BND gigs were full of covers. "I'm Eighteen" "Andy Warhol" & " These Boots are Made for Walking" were just a few. "I Need A Million" was another. And they just nailed it. I wanted to get the song but I couldn't find a copy anywhere. And when I did track it down it didn't have the urgency that BND gave to it on stage at places like the Tiger Room. I always felt I had the wrong version. There was a better version out there somewhere.
But it's a great song. Up there with all the other revered classic punk building blocks. Even better now it's less easy to compare it to the past.
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