‘I couldn’t resist the ringing intensity of Christ’ The Christian faith of Nick Cave

Once part of the “the most violent band in Britain”, Nick Cave has trodden an unlikely path back to his Christian roots. Embracing pain and doubt, the Australian rockstar says he has found refuge in the Church

Occasionally an interview or article in a national newspaper will do the rounds among Christians on social media – perhaps because it says something controversial, provocative or insightful about faith, or because someone famous unexpectedly opens up about their own relationship with God.

That’s what happened last weekend, when an interview with Nick Cave by Rt Rev Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, in The Sunday Times Magazine began circling. What was especially notable about this piece was that faith was front and centre of the article and the magazine. “The rock star Nick Cave tells Rowan Williams how the death of his son brought him back to church,” proclaimed the front cover, with Cave pictured reclining thoughtfully on a church pew. It was as striking as it was surprising.