Nick Cave: Touring’s like prison

Nick Cave thinks touring is "not too dissimilar to prison".

The 57-year-old has been the frontman of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds since 1983. The band has performed around the world numerous times over but the star hasn't grown tired of the process just yet, despite it's bad parts.

"There's a particular state of mind that goes on with touring, where you are repeating the same day over and over again. But it's a tedium I actually enjoy," he told British newspaper The Guardian. "You're just told what to do all the time: when to eat, when to get up, when to do a f**king interview – it's all on a piece of paper there. And if you don't do what's on the piece of paper, someone very quickly will force you back into line. So it's probably not dissimilar to prison, but at the same time, your mind wanders and that allows for a kind of free-thinking, if you like."

Travelling from country to country inspired Nick to turn his hand to writing poetry, the result of which has culminated in his new book, The Sick Bag Song. The tome's title came from the fact the singer started it by writing down ideas and observations on actual sick bags while touring America in 2013 to promote his album Push the Sky Away. The book features some intimate moments from the notoriously private Australian, but Nick admitted to the outlet that it would have felt unnatural to leave certain parts out.

"The idea of censoring things as you write, it's just something that I don't do. Maybe I should, but I feel I can't afford to be doing that," he explained. "And I always choose something that feels right or reads right, or sounds right in a song, above any personal feelings. I've always felt like that."