Song · Boys Next Door
“Shivers” by Boys Next Door
From the album Door, Door (1979)
“Shivers” by Boys Next Door appears on 2 radio countdowns from 1 station between 1989 and 1991. It was first released in 1979 on the album Door, Door. Its best result is #12 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1989). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,516 alternative song of all time.
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"Shivers" closes Door, Door, the 1979 debut album the Boys Next Door made for Mushroom Records before they turned into the Birthday Party, and it was the record's only single, out in May 1979 with "Dive Position" on the flip. Rowland S. Howard wrote it when he was 16, a post-punk ballad about teenage romance and suicide with its tongue firmly in its cheek.
Nobody seemed to get the joke. Howard meant it to be funny and later felt Nick Cave's delivery had led people to take it straight, and he came to keep his distance from it. That didn't stop audiences asking for it more than anything else he wrote, and it drew critical acclaim and has lasted as one of Australia's great cult hits. The band produced it themselves, with Tony Cohen engineering.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 12 | Triple J | Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1989) | 100 |
| 1991 | 38 | Triple J | Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1991) | 100 |
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