The Birthday Party (originally known as The Boys Next Door) were an Australian rock band, active from 1973 to 1983. Despite being championed by John Peel, The Birthday Party found little commercial success during their career. Though often indirect, their influence has been far-reaching, and have been called one of "the darkest and most challenging post-punk groups to emerge in the early '80s."[3] Their music was classified by critic Simon Reynolds as gothic rock.