Bad Seeds 'boosted by new blood'

Jim Sclavunos has said that the addition of a new guitarist to Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds will surprise festivalgoers who see the band this summer.

The drummer told Uncut that the presence of former Saints man Ed Kuepper will give the group's old songs a new dimension at their Glastonbury and Latitude shows.

Sclavunos said: "Our 2009 summer festival repertoire consists largely of songs that I think will be immediately very familiar to our fans.

"I think the biggest surprise will be the presence of Australian guitarist Ed Kuepper. He's new blood in the lineup and is helping us give all the classic Bad Seeds material a fresh take. Ed's a pleasure to work with."

He added that the group were "spoiled for choice" when choosing their setlist, with 14 "amazing" studio albums from which to pick tracks.