Cave’s comments about the Los Angeles funk-rockers have circulated as something of a punchline for roughly 25 years now. Though their exact origins appear to have been lost to time, the quote is often attributed to Cave as, “I’m forever near a stereo saying, ‘What the fuck is this garbage?’ And the answer is always ‘The Red Hot Chili Peppers.’”

There’s a famous Nick Cave quote that gets passed around whenever anyone wants to dismiss the music of a certain long-running Los Angeles funk-metal act: “I’m forever near a stereo saying, ‘What the fuck is this garbage?

Nick Cave explains how his Red Hot Chili Peppers diss became a meme and how he and Flea have since become friends.

Now, 25 years later, Cage has stepped forward to reveal the burden he’s had to carry, the surprising, long-lasting outcome of his riposte and just what happened when Flea – the famously energetic bassist from the Red Hot Chili Peppers – came face to face with a bear…

Nick Cave has addressed comments he made 25 years ago about US band the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Australian musician said the "offhand and somewhat uncharitable remark" has "followed me around for the last quarter-century",