Michael John Harvey (born 29 August 1958) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer.

Harvey was also a member of the school choir, conducted by actor Norman Kaye, and took extracurricular lessons from jazz guitarist Bruce Clarke.

[3] After their final school year in 1975, Harvey, Nick Cave and Phill Calvert's band decided to continue with Tracy Pew as bassist.

After extensive touring, recordings, and moderate success in Australia, the Boys Next Door relocated to London, England in 1980, and changed their name to The Birthday Party.

The band moved to West Berlin, Germany in 1982, but without Calvert; Harvey subsequently transitioned from guitar to drums.

Bonney then stayed in Berlin and formed the next line-up of the band with his partner Bronwyn Adams, Harvey (drums), Alexander Hacke of Einstürzende Neubauten (guitar), Chrislo Haas of Liaisons Dangereuses and D.A.F.

In all versions of the band, Harvey also played keyboards, xylophone and other instruments as needed, and sang backing vocals.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Harvey was usually charged with the production of the recordings along with Cave, in addition to co-writing many of the band's songs and putting together most of the string arrangements and other orchestration.

Harvey remained with the Bad Seeds for 25 years until his last show in Perth, Australia on 20 January 2009, when he cited both professional and personal factors as reasons for leaving.

[8] Harvey worked extensively with Anita Lane, Nick Cave’s muse and partner of many years, on the albums Dirty Pearl (1993) and Sex O’Clock (2001).

He also collaborated with UK rock musician PJ Harvey, and produced recordings for other Australian artists, including Anita Lane, Robert Forster, Conway Savage and Rowland S. Howard.

Harvey undertook his first solo tours of Europe and Australia in 2006, accompanied by fellow Bad Seeds Thomas Wydler and James Johnston, as well as Melbourne-based double bassist Rosie Westbrook.

[12] During 2008 and 2009, Harvey worked on what would be Rowland S. Howard’s last album Pop Crimes, playing drums while future collaborator J.P. Shilo provided bass and violin.

Harvey's third installment in his project of translating Serge Gainsbourg's songs into English, Delirium Tremens, was released in 2016.

[14] The album focused on Gainsbourg's duets and songs from the 1960s, which he wrote specifically for renowned singers such as France Gall, Juliette Greco and Brigitte Bardot.

In 2018, Harvey released the album The Fall and Rise of Edgar Bourchier and the Horrors of War in collaboration with author Christopher Richard Barker.