The Go-Betweens
Encyclopedia
The Go-Betweens were an indie rock
band formed in Brisbane
, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster
and Grant McLennan
. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison
on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown
on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals, before disbanding in late 1989. Forster and McLennan reformed the band in 2000 with a new line-up, McLennan died on 6 May 2006 of a heart attack and The Go-Betweens disbanded again.
In 1988, "Streets of Your Town", the first single from 16 Lovers Lane
, became the band's biggest chart hit in both Australia and the United Kingdom (UK). The follow-up single "Was There Anything I Could Do?" was a No. 16 hit on the Billboard
Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States. In May 2001 "Cattle and Cane
", from 1983's Before Hollywood
was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA) as one of the Top 30 Australian songs
of all time. In 2008, 16 Lovers Lane was highlighted on Special Broadcasting Service
(SBS) TV's The Great Australian Albums series as a classic example of 1980s rock music.
and Grant McLennan
met at the University of Queensland
where both were taking a theatre arts course. Forster on vocals, song writing, and guitar, and McLennan on vocals, song writing and bass guitar formed The Go-Betweens in December 1977 in Brisbane
, Australia. The name of the band reflects L.P. Hartley's classic novel, The Go-Between
. The band made its first public appearance as the support for The Numbers at Baroona Hall in Brisbane, in early April 1978. The band however were still minus a drummer, having borrowed Gerard Lee for their first show. They had a succession of drummers starting with Bruce Anthon (ex-The Survivors
). With a guest drummer, Dennis Cantwell (The Riptides), they recorded their debut single, "Lee Remick", in May 1978. The song, an ode to the US actress
, was released on the independent Able label in September 1978. The B-side to the single, "Karen", was a love song to a librarian. The sleeve depicts Forster and McLennan alongside portraits of Bob Dylan
, Che Guevara
and Lee Remick. The band sent copies to record labels around the world, with interest shown by the UK arm of America's Beserkley Records
. The group's first real drummer was Temucin 'Tim' Mustafa, recruited after the recording of "Lee Remick", although he appears on the picture sleeve of the single. The band further expanded with the addition of guitarist, Peter Milton Walsh. Beserkley offered the band a contract, that proposed the re-issue of "Lee Remick" and "Karen" as two singles, followed by an eight album deal. The band recorded two more songs for Beserkley in November 1978 (including "Sound of Rain") however when Beserkley went bust weeks later Walsh left to form The Apartments
.
The band's second single, "People Say", which was recorded in May 1979, was produced
by The Go-Betweens with Mustapha on drums and Malcolm Kelly on piano and organ. The B-side, "Don't Let Him Come Back", is a farewell to Walsh, who remained friends with Forster and McLennan. From May 1978 to May 1979, the group recorded some tracks live in Forster's bedroom using McLennan's two-track tape deck—they were not released until 1999 as 78 'Til 79: The Lost Album, which also includes both sides of the first two singles. These songs were simple pop tunes with a rough New Wave
edge, an obvious blend of pure pop influences such as The Monkees
with the gritty simplicity of The Velvet Underground
.
In November 1979, the duo left Australia, with a plan to shop their songs from record company to record company simply by visiting their offices and playing them. In Glasgow
, Scotland, on 28 April 1980, for independent label Postcard
, they recorded their next single, "I Need Two Heads", with Steven Daly of Scottish
band, Orange Juice
, guesting on drums and Alex Fergusson
producing. Forster returned to Australia in June 1980, whilst McLennan continued to New York.
They followed Australian contemporaries The Birthday Party
to the busier music scene in London. "I Need Two Heads" peaked at No. 6 on the UK independent charts. Upon return to Brisbane they were joined by Belinda "Lindy" Morrison
(ex-Xero
) on drums in 1980. In November 1980 the band played their first Sydney show at the Palais Theatre, supporting The Birthday Party and the Laughing Clowns. The band impressed Keith Glass (Missing Link Records
), which had re-issued "I Need Two Heads" for the Australian market, and offered to release the band's next single. Their fourth single, the first with Morrison, "Your Turn My Turn", was recorded in Sydney with Tony Cohen
(The Birthday Party) in April 1981. The single was released in September. They recorded ten tracks as demos in Brisbane during 1981, which were released as Very Quick on the Eye by Man Made Records in 1982, the tracks showed that Morrison's "drum abilities, always a deeply underrated part of the band's appeal, fit hand in glove with the arrangements". By this time, Forster and Morrison were lovers and Morrison was living in Spring Hill
.
The band's first official album, Send Me a Lullaby
, produced by The Go-Betweens and Tony Cohen, on Missing Link in Australia, was released as an eight-track mini-album in November 1981. Missing Link's UK distributors, Rough Trade
, released the album in the UK, three months later, with four tracks added. Morrison provided the album title, in preference to Two Wimps and a Witch, from a Zelda Fitzgerald
novel Save Me the Waltz
. The group had developed a subtler sound consisting of dry semi-spoken vocals, complex lyrics and melodic but fractious guitar pop influenced by contemporary bands such as Television
, Wire
and Talking Heads
. Australian rock music historian
, Ian McFarlane, described the album as "tentative and clumsy [with] its brittle, rough-hewn sound". Forster and McLennan wrote all the tracks, they alternated lead vocal duties, except "People Know" which had Morrison on vocals and James Freud
(Models
) guesting on saxophone
. Enticed by Rough Trade, the band relocated to London. The band's next single, "Hammer the Hammer", was released by Rough Trade, in July 1982. In 2002, UK label Circus released a 2× CD version of Send Me a Lullaby which included "After the Fireworks" recorded as a collaboration with The Birthday Party's Nick Cave
on vocals, Mick Harvey
on piano and Rowland S. Howard
on guitar. It had been released as a single under the band name, Tuff Monks
in 1982 on Au Go Go Records
.
(May 1983), with John Brand producing, at the International Christian Communications studio in Eastbourne
. It established them as cult favourites while "Cattle and Cane
" was released as a single and was "[a]rguably the band's absolute highlight of its earliest years". In Australia the song had exposure on the national broadcaster, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
(ABC), pop music TV series, Countdown. Their tracks were played on ABC's alternative rock radio station Triple J
—although mainly heard in the Sydney region at that time. Despite the consistent critical acclaim their recordings garnered both in Australia and overseas, The Go-Betweens were mostly ignored by Australian commercial pop radio and never gained a broad national audience. Before Hollywood was described as "more world-weary [...] full of deceptively simple yet accomplished songs".
Robert Vickers joined on bass guitar in late 1983—freeing McLennan for lead guitar work. Their next album Spring Hill Fair
(September 1984) was produced by Brand with Robert Andrews and Colin Fairley, for Sire Records
. The album was acclaimed as "the sound was bolder and more confident", while "Man O' Sand to Girl O' Sea", "Bachelor Kisses
" and "Part Company" were issued as singles. In 1985, the band signed with True Tone Records
distributed by Polygram
.
Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
, released in March 1986 on Beggars Banquet Records
, received favourable reviews, and showed the band gradually moving towards a smoother and more contemporary sound, while retaining elements of their idiosyncratic early style. McFarlane claims "[it] remains the band's most cohesive and finely crafted statement". "Spring Rain" (February) and "Head Full of Steam" (June) were released as singles with "Spring Rain" reaching the Australian Kent Music Report
Singles Chart Top 100.
Amanda Brown
on violin, oboe, guitar, keyboards and backing vocals joined later in the year. Within a few months, Brown and McLennan were lovers—many of McLennan's new lyrics were about this relationship. Tallulah
(June 1987), produced by The Go-Betweens for True Tone and Beggars Banquet contained their "most winsome and hummable songs, `Right Here' and `Bye Bye Pride'"; while Brown's contributions "added extra lustre". LO-MAX Records
released a 2× CD version of Tallulah in 2004, one of the additional tracks, "Doo Wop in 'A' (Bam Boom)" was co-written by Morrison, Brown, McLennan and Forster. In November 1987, The Go-Betweens returned to Australia and John Willsteed
(ex-Xero with Morrison) replaced Vickers on bass.
16 Lovers Lane
(1988), was the group's most commercial offering, providing the alternative radio hit "Streets of Your Town
" (1988), which became the band's biggest chart hit in both the UK and Australia peaking in the Top 100. The follow-up single "Was There Anything I Could Do?" was a No. 16 hit on US Modern Rock radio stations, and Beggars Banquet, trying to encourage the band's commercial momentum re-released "Streets Of Your Town" in the UK in early 1989, where it charted low once again. These minimal successes were hardly the hoped-for commercial breakthrough for the band, and after recording six albums, Forster and McLennan disbanded The Go-Betweens in December 1989. McLennan and Brown had separated as a couple earlier and both Forster and McLennan pursued solo careers. Brown and Morrison formed Cleopatra Wong in 1991. All official albums published in the 1980s have titles with a double L word, except 16 Lovers Lane, which has two words beginning with an L.
of The Church
in the studio project band Jack Frost
.
Forster and McLennan were inspired to work together again after they were invited by fans at French music magazine Les Inrockuptibles
to perform at the magazine's 10th anniversary on the 23/05/1996 in Paris. For this performance the band comprised Forster, McLennan, Adele Pickvance on bass guitar and Glenn Thompson
on drums.
In 2000, Forster, McLennan and Pickvance went to Jackpot! studio in Portland Oregon with members of Sleater-Kinney
, and recorded the album The Friends of Rachel Worth
.
The 2001 Thompson rejoined the band for the Australian Big Day Out Festival. This line up of Forster, McLennan, Pickvance and Thompson went on to record Bright Yellow Bright Orange
and In October 2005, The Go-Betweens finally achieved mainstream recognition, with the album Oceans Apart
(produced by Mark Wallis and Dave Ruffy) winning an ARIA award
for 'Best Adult Contemporary Album'. Grant McLennan died on 6 May 2006 of a heart attack, Robert Forster subsequently announced that The Go-Betweens were no more. Forster has continued to perform and records as a solo artist and has also produced well-received music criticism.
critic Robert Christgau
as "the greatest songwriting partnership working today." Each developed a distinctive but complementary style: Forster's songs were angular and angst-ridden, making much use of irony and unusual lyrical imagery, while McLennan's were generally softer and more sensitive, his lyrics often based on character study and reported speech. Without ever securing an Australian or UK Top 50 chart single—a fact which mystified their supporters in the press, to the point where this "scandalous" lack of popular success became a cliché when writing about the band. However, there were a few very minor chart successes for the band, starting with "Spring Rain", which sneaked in to the lower rungs of the Australian charts in 1986 and became the band's first ever Top 100 chart hit. The following year, "Right Here" similarly rode low on the UK Top 100 Charts. Then in 1988, "Streets of Your Town", the first single from 1988's 16 Lovers Lane, reached the Top 100 in both Australia and UK.
In May 2001 "Cattle and Cane", written by McLennan and Forster, was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA) as one of the Top 30 Australian songs
of all time. McLennan described writing the lyrics:
Their song, "Streets of Your Town", was used by Prime Television
and GWN
in their station identification from 2001 to 2003. Elements from the same song were sampled in the 2003 single "Just The Way You Are
" by the Italian
dance group Milky
.
In the 4th Season
of American TV Series 24
a company is named McLennan-Forster—the producer of the series and author, Evan Katz
, wanted to express his veneration of the Go-Betweens by this company name.
On the eve of the first anniversary of McLennan's death, Triple J
& JTV
broadcast a tribute concert to The Go-Betweens, recorded in 2006 at Brisbane venue, the Tivoli Theatre. Inspired by this tribute concert, and featuring many of the same artists, a tribute album to The Go-Betweens, Write Your Adventures Down, was released in June 2007 in Australia by The Red Label.
In 2008, 16 Lovers Lane was highlighted on Special Broadcasting Service
(SBS) TV's The Great Australian Albums series as a classic example of 1980s rock music.
The documentary was later released on DVD.
On 29 September 2009, Brisbane City Council announced that a four-lane traffic bridge, previously known as Hale Street Link, would be re-named as Go Between Bridge in the band's honour, following a popularity poll.
The Go-Betweens are referenced in the Teenage Fanclub song "When I Still Have Thee" (2010) and in the Belle and Sebastian song "Shoot the Sexual Athlete".
Nada Surf
covered their song "Love Goes On!" in their covers album "If I Had A Hi-Fi" (2010).
Robert Forster continues to perform and also contribute articles to The Monthly magazine.
Compilations
Live albums
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band formed in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster
Robert Forster (musician)
Robert Forster is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for his work with songwriting partner Grant McLennan, with whom he co-founded The Go-Betweens.Forster grew up in Brisbane, Australia attending Brisbane Grammar School...
and Grant McLennan
Grant McLennan
Grant William McLennan was an Australian singer-songwriter with the alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, which he co-founded with Robert Forster in Brisbane, Australia in 1977...
. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison
Lindy Morrison
Belinda "Lindy" Morrison is an Australian musician originally from Queensland. She was the drummer in indie rock group The Go-Betweens from 1980 to 1989, appearing on all the band's releases from their first LP in 1981 until the band's first break up on 26 December 1989...
on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown
Amanda Brown (musician)
Amanda Gabrielle Brown is an Australian composer, classically trained musician, singer and songwriter, renowned for her role as the violinist of the band The Go-Betweens and more recently a session musician and soundtrack composer....
on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals, before disbanding in late 1989. Forster and McLennan reformed the band in 2000 with a new line-up, McLennan died on 6 May 2006 of a heart attack and The Go-Betweens disbanded again.
In 1988, "Streets of Your Town", the first single from 16 Lovers Lane
16 Lovers Lane
16 Lovers Lane was the sixth album by Australian indie pop group The Go-Betweens, released in 1988 by Beggars Banquet Records. Prior to the recording of the album, longtime bassist Robert Vickers left the band when the other group members decided to return to Australia after having spent several...
, became the band's biggest chart hit in both Australia and the United Kingdom (UK). The follow-up single "Was There Anything I Could Do?" was a No. 16 hit on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States. In May 2001 "Cattle and Cane
Cattle and Cane
"Cattle and Cane" is a song by the Australian alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, released as the first single from their second album Before Hollywood. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records in February 1983 and reached #4 on the UK Independent Chart. The...
", from 1983's Before Hollywood
Before Hollywood
Before Hollywood was released in May 1983 in the UK on Rough Trade Records, an independent music label. It was The Go-Betweens' second album. The LP was produced by John Brand and recorded at I.C.C. Studios in Eastbourne, England...
was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
(APRA) as one of the Top 30 Australian songs
APRA Top 30 Australian songs
APRA's Top 30 Australian songs between 1926 and 2001 was a list created by the Australasian Performing Right Association to celebrate its 75th anniversary...
of all time. In 2008, 16 Lovers Lane was highlighted on Special Broadcasting Service
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
(SBS) TV's The Great Australian Albums series as a classic example of 1980s rock music.
Early years
Robert ForsterRobert Forster (musician)
Robert Forster is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for his work with songwriting partner Grant McLennan, with whom he co-founded The Go-Betweens.Forster grew up in Brisbane, Australia attending Brisbane Grammar School...
and Grant McLennan
Grant McLennan
Grant William McLennan was an Australian singer-songwriter with the alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, which he co-founded with Robert Forster in Brisbane, Australia in 1977...
met at the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
where both were taking a theatre arts course. Forster on vocals, song writing, and guitar, and McLennan on vocals, song writing and bass guitar formed The Go-Betweens in December 1977 in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia. The name of the band reflects L.P. Hartley's classic novel, The Go-Between
The Go-Between
The Go-Between is a romantic novel by L. P. Hartley , published in London in 1953. The novel begins with the famous line "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."-Plot summary:...
. The band made its first public appearance as the support for The Numbers at Baroona Hall in Brisbane, in early April 1978. The band however were still minus a drummer, having borrowed Gerard Lee for their first show. They had a succession of drummers starting with Bruce Anthon (ex-The Survivors
The Survivors (Australian band)
The Survivors were a Brisbane punk rock band that formed in 1976 as a party band, which attained cult status in Australia by their acknowledged popular live performances and contribution to the Lethal Weapons punk compilation album...
). With a guest drummer, Dennis Cantwell (The Riptides), they recorded their debut single, "Lee Remick", in May 1978. The song, an ode to the US actress
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
, was released on the independent Able label in September 1978. The B-side to the single, "Karen", was a love song to a librarian. The sleeve depicts Forster and McLennan alongside portraits of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
and Lee Remick. The band sent copies to record labels around the world, with interest shown by the UK arm of America's Beserkley Records
Beserkley Records
Beserkley Records was an independent record label based in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1984. Beserkely is usually regarded as a powerpop & rock and roll label; during the seventies, the band released albums by Earth Quake, Greg Kihn, Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, The Rubinoos, and...
. The group's first real drummer was Temucin 'Tim' Mustafa, recruited after the recording of "Lee Remick", although he appears on the picture sleeve of the single. The band further expanded with the addition of guitarist, Peter Milton Walsh. Beserkley offered the band a contract, that proposed the re-issue of "Lee Remick" and "Karen" as two singles, followed by an eight album deal. The band recorded two more songs for Beserkley in November 1978 (including "Sound of Rain") however when Beserkley went bust weeks later Walsh left to form The Apartments
The Apartments
The Apartments was an Australian indie band that first formed in 1978 in Brisbane, broke up in 1979, and reformed several times since.-History:...
.
The band's second single, "People Say", which was recorded in May 1979, was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by The Go-Betweens with Mustapha on drums and Malcolm Kelly on piano and organ. The B-side, "Don't Let Him Come Back", is a farewell to Walsh, who remained friends with Forster and McLennan. From May 1978 to May 1979, the group recorded some tracks live in Forster's bedroom using McLennan's two-track tape deck—they were not released until 1999 as 78 'Til 79: The Lost Album, which also includes both sides of the first two singles. These songs were simple pop tunes with a rough New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
edge, an obvious blend of pure pop influences such as The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
with the gritty simplicity of The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
.
In November 1979, the duo left Australia, with a plan to shop their songs from record company to record company simply by visiting their offices and playing them. In Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland, on 28 April 1980, for independent label Postcard
Postcard Records
Postcard Records is a Glasgow-based independent record label founded by Alan Horne in 1979, as a vehicle for Orange Juice and Josef K releases. The label's motto was "The Sound of Young Scotland", a parody/tribute to the Motown motto; its logo featured a cartoon cat beating a drum...
, they recorded their next single, "I Need Two Heads", with Steven Daly of Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
band, Orange Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
, guesting on drums and Alex Fergusson
Alex Fergusson (musician)
Alex Fergusson is a Scottish guitarist / record producer.Fergusson formed the punk band Alternative TV with Mark Perry in 1977, and a few years later Psychic TV with Genesis P Orridge...
producing. Forster returned to Australia in June 1980, whilst McLennan continued to New York.
They followed Australian contemporaries The Birthday Party
The Birthday Party (band)
The Birthday Party 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...
to the busier music scene in London. "I Need Two Heads" peaked at No. 6 on the UK independent charts. Upon return to Brisbane they were joined by Belinda "Lindy" Morrison
Lindy Morrison
Belinda "Lindy" Morrison is an Australian musician originally from Queensland. She was the drummer in indie rock group The Go-Betweens from 1980 to 1989, appearing on all the band's releases from their first LP in 1981 until the band's first break up on 26 December 1989...
(ex-Xero
Xero (band)
Xero was a Brisbane, Australia punk rock and new wave band from the early 1980s.The initial lineup was Irena Luckus, Barbara Hart, Chris Anderson, Debbie Penny, Peter Adams and John Hunt, Deborah Thomas, Vic Allen and Lindy Morrison, soon joined by John Willsteed. Lindy Morrison was later replaced...
) on drums in 1980. In November 1980 the band played their first Sydney show at the Palais Theatre, supporting The Birthday Party and the Laughing Clowns. The band impressed Keith Glass (Missing Link Records
Missing Link Records
Missing Link Records is a record store in Melbourne, Australia. The shop first opened in 1971, but was then called Archie and Jughead's, named after the comic. The shop's co-founders, David Pepperell and Keith Glass, established the shop as a much-needed rock record shop...
), which had re-issued "I Need Two Heads" for the Australian market, and offered to release the band's next single. Their fourth single, the first with Morrison, "Your Turn My Turn", was recorded in Sydney with Tony Cohen
Tony Cohen
Tony Cohen is an acclaimed Australian record producer and sound engineer based in Melbourne, best known for his work with The Birthday Party and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in the 1980s...
(The Birthday Party) in April 1981. The single was released in September. They recorded ten tracks as demos in Brisbane during 1981, which were released as Very Quick on the Eye by Man Made Records in 1982, the tracks showed that Morrison's "drum abilities, always a deeply underrated part of the band's appeal, fit hand in glove with the arrangements". By this time, Forster and Morrison were lovers and Morrison was living in Spring Hill
Spring Hill, Queensland
Spring Hill is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia located 2 km north of the central business district. Parts of Spring Hill can be considered to be extensions of the Brisbane CBD.-Schools:Spring Hill is serviced by a number of schools...
.
The band's first official album, Send Me a Lullaby
Send Me A Lullaby
-The Go-Betweens:* Robert Forster - vocals, rhythm guitar* Grant McLennan - vocals, bass guitar, lead guitar* Lindy Morrison - drums, vocals-Additional personnel:* Nick Cave - vocals...
, produced by The Go-Betweens and Tony Cohen, on Missing Link in Australia, was released as an eight-track mini-album in November 1981. Missing Link's UK distributors, Rough Trade
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
, released the album in the UK, three months later, with four tracks added. Morrison provided the album title, in preference to Two Wimps and a Witch, from a Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald , born Zelda Sayre in Montgomery, Alabama, was an American novelist and the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was an icon of the 1920s—dubbed by her husband "the first American Flapper"...
novel Save Me the Waltz
Save Me the Waltz
Save Me the Waltz is the only novel by Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald. Published in 1932, it is a semi-autobiographical account of her life and marriage to F. Scott Fitzgerald.-Background:...
. The group had developed a subtler sound consisting of dry semi-spoken vocals, complex lyrics and melodic but fractious guitar pop influenced by contemporary bands such as Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
, Wire
Wire (band)
Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed...
and Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
. Australian rock music historian
Music history
Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is the highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies the composition, performance, reception, and criticism of music over time...
, Ian McFarlane, described the album as "tentative and clumsy [with] its brittle, rough-hewn sound". Forster and McLennan wrote all the tracks, they alternated lead vocal duties, except "People Know" which had Morrison on vocals and James Freud
James Freud
James Randall Freud was an Australian rock musician-songwriter. He was a member of Models during the 1980s and wrote their two most popular singles, "Barbados" and "Out of Mind, Out of Sight"....
(Models
Models (band)
Models were an alternative rock group formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1978 and went into hiatus in 1988. They are often incorrectly referred to as The Models. They re-formed in 2000, 2006 and 2008 to perform reunion concerts. "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", their only No. 1 hit,...
) guesting on saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
. Enticed by Rough Trade, the band relocated to London. The band's next single, "Hammer the Hammer", was released by Rough Trade, in July 1982. In 2002, UK label Circus released a 2× CD version of Send Me a Lullaby which included "After the Fireworks" recorded as a collaboration with The Birthday Party's Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
on vocals, Mick Harvey
Mick Harvey
Michael John Harvey , is an Australian rock musician, composer, arranger and record producer. He is best known for his long-time collaboration with the singer and songwriter Nick Cave...
on piano and Rowland S. Howard
Rowland S. Howard
Rowland Stuart Howard was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, he played electric guitar in the post-punk group The Birthday Party. Howard died of liver cancer in December 2009, aged 50 years....
on guitar. It had been released as a single under the band name, Tuff Monks
Tuff Monks
Tuff Monks was a short-lived band consisting of Nick Cave, Mick Harvey and Rowland S. Howard with Robert Forster, Lindy Morrison and Grant McLennan...
in 1982 on Au Go Go Records
Au Go Go Records
Au Go Go Records is the name of a Melbourne, Australia based independent record label.It was founded by Bruce Milne and Philip Morland from a house in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in 1979 and is now operated by Greta Moon....
.
"Cattle and Cane" to "Streets of Your Town"
The Go-Betweens returned to UK and recorded their second album, Before HollywoodBefore Hollywood
Before Hollywood was released in May 1983 in the UK on Rough Trade Records, an independent music label. It was The Go-Betweens' second album. The LP was produced by John Brand and recorded at I.C.C. Studios in Eastbourne, England...
(May 1983), with John Brand producing, at the International Christian Communications studio in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
. It established them as cult favourites while "Cattle and Cane
Cattle and Cane
"Cattle and Cane" is a song by the Australian alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, released as the first single from their second album Before Hollywood. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records in February 1983 and reached #4 on the UK Independent Chart. The...
" was released as a single and was "[a]rguably the band's absolute highlight of its earliest years". In Australia the song had exposure on the national broadcaster, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
(ABC), pop music TV series, Countdown. Their tracks were played on ABC's alternative rock radio station Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
—although mainly heard in the Sydney region at that time. Despite the consistent critical acclaim their recordings garnered both in Australia and overseas, The Go-Betweens were mostly ignored by Australian commercial pop radio and never gained a broad national audience. Before Hollywood was described as "more world-weary [...] full of deceptively simple yet accomplished songs".
Robert Vickers joined on bass guitar in late 1983—freeing McLennan for lead guitar work. Their next album Spring Hill Fair
Spring Hill Fair
Spring Hill Fair was released in September 1984 in the UK on Sire Records. It was The Go-Betweens' third album. The LP was recorded at Studio Miraval in Le Val, France. Prior to the recording of the album, bass player Robert Vickers had joined the group, enabling Grant McLennan to move to lead...
(September 1984) was produced by Brand with Robert Andrews and Colin Fairley, for Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
. The album was acclaimed as "the sound was bolder and more confident", while "Man O' Sand to Girl O' Sea", "Bachelor Kisses
Bachelor Kisses
"Bachelor Kisses" was the second single released by The Go-Betweens from their third album, Spring Hill Fair. It was released in August 1984 by Sire Records. In the UK a 12" single was also released on Sire...
" and "Part Company" were issued as singles. In 1985, the band signed with True Tone Records
True Tone Records (Australian label)
True Tone Records was an Australian based record label. It was founded by Michael Crawley in the 1980s. The label was distributed by Polygram Records.-History:...
distributed by Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
.
Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, the fourth album by The Go-Betweens, was released in 1986 in the UK on Beggars Banquet Records, the record label that would release the remainder of the original group's LPs through their breakup in 1989. The album was recorded at Berry Street Studios...
, released in March 1986 on Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...
, received favourable reviews, and showed the band gradually moving towards a smoother and more contemporary sound, while retaining elements of their idiosyncratic early style. McFarlane claims "[it] remains the band's most cohesive and finely crafted statement". "Spring Rain" (February) and "Head Full of Steam" (June) were released as singles with "Spring Rain" reaching the Australian Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
Singles Chart Top 100.
Amanda Brown
Amanda Brown (musician)
Amanda Gabrielle Brown is an Australian composer, classically trained musician, singer and songwriter, renowned for her role as the violinist of the band The Go-Betweens and more recently a session musician and soundtrack composer....
on violin, oboe, guitar, keyboards and backing vocals joined later in the year. Within a few months, Brown and McLennan were lovers—many of McLennan's new lyrics were about this relationship. Tallulah
Tallulah (album)
Tallulah was the fifth album by The Go-Betweens. It was released in 1987 in the UK on Beggars Banquet Records. Prior to the recording of the album, the group had expanded to a five-piece with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Amanda Brown. The original release consisted of ten songs...
(June 1987), produced by The Go-Betweens for True Tone and Beggars Banquet contained their "most winsome and hummable songs, `Right Here' and `Bye Bye Pride'"; while Brown's contributions "added extra lustre". LO-MAX Records
LO-MAX Records
LO-MAX Records is a west London based independent record label, founded in 2003 and specialising in rock music.Signings include Simon Lynge, The Wrens, Kevin Ayers, The Go-Betweens and The Court & Spark....
released a 2× CD version of Tallulah in 2004, one of the additional tracks, "Doo Wop in 'A' (Bam Boom)" was co-written by Morrison, Brown, McLennan and Forster. In November 1987, The Go-Betweens returned to Australia and John Willsteed
John Willsteed
John Willsteed is an award winning Australian musician and sound designer. As a musician, he is best known as a member of the iconic Brisbane band The Go-Betweens, in which he played bass guitar from 1987–1989, most notably on the album 16 Lovers Lane...
(ex-Xero with Morrison) replaced Vickers on bass.
16 Lovers Lane
16 Lovers Lane
16 Lovers Lane was the sixth album by Australian indie pop group The Go-Betweens, released in 1988 by Beggars Banquet Records. Prior to the recording of the album, longtime bassist Robert Vickers left the band when the other group members decided to return to Australia after having spent several...
(1988), was the group's most commercial offering, providing the alternative radio hit "Streets of Your Town
Streets of your town
"Streets Of Your Town" was a single by Australian indie group The Go-Betweens, from their 1988 album, 16 Lovers Lane. Featuring polished production, a prominent backing vocal by Amanda Brown and a guitar solo by bassist John Willsteed, "Streets of Your Town" is one of the band's most recognised...
" (1988), which became the band's biggest chart hit in both the UK and Australia peaking in the Top 100. The follow-up single "Was There Anything I Could Do?" was a No. 16 hit on US Modern Rock radio stations, and Beggars Banquet, trying to encourage the band's commercial momentum re-released "Streets Of Your Town" in the UK in early 1989, where it charted low once again. These minimal successes were hardly the hoped-for commercial breakthrough for the band, and after recording six albums, Forster and McLennan disbanded The Go-Betweens in December 1989. McLennan and Brown had separated as a couple earlier and both Forster and McLennan pursued solo careers. Brown and Morrison formed Cleopatra Wong in 1991. All official albums published in the 1980s have titles with a double L word, except 16 Lovers Lane, which has two words beginning with an L.
The Friends of Rachel Worth to Oceans Apart
Forster and McLennan pursued solo careers throughout the 1990s, and McLennan also collaborated with Steve KilbeySteve Kilbey
Steven John Kilbey is the lead singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for The Church, an Australian rock band. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter....
of The Church
The Church (band)
The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
in the studio project band Jack Frost
Jack Frost (band)
Jack Frost was an Australian rock band, a side project of The Go-Betweens' Grant McLennan and The Church's Steve Kilbey.Jack Frost released two albums, Jack Frost in 1991 and Snow Job in 1996 ....
.
Forster and McLennan were inspired to work together again after they were invited by fans at French music magazine Les Inrockuptibles
Les Inrockuptibles
Les Inrockuptibles is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly magazine in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. The name is a play on "Les Incorruptibles", the French title of the American television series The Untouchables...
to perform at the magazine's 10th anniversary on the 23/05/1996 in Paris. For this performance the band comprised Forster, McLennan, Adele Pickvance on bass guitar and Glenn Thompson
Glenn Thompson (musician)
Glenn Thompson was born in Albury NSW Australia in 1964. He is a musician who first came to prominence in Brisbane QLD playing in the popular local bands Madam Bones Brothel with Pearly Black and John Rodgers, and COW with Robert Moore and David McCormack. Thompson played drums with Robert Forster...
on drums.
In 2000, Forster, McLennan and Pickvance went to Jackpot! studio in Portland Oregon with members of Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...
, and recorded the album The Friends of Rachel Worth
The Friends of Rachel Worth
The Friends of Rachel Worth is the seventh album by Brisbane indie band The Go-Betweens, released 12 years after their sixth, 16 Lovers Lane....
.
The 2001 Thompson rejoined the band for the Australian Big Day Out Festival. This line up of Forster, McLennan, Pickvance and Thompson went on to record Bright Yellow Bright Orange
Bright Yellow Bright Orange
Bright Yellow Bright Orange is the eighth album by Brisbane indie band The Go-Betweens, and the second after their 2000 reunion.-Track listing:# "Caroline and I" – 3:50...
and In October 2005, The Go-Betweens finally achieved mainstream recognition, with the album Oceans Apart
Oceans Apart
Oceans Apart is the ninth and final album by The Go-Betweens, released in 2005. All the songs were written by Grant McLennan and Robert Forster...
(produced by Mark Wallis and Dave Ruffy) winning an ARIA award
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
for 'Best Adult Contemporary Album'. Grant McLennan died on 6 May 2006 of a heart attack, Robert Forster subsequently announced that The Go-Betweens were no more. Forster has continued to perform and records as a solo artist and has also produced well-received music criticism.
Legacy
The focal point of The Go-Betweens was the song writing skills of Forster and McLennan, described by The Village VoiceThe Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
as "the greatest songwriting partnership working today." Each developed a distinctive but complementary style: Forster's songs were angular and angst-ridden, making much use of irony and unusual lyrical imagery, while McLennan's were generally softer and more sensitive, his lyrics often based on character study and reported speech. Without ever securing an Australian or UK Top 50 chart single—a fact which mystified their supporters in the press, to the point where this "scandalous" lack of popular success became a cliché when writing about the band. However, there were a few very minor chart successes for the band, starting with "Spring Rain", which sneaked in to the lower rungs of the Australian charts in 1986 and became the band's first ever Top 100 chart hit. The following year, "Right Here" similarly rode low on the UK Top 100 Charts. Then in 1988, "Streets of Your Town", the first single from 1988's 16 Lovers Lane, reached the Top 100 in both Australia and UK.
In May 2001 "Cattle and Cane", written by McLennan and Forster, was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
(APRA) as one of the Top 30 Australian songs
APRA Top 30 Australian songs
APRA's Top 30 Australian songs between 1926 and 2001 was a list created by the Australasian Performing Right Association to celebrate its 75th anniversary...
of all time. McLennan described writing the lyrics:
Their song, "Streets of Your Town", was used by Prime Television
Prime Television
PRIME7 is an Australian television network owned by Prime Media Group Limited. Prime Television launched on 17 March 1962 as CBN/CWN in Orange and Dubbo, New South Wales, and has since expanded to cover regional New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory as a Seven Network...
and GWN
Golden West Network
GWN7 is an Australian television network owned by the Prime Media Group that is based in Bunbury, Western Australia. The Golden West Network launched on 10 March 1967 as BTW-3 in Bunbury, and has since expanded to cover regional and remote Western Australia, servicing all areas except metropolitan...
in their station identification from 2001 to 2003. Elements from the same song were sampled in the 2003 single "Just The Way You Are
Just The Way You Are (Milky song)
"Just the Way You Are" is a 2002 dance pop song that was recorded by the Italian group Milky. The single was also the first song to make its official debut at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Airplay chart in its October 17, 2003, issue, even though it reached number one in the September 28...
" by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
dance group Milky
Milky
Milky is a dance production group based in Italy. The act consists of producers Giordano Trivellato and Giuliano Sacchetto, with Italian singer Giuditta serving as their lead singer on their album, Star. Although Giuditta was the singer on the recordings, a model, the Egyptian born and German...
.
In the 4th Season
24 (season 4)
Season Four, also known as Day 4 of the television series 24 premiered on January 9, 2005 and aired its season finale on May 23, 2005.The Season Four storyline starts and ends at 7:00 am....
of American TV Series 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
a company is named McLennan-Forster—the producer of the series and author, Evan Katz
Evan Katz
Evan Katz is a television writer, most notably known as the executive producer of the hit television series 24. Prior to his work on 24 he created, wrote, and executive produced the television series Special Unit 2. He won a 2006 primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, and has been...
, wanted to express his veneration of the Go-Betweens by this company name.
On the eve of the first anniversary of McLennan's death, Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
& JTV
JTV
JTV is a commercial cable television station serving the Jackson County, Michigan metropolitan area, which has a population of approximately 162,000. It considers 120,000 of these people its primary audience. The station began in July 2000. Since the area is not well served by Lansing based...
broadcast a tribute concert to The Go-Betweens, recorded in 2006 at Brisbane venue, the Tivoli Theatre. Inspired by this tribute concert, and featuring many of the same artists, a tribute album to The Go-Betweens, Write Your Adventures Down, was released in June 2007 in Australia by The Red Label.
In 2008, 16 Lovers Lane was highlighted on Special Broadcasting Service
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
(SBS) TV's The Great Australian Albums series as a classic example of 1980s rock music.
The documentary was later released on DVD.
On 29 September 2009, Brisbane City Council announced that a four-lane traffic bridge, previously known as Hale Street Link, would be re-named as Go Between Bridge in the band's honour, following a popularity poll.
The Go-Betweens are referenced in the Teenage Fanclub song "When I Still Have Thee" (2010) and in the Belle and Sebastian song "Shoot the Sexual Athlete".
Nada Surf
Nada Surf
Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band. Formed in 1992, the New York band consists of Matthew Caws , Ira Elliot and Daniel Lorca .-Early years:...
covered their song "Love Goes On!" in their covers album "If I Had A Hi-Fi" (2010).
Robert Forster continues to perform and also contribute articles to The Monthly magazine.
Members
- Robert ForsterRobert Forster (musician)Robert Forster is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for his work with songwriting partner Grant McLennan, with whom he co-founded The Go-Betweens.Forster grew up in Brisbane, Australia attending Brisbane Grammar School...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
,(1977–1989, 2000–2006) - Grant McLennanGrant McLennanGrant William McLennan was an Australian singer-songwriter with the alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, which he co-founded with Robert Forster in Brisbane, Australia in 1977...
– vocals, guitar, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(1977–1989, 2000–2006) - Bruce Anthon - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(1978, 1979–1980) - Dennis Cantwell – drums (1978)
- Lissa Ross – drums (1978)
- Tim Mustapha – drums (1978–1979)
- Peter Milton Walsh – vocals, guitar (1978–1979)
- Malcolm Kelly – pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
(1979) - Steven Daly – drums (1980)
- Claire McKenna – drums (1980)
- Dave Tyrer – guitar (1980)
- Lindy MorrisonLindy MorrisonBelinda "Lindy" Morrison is an Australian musician originally from Queensland. She was the drummer in indie rock group The Go-Betweens from 1980 to 1989, appearing on all the band's releases from their first LP in 1981 until the band's first break up on 26 December 1989...
– drums, vocals (1980–1989) - Robert Vickers – bass guitar (1983–1987)
- Amanda BrownAmanda Brown (musician)Amanda Gabrielle Brown is an Australian composer, classically trained musician, singer and songwriter, renowned for her role as the violinist of the band The Go-Betweens and more recently a session musician and soundtrack composer....
– violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1986–1989) - John Willsteed – bass guitar, guitar (1987–1989)
- Michael Armiger – bass guitar (1989)
- Adele Pickvance – bass guitar, backing vocals (2000–2006)
- Mathias Strodler – drums (2000)
- Janet Weiss – drums, backing vocals (2000)
- Glenn ThompsonGlenn Thompson (musician)Glenn Thompson was born in Albury NSW Australia in 1964. He is a musician who first came to prominence in Brisbane QLD playing in the popular local bands Madam Bones Brothel with Pearly Black and John Rodgers, and COW with Robert Moore and David McCormack. Thompson played drums with Robert Forster...
– drums, backing vocals, keyboards (2002–2006) - Ross McLennan –
Albums
Studio albums- Send Me a LullabySend Me A Lullaby-The Go-Betweens:* Robert Forster - vocals, rhythm guitar* Grant McLennan - vocals, bass guitar, lead guitar* Lindy Morrison - drums, vocals-Additional personnel:* Nick Cave - vocals...
(Missing LinkMissing Link RecordsMissing Link Records is a record store in Melbourne, Australia. The shop first opened in 1971, but was then called Archie and Jughead's, named after the comic. The shop's co-founders, David Pepperell and Keith Glass, established the shop as a much-needed rock record shop...
, February 1982) - Before HollywoodBefore HollywoodBefore Hollywood was released in May 1983 in the UK on Rough Trade Records, an independent music label. It was The Go-Betweens' second album. The LP was produced by John Brand and recorded at I.C.C. Studios in Eastbourne, England...
(Stunn, May 1983) - Spring Hill FairSpring Hill FairSpring Hill Fair was released in September 1984 in the UK on Sire Records. It was The Go-Betweens' third album. The LP was recorded at Studio Miraval in Le Val, France. Prior to the recording of the album, bass player Robert Vickers had joined the group, enabling Grant McLennan to move to lead...
(SireSire RecordsSire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
, September 1984) - Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond ExpressLiberty Belle and the Black Diamond ExpressLiberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, the fourth album by The Go-Betweens, was released in 1986 in the UK on Beggars Banquet Records, the record label that would release the remainder of the original group's LPs through their breakup in 1989. The album was recorded at Berry Street Studios...
(True ToneTrue Tone Records (Australian label)True Tone Records was an Australian based record label. It was founded by Michael Crawley in the 1980s. The label was distributed by Polygram Records.-History:...
, March 1986) - TallulahTallulah (album)Tallulah was the fifth album by The Go-Betweens. It was released in 1987 in the UK on Beggars Banquet Records. Prior to the recording of the album, the group had expanded to a five-piece with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Amanda Brown. The original release consisted of ten songs...
(True Tone, June 1987) - 16 Lovers Lane16 Lovers Lane16 Lovers Lane was the sixth album by Australian indie pop group The Go-Betweens, released in 1988 by Beggars Banquet Records. Prior to the recording of the album, longtime bassist Robert Vickers left the band when the other group members decided to return to Australia after having spent several...
(MushroomMushroom RecordsMushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...
, September 1988) - The Friends of Rachel WorthThe Friends of Rachel WorthThe Friends of Rachel Worth is the seventh album by Brisbane indie band The Go-Betweens, released 12 years after their sixth, 16 Lovers Lane....
(2000) - Bright Yellow Bright OrangeBright Yellow Bright OrangeBright Yellow Bright Orange is the eighth album by Brisbane indie band The Go-Betweens, and the second after their 2000 reunion.-Track listing:# "Caroline and I" – 3:50...
(2003) - Oceans ApartOceans ApartOceans Apart is the ninth and final album by The Go-Betweens, released in 2005. All the songs were written by Grant McLennan and Robert Forster...
(2005)
Compilations
- Very Quick on the Eye (recorded 1981, Man Made Records 1982; re-released 2002)
- Metal and Shells (1985)
- 1978–1990 (1990)
- Bellavista Terrace: Best of The Go-BetweensBellavista Terrace: Best of The Go-BetweensBellavista Terrace: Best of the Go-Betweens is a compilation album by Australian band The Go-Betweens.-Track listing:# "Was There Anything I Could Do?" – 3:09...
(1999) - 78 'til 79 the Lost Album (1999)
Live albums
- Live on Snap with Deirdre O'Donoghue (1999)
- Live in London (2005)
- That Striped Sunlight Sound Live CD/DVD (2006)
Extend plays
- The Able Label Singles (1986)
- The Peel Sessions (1989)
- Worlds ApartWorlds Apart EPWorlds Apart is a 7" vinyl EP by The Go-Betweens, released on 21 November 2005 on LO-MAX Records in the UK only. It contains a collaboration with Sushil K Dade alternately known as Future Pilot A.K.A., along with other songs recorded at the Oceans Apart sessions.-Track listing:7" Vinyl# "Finding...
(2005)
Singles
Further reading
- Clinton WalkerClinton WalkerClinton Walker is an Australian writer, best known for his works on popular music but with a broader interest in social and cultural history and theory....
(1996). Stranded: The Secret History of Australian Independent Music 1977-1991Stranded: The Secret History of Australian Independent Music 1977-1991Stranded: The Secret History of Australian Independent Music 1977–1991 is a book about the Australian independent music scene from 1979 until 1991, as written by author and music journalist Clinton Walker...
. Pan MacMillan Australia. ISBN 0-7329-0883-3 - Andrew Stafford (2004). Pig City: from the Saints to Savage Garden. University of Queensland Press. ISBNs 9780702233609 (first edition), 9780702235610 (second edition) Note: [online] version has limited functionality.
- David Nichols (2005). The Go-Betweens (Limited Italian edition). Libera Publishing. ISBN 88-901889-1-X
External links
- Official website
- The Go-Betweens Music Australia's biography at National Library of AustraliaNational Library of AustraliaThe National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...