Meeting McLennan: Gabbing WithA Go-Between

Wed 13th Jul, 2005 in Features

Back in the mid 1970’s, a young Grant McLennan and Robert Forster got together over a mutual love film of seminal US bands like Talking Heads and Televison. McLennan: the country kid studying (and passing) an arts degree and Forster, the young thespian who placed focus on songwriting over studying (university failure loomed menacingly). After some cajoling by Forster to prize McLennan  away from any filmic ambition, The Go-Betweens found their feet. A foundation that would have a Catherine wheel tendency to accost new members, but never tilt too far from the duo’s ability to fuse subtle melody with lyrical subversion.

Their early outputs, Before Hollywood, Spring Hill Fair and 16 Lovers Lane provided the precious beauty to a Brisbane music scene very much under-the-thumb of a savage Bjelke-Peterson premiership. Albeit a beauty viewed through a skewed, estranged prism. Where The Saints rallied with venomous intent, The Go-Betweens lent scope to a pining heart. Simplicity underscoring deft song writing. The state of Queensland was never going to hold the band for long, and when the UK beckoned early in their career, the band jumped ship over  to Blighty – and an adoring audience.

Having just flown into Cairns, Grant McLennan is animated and extraordinarily entertaining. It’s like having a one-on-one with an articulate, humorous artist accommodating and anecdotal to the last. A return from the USA where ” the shows have been really well attended and the bands really rocking!” McLennan says that the band are “all really excited” to commence their Australian tour.

Oceans Apart was recorded in South London, and as McLennan explains, after flirting with the idea of an Icelandic studio excursion, the band made a collective decision not to delineate to far from a highly successful formula. Swapping Reykjavik for ‘Southie’ the diversion back to London was a smart logistical decision.

Although sometimes you wonder how much the McLennan banter is fictionalised fact…perhaps it’s just dressed up honesty.

“Well we wanted to get a little bit of the Bjork vibe…and a bit glacial. We knew we’d be recording in the northern hemisphere and it does ordinarily get quite cold. And we’d been given this tip about this studio, and one in Spain. But it kind of worked out after we recorded Here Comes the City with Mark Wallis that if the rest of the record sounded like that we’d be pretty happy. So we went back London.”

Just like that, and quite plainly McLennan justifies the decision to return to city that for some time offered the band an immediate popular embrace, going on he says:

“I think it was more just bunch of songs we had – and Here Comes the City was just the first thing we recorded, and we discussed with Adele our bass player, and she’s half English, and she had just always wanted to make an English pop record. The kind of energy and where we were at, it just seemed like a good idea at the time and I am glad that we went with our instincts cause it sounds pretty good!”

London has indeed changed somewhat since the last time the band stayed for any extended period, but only McLennan is so candid outlining  the specifics. “It’s cleaner! That’s for sure, and white pants are back – believe it or not!”

It seems the good times will continue to roll on the Australian tour, when asked about how the band shall approach their first Australian tour in a few years, McLennan responds as only a wordsmith with a rampant imagination could.

“We approach it with four pairs of dancing shoes! And big smiles on our faces. As I kind of said, we have really enjoyed logging-in together and playing. It’s always good to play your own country when you’re kind of in championship form.

“I hope by the time we get to Brisbane we’ll be in World Cup form!” Indeed, as the upcoming show in August at The Tivoli shall be recorded for a live DVD to be released later in the year.

”[We want to be] taking it all the way! Lifting the cup all the way over the assembled cheering people! Australia needs it! To kind of get over that winter mellowness and embrace the pop.”

With the tour set to finish in October in Morocco (yes, apparently true) the Go-Betweens shall not be idle for long. Forster will take some time off, McLennan shall write some songs, but another swing around Australia before the end of the year promises more opportunity to embrace the pop. But for now, shake off the winter blues and ‘pop’ your dancing shoes on when the Go-Betweens drop by your town soon.

Oceans Apart is available now.