The Go-Betweens

The Go-Betweens' two principal members, singer/songwriter/guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, originally met at a university drama class, and their first single was a love song for the actress Lee Remick. This was an appropriate start for a beloved cult band that was elegant, well-educated and steeped in old-fashioned romance. Formed in Brisbane, Australia, the band played its first shows in early 1978. Forster and McLennan spent the next two years shopping their songs in London and New York; however they didn't get a record deal until returning to Australia in 1980. Now joined by drummer Lindy Morrison they released Send Me a Lullaby the following year. While the spikier influence of Television and Wire was evident here, the band was developing the more lyrical style that became its trademark. Bassist Robert Vickers and violinist Amanda Brown completed the band's best-known lineup, and the sophomore album Before Hollywood set off a round of critical praise that would continue through their career. There were numerous attempts to break the band in America, and the band accordingly tried to write more commercial songs: For1984's Spring Hill Fair Forster said that he drank a lot in hopes of making the songs more directly  emotional. Another concerted effort was on 1987's Tallulah, where they teamed with commercially-minded US producer Craig Leon, yet this proved unsatisfactory and was abandoned after two tracks.  Finally, their 1987 album 16 Lovers Lane was made in as McLennan and Brown began a romantic affair while Forster and Morrison ended theirs. This time the songs really were directly emotional, the singles "Streets of Your Town" and "Was There Anything I Could Do" became the band's best-known. The latter even hit the Modern Rock Tracks chart in Billboard, the closest they got to a US hit. Deciding that wasn't close enough, the Go-Betweens disbanded in late 1989. After working solo for 12 years, Forster and McLennan were convinced to perform together at an anniversary show for the French music magazine Les Inrockuptibles in 1996. This led to a full-time Go-Betweens reunion, though none of the other former members were involved. The comeback album, The Friends of Rachel Worth was made with drummer Janet Weiss and keyboardist Sam Coombes, of the Portland indie-rock duo Quasi; the members of Weiss' better-known other band, Sleater-Kinney, also appeared.  The reunion was a success and produced two more albums, Bright Yellow Bright Orange and Oceans Apart, both featuring the lineup that had played the first reunion show. However it came to a sudden end when McLennan died of a heart attack on May 6, 2006. The band's reputation grew further over the years; rising star Courtney Barnett namechecked them as an influence, and in 2009 locals in Brisbane voted to name a traffic structure the Go-Between Bridge.