Love that you wrote about this, Kevin. As you know, the Go-Betweens are my all-time favorite Australian band and one of ten artists I chose to research, interview, and write about in my book Secret Stars: The Greatest Underdogs of the Rock 'n' Roll Era. Sadly, they never enjoyed any real success in the U.S. They were signed to Sire records for one album and immediately dropped when the album tanked. But Grant McLennan and Robert Forster were the McCartney and Dylan/Lennon of their generation in Australia. They are beloved there (there's even a bridge in Brisbane named after them!). I had the pleasure of meeting them both after a show in Los Angeles even before I wrote about them. Both were very intense, serious guys who battled heroin addiction at different times. "16 Lover's Lane" was their most commercial album of the 80s (and one of their two best), but their three reunion albums of the early 2000s are also highly worthwhile. An album of theirs you may not know is Robert Forster's first solo album, "Danger in the Past." It's my favorite album of 1990. No joke.
Good call on their reunion records, Matt. Oceans Apart is one of my favorite records of the 2000s. I'm glad to learn of your book and Substack - I just added both to my lists!
I'm ready to start the Big Star chapter in Secret Stars and I think Go-Betweens is after that. I love 16 Lovers Lane, but got into the band with those 2000s albums.
Love it, Justin! While I am proud of what I was able to accomplish in the first three chapters of the book, interviewing the last surviving member Love, guitarist Johnny Echols, Nick Drake’s producer Joe Boyd (and a woman who knew him in the 60s), and Big Star’s drummer Jody Stephens, I think you’ll find me in the book more starting with Chapter 4, when I was able to interview the songwriters themselves, saw them perform live, etc....
Eager to hear what your favorite chapters are after you finish.
I met Jody Stephens at a music festival two friends founded and that my band played at. In a lifetime of being a musician and music fan, he's one of the sweetest guys I've ever encountered. A bit like a zen monk in his calm demeanor.
One more thing: not sure how well you know the Go-Betweens work before "16 Lovers Lane," but the best way to hear most of their best material from their first five albums is on the excellent live album that was recorded just before they started writing songs for "16..." called "Fountains of Youth." It was released in 2020 and is highly worthwhile. The only essential song it's missing if the best song from their first two albums, "Cattle & Cane." A glaring omission.
I have That Striped Sunlight Sound on CD, which fills in some gaps like "Cattle & Cane," though it's an acoustic set. Will check out Fountains of Youth.
Wow that's a blast from the past. Around 1988 I was also listening to a lot of China Crisis and Style Council, so this was in playlist loop. Great melancholic memories! Thanks for putting it up here.
Thx Dave. If you're a Go-Betweens fan, I'm guessing our taste overlaps a lot. I'm very proud of the book. It was a lot of work. More than I even imagined when I started out. Tons of research, writing (100,000 words) and rewriting. Not to mention all the work it took to promote when it was published a year ago. Eager to hear your thoughts. Hope it turns you on to some great music you don't already know.
Wow, the Go-Betweens never made it to my ears in Bermuda in 1988 which is a real shame because I’m really liking what I’ve heard so far. Looking forward to digging into their work
Yep, this is the Go-Betweens song I remember hearing back then (when we spoke). I can't recall if I had the whole album, or just heard or bought the CD single. They have (at least on "Streets") a vague Dream Academy vibe, but not quite as evocatively gauze-y as DA seemed to so dreamily go. Nice to hear them again, and I suppose I should go and listen to (at least) that album.....but, dang.....Tuesday will be here before you know it, and, well.........Tune Tag calls!
I didn’t know anything about this band or the record, but just listened to the album and I really liked it. The songwriting is truly special and I loved the harmonies and folk vibes. I also loved how resourceful the lead singer is, without necessarily having a great voice (as traditionally defined). Thanks for this!
Love that you wrote about this, Kevin. As you know, the Go-Betweens are my all-time favorite Australian band and one of ten artists I chose to research, interview, and write about in my book Secret Stars: The Greatest Underdogs of the Rock 'n' Roll Era. Sadly, they never enjoyed any real success in the U.S. They were signed to Sire records for one album and immediately dropped when the album tanked. But Grant McLennan and Robert Forster were the McCartney and Dylan/Lennon of their generation in Australia. They are beloved there (there's even a bridge in Brisbane named after them!). I had the pleasure of meeting them both after a show in Los Angeles even before I wrote about them. Both were very intense, serious guys who battled heroin addiction at different times. "16 Lover's Lane" was their most commercial album of the 80s (and one of their two best), but their three reunion albums of the early 2000s are also highly worthwhile. An album of theirs you may not know is Robert Forster's first solo album, "Danger in the Past." It's my favorite album of 1990. No joke.
Good call on their reunion records, Matt. Oceans Apart is one of my favorite records of the 2000s. I'm glad to learn of your book and Substack - I just added both to my lists!
You're in for a good time (on both counts). Matt's book is taking me forever to read because it keeps taking me down so many fun rabbit holes.
Really looking forward to reading your book Matt! It’s waiting for me in my kindle library, hoping to get to it before the end of the year
Eager to hear what you think, Mark. Pretty confident you’ll enjoy it. It goes way deeper than my substack.
I'm ready to start the Big Star chapter in Secret Stars and I think Go-Betweens is after that. I love 16 Lovers Lane, but got into the band with those 2000s albums.
Love it, Justin! While I am proud of what I was able to accomplish in the first three chapters of the book, interviewing the last surviving member Love, guitarist Johnny Echols, Nick Drake’s producer Joe Boyd (and a woman who knew him in the 60s), and Big Star’s drummer Jody Stephens, I think you’ll find me in the book more starting with Chapter 4, when I was able to interview the songwriters themselves, saw them perform live, etc....
Eager to hear what your favorite chapters are after you finish.
I met Jody Stephens at a music festival two friends founded and that my band played at. In a lifetime of being a musician and music fan, he's one of the sweetest guys I've ever encountered. A bit like a zen monk in his calm demeanor.
One more thing: not sure how well you know the Go-Betweens work before "16 Lovers Lane," but the best way to hear most of their best material from their first five albums is on the excellent live album that was recorded just before they started writing songs for "16..." called "Fountains of Youth." It was released in 2020 and is highly worthwhile. The only essential song it's missing if the best song from their first two albums, "Cattle & Cane." A glaring omission.
I have That Striped Sunlight Sound on CD, which fills in some gaps like "Cattle & Cane," though it's an acoustic set. Will check out Fountains of Youth.
I thought you might like this one. I didn't know about Forster's record, so thank you for getting it on my radar!
Did they name themselves after the novel "The Go-Between" by L.P. Hartley?
Wow that's a blast from the past. Around 1988 I was also listening to a lot of China Crisis and Style Council, so this was in playlist loop. Great melancholic memories! Thanks for putting it up here.
You bet! I'm glad I could take you down memory lane. Style Council is another fave of mine; I've featured them a couple of times on here.
I came to The Jam AFTER I discovered Style Council. Weird, but true.
I'm trying to remember as I type this, but I think I might've done the same?
Put up a link and I’ll check it out. Great minds. Thinking alike.
*The Lodgers: https://open.substack.com/pub/thekevinalexander/p/the-style-council-71c
*Shout to the Top: https://thekevinalexander.substack.com/p/the-style-council
Both should be in front of the paywall now. Let me know if there's any issue accessing them!
Thx Dave. If you're a Go-Betweens fan, I'm guessing our taste overlaps a lot. I'm very proud of the book. It was a lot of work. More than I even imagined when I started out. Tons of research, writing (100,000 words) and rewriting. Not to mention all the work it took to promote when it was published a year ago. Eager to hear your thoughts. Hope it turns you on to some great music you don't already know.
Wow, the Go-Betweens never made it to my ears in Bermuda in 1988 which is a real shame because I’m really liking what I’ve heard so far. Looking forward to digging into their work
Yep, this is the Go-Betweens song I remember hearing back then (when we spoke). I can't recall if I had the whole album, or just heard or bought the CD single. They have (at least on "Streets") a vague Dream Academy vibe, but not quite as evocatively gauze-y as DA seemed to so dreamily go. Nice to hear them again, and I suppose I should go and listen to (at least) that album.....but, dang.....Tuesday will be here before you know it, and, well.........Tune Tag calls!
I didn’t know anything about this band or the record, but just listened to the album and I really liked it. The songwriting is truly special and I loved the harmonies and folk vibes. I also loved how resourceful the lead singer is, without necessarily having a great voice (as traditionally defined). Thanks for this!
I only met him over Zoom, but I know what you’re talking about. Sweet guy. Very likeable.
What’s the name of your band?