A Go-Between Dream

I had a dream the other night. Me and the missus went to one of the more salubrious venues to watch The Go-Betweens play a show, starting with an acoustic set, followed by a full electric set. Very good it was too, until I had to take a big metal cage up Bloomfield Road in Bath. Look, it was a dream, you know.

The Go-Betweens and a Couch

But on waking, I suddenly felt rather sad. Because, of course, we’ll never see them play live again, after the tragic death of Grant McLennan in 2006. One of the finest songwriters of his generation, he could write catchy easy-rock numbers ready for drivetime radio, which cunningly hid beautifully crafted lyrics about life and love, mostly in small towns. He was a superb foil to the rather more esoteric Robert Forster, and thankfully the two of them realised this and got back together 11 years after a break in 1989.

Now, one day I’ll reach “Cattle And Cane” in the Pitchfork 500 list¹, so I’ll write about their majesty then, but for the moment I’ll leave you with a few slightly more obscure Go-Betweens songs, plus a cracker from the sadly missed Grant McLennan.

This song soundtracked the demise of a relationship in which I’d been a fool:

MP3: Haven’t I Been A Fool By Grant McLennan

This one soundtracked another messed up relationship; it was put onto a C90 by a mate who worked with me at Plonkey’s Pizza in 1988 (seriously) and I was stoked (to use the current parlance) to find it on the extended edition of Tallulah:

MP3: I Just Get Caught Out (Alternative Version) by The Go-Betweens

And this one is just great:

MP3: You Won’t Find It Again by The Go-Betweens

And if you doubt their greatness, they even have a bridge named after them. How cool is that?

¹ Speaking of the Pitchfork 500, the next article is currently gestating in a dark, dank recess of my brain. I’m hoping it will burst out, Alien-like, at some point this week or next. Yes, I know it’s been a while.

Buy “Intermission – The Best Of The Solo Recordings 1990-1997”

Buy “16 Lovers Lane” (CD) (One of the best albums ever)

Buy “Tallulah” (CD) (Not quite as great as 16 Lovers Lane, but still fantastic)