Grant McLennan
Encyclopedia
Grant William McLennan was an Australia
n singer-songwriter
with the alternative rock
band The Go-Betweens
, which he co-founded with Robert Forster
in Brisbane
, Australia
in 1977. In a career spanning almost thirty years, his work with The Go-Betweens (1977–89, and resuming 2000–06) is complemented by several solo releases and side-project collaborations with other performers. McLennan received a number of accolades recognising his achievements and contributions as songwriter and lyricist, including the naming of his 1983 composition "Cattle and Cane
" by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA)
as one of the 30 greatest Australian songs of all time.
McLennan died suddenly of a heart attack
at the age of 48.
, central Queensland
. Four years later he moved with his family to Cairns after the death of his father, a G.P.
The family then relocated to a cattle station in central Far North Queensland
, with McLennan spending five years at Brisbane's Church of England Grammar School ("Churchie") as a boarder. A number of McLennan's songs evoke the impressions and imagery of the regional background of his childhood, such as the breakthrough "Cattle and Cane
", "Dusty in Here" (about his father) and "Bye Bye Pride."
In 1976 McLennan began a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Queensland
. The long-serving and controversial Joh Bjelke-Petersen
was State Premier at the time, and McLennan was arrested in a student protest against aspects of his conservative policies.
(McLennan had no musical training) and join with him in forming a band. After several months playing and songwriting, the duo recorded and released their first 7" single in 1978, Forster's "Lee Remick" (B-side "Karen," 500 copies pressed). In this initial period Forster performed most of the songwriting, vocals and guitar; however as McLennan's own distinctive compositional style developed the two would soon share in songwriting and vocals for the band almost equally. For all Go-Betweens releases from about 1980 forward, all songs were credited to "Forster/McLennan", although the two composers often wrote separately, each singing their own compositions.
By the time their first album was released (1982's Send Me A Lullaby
), the Go-Betweens' line-up expanded to include Lindy Morrison
as their permanent drummer. Later releases added Robert Vickers on bass (allowing McLennan to move to lead guitar), and then Amanda Brown
on oboe, violin and a variety of other instruments (Brown and McLennan were in a relationship for several years during this time). John Wilsteed then replaced Vickers on bass after the latter left the band for their last album.
After recording six albums, The Go-Betweens disbanded in December 1989. Through the 1990s, McLennan recorded four well-received solo albums, collaborated on two albums with The Church
's Steve Kilbey
in the band Jack Frost
, and collaborated with Powderfinger's
Ian Haug
in Far Out Corporation.
Forster and McLennan reformed The Go-Betweens in 2000, and recorded three more albums. Their last studio album, Oceans Apart
, won the band their first ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. Their That Striped Sunlight Sound DVD was nominated for Best Music DVD at the 2006 awards.
. He was preparing for a party at his home to celebrate with his fiancée, Emma Pursey. Whilst preparing for the party, he complained of feeling unwell, and went upstairs to rest. He died in his room and was found soon after by his flatmate, friends and fiancée.
Over 1,000 people attended his funeral, including musicians Dave Dobbyn
, Steve Kilbey
, Paul Kelly
and Ed Kuepper
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
with the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens
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,...
, which he co-founded with 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...
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
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1977. In a career spanning almost thirty years, his work with The Go-Betweens (1977–89, and resuming 2000–06) is complemented by several solo releases and side-project collaborations with other performers. McLennan received a number of accolades recognising his achievements and contributions as songwriter and lyricist, including the naming of his 1983 composition "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...
" by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA)
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...
as one of the 30 greatest Australian songs of all time.
McLennan died suddenly of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at the age of 48.
Early life
McLennan was born in the city of RockhamptonRockhampton
Rockhampton can refer to:* Rockhampton, Queensland is a city in Queensland, Australia* Rockhampton City, Queensland, a suburb of Rockhampton, Queensland* Electoral district of Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia...
, central Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. Four years later he moved with his family to Cairns after the death of his father, a G.P.
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
The family then relocated to a cattle station in central Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait...
, with McLennan spending five years at Brisbane's Church of England Grammar School ("Churchie") as a boarder. A number of McLennan's songs evoke the impressions and imagery of the regional background of his childhood, such as the breakthrough "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...
", "Dusty in Here" (about his father) and "Bye Bye Pride."
In 1976 McLennan began a Bachelor of Arts degree 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...
. The long-serving and controversial Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
was State Premier at the time, and McLennan was arrested in a student protest against aspects of his conservative policies.
The Go-Betweens
A year later, he first met with Robert Forster, who encouraged him to learn bass guitarBass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(McLennan had no musical training) and join with him in forming a band. After several months playing and songwriting, the duo recorded and released their first 7" single in 1978, Forster's "Lee Remick" (B-side "Karen," 500 copies pressed). In this initial period Forster performed most of the songwriting, vocals and guitar; however as McLennan's own distinctive compositional style developed the two would soon share in songwriting and vocals for the band almost equally. For all Go-Betweens releases from about 1980 forward, all songs were credited to "Forster/McLennan", although the two composers often wrote separately, each singing their own compositions.
By the time their first album was released (1982's 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...
), the Go-Betweens' line-up expanded to include 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...
as their permanent drummer. Later releases added Robert Vickers on bass (allowing McLennan to move to lead guitar), and then 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 oboe, violin and a variety of other instruments (Brown and McLennan were in a relationship for several years during this time). John Wilsteed then replaced Vickers on bass after the latter left the band for their last album.
After recording six albums, The Go-Betweens disbanded in December 1989. Through the 1990s, McLennan recorded four well-received solo albums, collaborated on two albums with 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...
's Steve Kilbey
Steve 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....
in the 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 ....
, and collaborated with Powderfinger's
Powderfinger
Powderfinger was an Australian rock band that formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their breakup the band lineup consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bassist John Collins, and drummer Jon Coghill....
Ian Haug
Ian Haug
Ian David Haug is a lead guitarist and backing vocalist in the Australian rock band Powderfinger. Mainstays Haug and bass guitarist John Collins formed the band in Brisbane in 1989. During a hiatus in Powderfinger's career, Haug worked on a side project, The Predators, with Collins and original...
in Far Out Corporation.
Forster and McLennan reformed The Go-Betweens in 2000, and recorded three more albums. Their last studio 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...
, won the band their first ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. Their That Striped Sunlight Sound DVD was nominated for Best Music DVD at the 2006 awards.
Death
Grant McLennan died at his home in Brisbane on 6 May 2006, aged 48, from a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. He was preparing for a party at his home to celebrate with his fiancée, Emma Pursey. Whilst preparing for the party, he complained of feeling unwell, and went upstairs to rest. He died in his room and was found soon after by his flatmate, friends and fiancée.
Over 1,000 people attended his funeral, including musicians Dave Dobbyn
Dave Dobbyn
Dave Dobbyn, ONZM is an award-winning New Zealand musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash...
, Steve Kilbey
Steve 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....
, Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
and Ed Kuepper
Ed Kuepper
Ed Kuepper is an Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded the seminal punk band The Saints, the experimental post-punk group Laughing Clowns and later the grunge-like The Aints...
.
Solo discography
- WatershedWatershed (Grant McLennan album)Watershed is the debut solo album by Grant McLennan, a member of The Go-Betweens released under the name G. W. McLennan. The album was recorded nine months after The Go-Betweens disbanded; it was released in 1991...
(1991) - FireboyFireboyFireboy is the second solo album by Grant McLennan, a member of The Go-Betweens. It was released in 1992. In the album's liner notes McLennan said the songs were for Gloria Swanson, Kenneth Slessor, Brett Whiteley and Dean Martin.-Track listing:...
(1992) - Horsebreaker StarHorsebreaker StarHorsebreaker Star is the third solo album by Grant McLennan, a member of The Go-Betweens. McLennan recorded the album in Athens, Georgia with American musicians. In a 1995 interview he said the album had been "a lot of work"....
(1994) - In Your Bright RayIn Your Bright RayIn Your Bright Ray is the fourth and final solo album, released in 1997, by Grant McLennan, a member of The Go-Betweens.The album featured Brett Myers of Died Pretty and Wayne Connolly of Knievel on guitars, Maurice Argiro of Underground Lovers on bass and Tim Powles of The Church on drums.-Track...
(1997)
Compilation albums
- IntermissionIntermission (Robert Forster & Grant McLennan album)Intermission is a two-CD compilation album by Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, bandmates in The Go-Betweens, of material recorded for their solo albums through the 1990s....
(2007)
External links
- McLennan obituary
- BBC News - Go-Betweens singer dies in sleep
- CNN news - McClennan obituary
- http://www.go-betweens.net Official website of The Go-BetweensThe Go-BetweensThe 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,...
- "The Very Important Visiting Friend" - Danceteria anecdote, 1980