Grant McLennan

Grant William McLennan (12 February 19586 May 2006) was an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter-guitarist. He co-founded the Go-Betweens (1977–89, 2000–06) with Robert Forster in Brisbane in 1977 and issued four solo albums: Watershed, Fireboy (1992), Horsebreaker Star (1994) and In Your Bright Ray (1997). He collaborated with other artists on side projects. In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association called his "Cattle and Cane" (1983) one of its top 30 Australian songs of all time.

Early life Grant William McLennan was born on 12 February 1958 in Rockhampton, Queensland. His father was a general practitioner, and McLennan grew up with a younger brother and sister. His mother remarried, and the family then relocated to a cattle station in central Far North Queensland.

McLennan's songs, which often evoke the impressions and imagery of the regional background of his childhood, include "Cattle and Cane", "Unkind and Unwise", "Dusty in Here" (about his father), "Boundary Rider" and "Bye Bye Pride".

In 1976, McLennan began a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Queensland. Joh Bjelke-Petersen was Premier of Queensland at the time, and McLennan was arrested in a student protest against aspects of that government's conservative policies.

Career 1977–1990: Go-Betweens

In 1977, McLennan met Robert Forster at university. Forster encouraged him to learn bass guitar – McLennan had no musical training – and to form an alternative rock band, the Go-Betweens, in Brisbane. For several months they used a succession of interim drummers, with McLennan on bass guitar and Forster on lead guitar and lead vocals. The group released their first single in September 1978, "Lee Remick", which was written by Forster.

During the group's initial period, Forster provided most of the songwriting and lead vocals. By the time it appeared, they had returned to Australia.

In 1982, they relocated to London and recorded new material, also during that year McLennan was part of a side project, Tuff Monks, with Forster and Morrison joined by label mates, Nick Cave, Mick Harvey and Rowland S. Howard of the Birthday Party. In late 1983 the Go-Betweens added Robert Vickers on bass guitar – which allowed McLennan to shift to lead guitar. Many of McLennan's new lyrics were about this relationship.

McLennan and Forster each pursued solo careers while Brown and Morrison formed Cleopatra Wong in 1991. Their live album, That Striped Sunlight Sound (2006), was nominated for Best Music DVD at the 2006 awards. The group released a self-titled album in 1991 and the pair resumed the collaboration in 1995 for a second album, Snow Job.

In June 1991, McLennan released his debut solo album Watershed under the name G.W. McLennan, which was produced by Dave Dobbyn (DD Smash) on Mushroom Records' White Records label.

In November 1992, McLennan released the album Fireboy, produced by Dobbyn again. Robert Christgau, an American journalist, preferred the tracks "The Dark Side of Town", "Riddle in the Rain" and "Whose Side Are You On?", which were "living tunes in studio-rock amber". During 1993 he toured Australia with a backing band comprising Michael Barclay on drums, Pedro Bull on keyboards (both ex-ex-Paul Kelly and the Messengers), Maurice Frawley on guitar (ex-Paul Kelly and the Dots) and Phil Kakulas on bass guitar (ex-Blackeyed Susans).

In September 1997, McLennan released In Your Bright Ray, with Wayne Connolly producing.

In November 1997, he formed Far Out Corporation with Ian Haug, Ross McLennan and Adele Pickvance. He was preparing for a party to celebrate with his fiancée, Emma Pursey; he complained of feeling unwell, and he went upstairs to rest. He was found dead soon after by Pursey, his flatmate and friends.

Following McLennan's death, the Queensland Government established the Grant McLennan Lifetime Achievement Award, presented at the Queensland Music Awards.

Discography Albums Title Details Peak chart positions AUS Watershed Released: June 1991 Label: White Label (D 30547) Format: CD, LP, cassette 96 Fireboy Released: November 1992 Label: White Label (D 30841) Format: CD, cassette — Horsebreaker Star Released: December 1994 Label: Concubine (ALBUM004) Format: 2×CD, cassette — In Your Bright Ray Released: September 1997 Label: Cortex (CTX084CD ) Format: CD —

Compilation albums Title Details Intermission (with Robert Forster) Released: 2007 Label: EMI (094639544424) Format: 2x CD, digital download

Extended plays Title Details Surround Me Released: 1992 Label: White Label Records (D11237) Format: CD, Cassette

Charting singles +List of singles within the top 150, with selected chart positions Title Year Chart positions AUS "Surround Me" 1993 122

Awards Queensland Music Awards The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) celebrate Queensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. In 2006, the inaugural year, McLennan won a Lifetime Achievement Award.