Grant McLennan of Go-Betweens Dead at 46

[ghosty]

He died this afternoon. Causes have'nt been determined. Apparantly passed in his sleep at home in Brisbane, Australia.[:(]

[Frau_Blucher]

Oh shit, that is really stunning. McLennan always seemed like a light, positive spirit. Very very sad. [V]

<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~myirwin/Scroll.gif">

[korova1]

F*?@ Me... what happened?!?! How sad this is... Grant is a genius, and his music is genius... I'm speechless, I'm floored... when I saw that posting it really affected me. So sad, so sad. How tragic life is sometimes. We lost a great one today. Our prayers are with Robert and the rest of the band.

[korova1]

Here is a fraction of his legacy for those who don't know his work.


6th May 2006



Grant McLennan
On Saturday 6th May, legendary Australian singer songwriter Grant W McLennan died in his sleep at his home in Brisbane.

McLennan was one of Australia’s greatest songwriters who created an outstanding musical legacy as a founder member of The Go-Betweens and as a solo artist. He was enjoying enormous acclaim for the band’s most recent album Oceans Apart, which has received five star reviews around the world and won had a prestigious ARIA award.

McLennan was born in Rockhampton, Queensland on 12th February 1958. While attending university in Brisbane he met fellow student Robert Forster and together they formed The Go-Betweens. After releasing a string of singles the band recorded their debut album, Send Me A Lullaby, in 1981. The Go-Betweens recorded a series of exceptional albums that achieved widespread critical acclaim and were fundamental in bringing Australian music to a global audience. He was an unparalleled lyricist and a prolific and meticulous composer. His auto-biographical masterpiece ‘Cattle and Cane’ was recently voted by the Australian Performing Rights Association as one of the ten greatest Australian songs of all time.

In 1989 The Go-Betweens took a ten year sabbatical and McLennan recorded four powerful solo albums including the vivacious debut Watershed and the epic Horsebreaker Star as well as forming satellite groups like Jack Frost with Steve Kilbey of The Church and The Far Out Corporation with Ian Haug of Powderfinger.

When Robert Forster and Grant McLennan reformed The Go-Betweens in 2000, the band was greeted with adulation by a new generation of musicians like Belle and Sebastian, for whom their songs had been an inspirational teenage soundtrack. The three albums the band subsequently released were universally acknowledged as containing some of McLennan’s greatest compositions.

McLennan was a passionate supporter of the arts, extremely well-read and maintained a keen interest in all contemporary music, cinema and visual art. He was an exceptionally charming and polite man who endeared himself to everyone who met him and was one of the rare individuals worthy of the epithet ‘larger than life’.

His singular contribution to music and his commitment to his craft simply cannot be overstated. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his mother, sister, brother, girlfriend Emma, bandmates Adele Pickvance and Glenn Thompson and lifetime musical colleague and friend Robert Forster.

Bernard MacMahon, Lo-Max Records, 6th May 2006

[ekahob]

Damn! He's only a year older than me.

I've been really getting into "Oceans Apart" lately too. It's a great record. "16 Lover's Lane" is a masterpiece.

[2Nu]

Man, what a shame.. at such a young age too[V]

I'm always moved whenever I hear "Streets of Your Town"

<IMG SRC="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/richp62/Icons%20Avatars/inot.gif">
I'm firmly of the belief that we have become hapless citizens of <a href="http://www.starbase118.net/academy/library/alien/frules.htm" target="blank">"'Ferenginar'"</a>.

[zill]

Man, I can't believe this. Very sad.

One of my all-time favourites from the 80's is "Right Here"...I love these lyrics:

"I know you're 32
But you look 55.
You walk around
With your eyes wide open
But you're barely alive."

For all the wonderful moments, Grant, I salute you, brother!

[MikeP]

Yes, very sad indeed. What incredible songs he has penned over the years! I'm glad I got to see him and Robert Forster perform a few years ago during one of their acoustic reunion tours. I heard he had a problem with heroin, but I would hope that he had overcome it given his age.

[Synthpopfan]

[quote][i]Originally posted by zill[/i]
<br>Man, I can't believe this. Very sad.

One of my all-time favourites from the 80's is "Right Here"...I love these lyrics:

"I know you're 32
But you look 55.
You walk around
With your eyes wide open
But you're barely alive."

For all the wonderful moments, Grant, I salute you, brother!
[/quote]

I couldn`t have said it better myself.

[neworder]

The go betweens were the only guitar band who could match the smiths for melody;they were ,sadly, never to get the recognition they deserved.
A real tragedy for alternative music.

[earthloop]

I am still in shock. He is a big loss.But it is really nice to know that Grant and the Go Betweens were so loved by people in other parts of the world.

Here in Australia it is often hard to gauge how well known our indie artists are elsewhere. For me 'Streets Of Our Town' resonates in a very personal way!

Cheers all(oh yeah...new member here!)