I first encountered the Go-Betweens at Moles Club, Bath in 1982. They were on tour to promote their new album, Before Hollywood, which I had just fallen in love with. Myself and three equally enthusiastic friends had driven across from Bristol to see the band, assuming them to be minor stars who would attract a sizeable crowd. Walking down the steps into the low ceilinged cellar club, we found the place deserted, save for a group of four others occupying a nearby table.
We got ourselves drinks, and, thinking we must be extremely early, settled in for a long wait. It soon dawned on us that the occupants of the next table looked familiar - what threw us initially was the fact that there were four of them, whereas the band we had seen on the front of Before Hollywood were a three piece. We thought about talking to them, but were too embarrassed. About ten minutes later, the band got up and proceeded to the stage. We did the same. We then stood about two feet in front of the Go Betweens, the only other people in the building, while they knocked out the most stunning set of pop tunes I had ever heard. To this day I don't think I've been to a gig quite like it - raw energy, beautiful harmony vocals, Lindy Morrison grinning away at us.. It was fantastic, and it was all for us - no one else came.
After the gig, the band walked into the little dressing room and we followed them for a quick chat. They promised to put us on the guest list for the following evening in Birmingham and we left, extremely happy but also more than a little puzzled that no one else had turned up to witness such a sparkling pop event. The next night we drove to Birmingham. The band had forgotten to put us on the guest list, thinking that we had said Bournemouth or Brighton or another place beginning with "B", but eventually we got in and saw them play another stunning set to a packed Fighting Cocks. Fortunately for the Go Betweens, not everyone was as stupid or ignorant as the people of Bath, we thought..
Twenty three years later, I am in Birmingham again to see the Go Betweens. As I enter the small dressing room where they are housed, I mention this gig to Grant as an ice breaker. "Yeah, I remember it" he says. "But I've forgotten your name?".. What a nice man! "So, what have you been up to since then" I ask, thinking this a witty opening line for an interview. And for a few surreal minutes I think Grant actually believes that I haven't seen or heard of the Go Betweens since then. He explains politely that they've been around, Robert has spent some time living in Germany and now they're back living together in Australia.. Of course I know all this, because I've got every one of their nine albums except for the new one, and I mention this to Grant to put him out of his misery. He sounds upset that I don't have "Oceans Apart". He's right, I should own a copy already.
We talk for a while about the recent gig at the Barbican, a magnificent show where the band did two sets, one as a three piece with Grant playing the bass, and one with a full string section. I ask Grant if he misses playing the bass, something which he hasn't done in the band for twenty years. He says Robert misses it, but he's not really fussed. Then he introduces me to Robert, who is lying full out on the floor and couldn't possibly be missed. Robert has a bad back, it transpires, and for the first half of the interview says nothing at all. I don't blame him, seeing this interview was blagged at the last minute and he has no idea who I am or who I'm writing for! Grant on the other hand continues to chat amicably about the Barbican show. I ask him how long it took to get it together with Audrey Riley and her string section. "We did one rehearsal, at the sound check, but Audrey had the scores and there were a couple of other things that we'd spoken to her over the phone about.." Wow! They're so laid back its frightening, yet in a way its the essence of the band. When you watch them play its so natural, so easy and so simple. Maybe that's why they've managed to keep going for so long..
Grant mentions that the whole Barbican show is available on a special CD during the tour. "Its turned out pretty good" he says. "I'm not a fan of live recordings unless they're blisteringly good, but this one really did surprise me". An opportunity too good to miss, I buy a copy of the recording later, and can confirm that it is blisteringly good! A double CD lasting over two hours, it captures the concert perfectly - the early songs sound powerful and raw, and the strings on the later songs sound remarkable, considering the lack of time it took to put it all together. Grant says they'd like to do it again, but its too costly to take a string section out on tour "unless you're Megastars"
I ask them a typical dumb question - are you still enjoying it? Lets face it, why else would you still be doing this after twenty five years unless you enjoyed it? "we're all incredibly punked actually" says Grant. "This is the fourth show and the show in Glasgow two nights ago was great, the audience was great and we brought the house down".. So yes is the answer I think.
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Another dumb question - do you think things would have turned out differently if you'd not spent so much time in England during the band's formative years? "We would have turned out differently, of course, because that's another life - but our time in England was really important to Robert and I. When we first came over, 1979/80, we only had two singles out and it was an opportunity to see what the competition was doing.." I mention that I've read the Go Betweens biography, in which it says the band were unhappy with their third album, Spring Hill Fair, the first to be released on a major label, an album that I personally love. He sounds surprised. "No, "Tallulah" was by far the most problematic record for us because the studio was fucked - everything broke down - but we rectified that - it was a tough thing and that's when Mark Wallis came onto the scene.." And he's working with them again on the new album, which they sound mighty pleased with. "We're on EMI in Australia", muses Grant, "you see Coldplay were having a little trouble down there..so we're touring with them - We're taking them to a little town called Umundi.." This brings a giggle from the other GBs scattered around the dressing room..
Aware that I'm rapidly outstaying my welcome, I move the conversation on to a discussion of touring Australia, in particular their first ever tour. Grant recalls how their original lead guitarist insisted on taking the train because he wouldn't share a double decker bus with "a bunch of hippies" (he's referring to the other band on the tour..). Suddenly Robert comes to life, visibly enjoying the momories of that first outing. "Didn't he fly in to Rockhampton"? he asks, still lying prone on the floor. "No, he flew out" says Grant, "out of Rockhampton and out of the band!". "We tried to stay the night in a grainstore, drinking Liebfraumilch, but we got thrown out by the security guard. I found $50 on the floor to pay for a motel. Or was it $20?" Its great to see the two songwriters enjoying these memories so vividly, as if it happened last week.
By this time I'm feeling a bit guilty for not having involved the other two members of the band, Adele and Glenn, so I raise the subject of Cattle and Cane, one of the great songs of all time, and the fact that they didn't play it live for a while. "Its just a rhythm that no drummer ever learns" says Glenn. Its 11/12 or something apparantly. "But once you've cracked it its easy.." "He would say that, he's working on the latest intellectual puzzle in the Guardian" quips Robert. "Its called Suzuki.." "No, its called Sudoco - I've completed three, there's five more to go.." So this is how a true rock n' roll band leads its life..
I decide that its time I made myself scarce, but just as I'm about to go, Grant mentions that they are driving back to London tonight because they're playing live on the Jonathan Ross programme on Radio 2 tomorrow. I make a mental note to listen to the programme, then make my excuses and leave.
As I walk back towards the auditorium in the Academy, I feel exactly like I did the time I met Strummer and Jones backstage in Stoke - just like a little kid, full of excitement and extremely happy. Later that night the band plays an absolutely stunning set, possibly the best I've seen them since that time in Moles. The new songs sound great, and I can't wait to hear the album now. The next day I listen to the Jonathan Ross show where they do a great live version of "Finding You". I desperately wish the Go Betweens would get the success they undoubtedly deserve with this album, but in my heart of hearts I know that they're just too good to become a real household name in the world of popular music...
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