Robert Forster (musician)
Encyclopedia
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
. He met McLennan in drama classes at the University of Queensland
and, inspired by a mutual love of Bob Dylan
and the New York music scene, formed the Go-Betweens.
In addition to his work with the Go-Betweens, he has released five solo albums:
Danger in the Past
, recorded in Berlin in 1990;
Calling from a Country Phone
, recorded at Sunshine Studios, Brisbane, in 1993 with members of local pop group Custard
;
I Had a New York Girlfriend
, a collection of cover versions recorded in Melbourne in 1994;
Warm Nights
, recorded in London in 1996 and produced by Edwyn Collins
; and The Evangelist
, recorded (all but one track - "A Place to Hide Away") at Good Luck Studios, London, September - November 2007 with long time collaborators Adele Pickvance and Glenn Thompson
.
Critically acclaimed internationally as a songwriter, he reveals a strong literary influence in his work. He became, through his work with McLennan and the Go-Betweens, one of a group of Brisbane musicians who established a particular Brisbane sound characterised by laid-back, jangly arrangements.
In 2005, Forster began writing for the Australian magazine, The Monthly
. He had virtually no print experience, with only a column on hair care for a fanzine in the 1980s to his credit. On 25 October 2006, it was announced that Forster was the winner of the Pascall Prize
for Critical Writing for his columns.
On 6 May 2006, Grant McLennan died in his sleep at his home in Brisbane. Forster picked three songs co-written by Grant McLennan, including "Demon Days", which is the last song the pair wrote together, and recorded them alongside some of his own material to produce his first album in 11 years. The Evangelist was released on April 26, 2008 through Yep Roc Records
.
Forster announced his return to live performance with four nights at the Queensland Music Festival
in July 2007.
Grant McLennan
Grant William McLennan was an Australian singer-songwriter with the alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, which he co-founded with Robert Forster in Brisbane, Australia in 1977...
, with whom he co-founded 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,...
.
Forster grew up 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...
attending Brisbane Grammar School
Brisbane Grammar School
Brisbane Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
. He met McLennan in drama classes 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...
and, inspired by a mutual love of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and the New York music scene, formed the Go-Betweens.
In addition to his work with the Go-Betweens, he has released five solo albums:
Danger in the Past
Danger in the Past
Danger in the Past is the debut solo album by Robert Forster, formerly of the Go-Betweens.-Side one:# "Baby Stones" – 4:07# "The River People" – 3:25# "Leave Here Satisfied" – 4:59# "Heart Out to Tender" – 4:14# "Is This What You Call Change" – 2:38...
, recorded in Berlin in 1990;
Calling from a Country Phone
Calling from a Country Phone
Calling from a Country Phone is the second album by Robert Forster.-Side one:#"Atlanta Lie Low" – 3:13#"121" – 3:28#"The Circle" – 3:45#"Falling Star" – 4:05#"I Want to Be Quiet" – 3:34-Side two:#"Cat's Life" – 3:52#"Girl to a World" – 4:18...
, recorded at Sunshine Studios, Brisbane, in 1993 with members of local pop group Custard
Custard (band)
-Overview:The band were originally known as Custard Gun and featured David McCormack on vocals and guitar, Paul Medew on bass, James Straker on guitar and Shane Brunn on drums. After a few shows and line up changes Custard Gun morphed into Custard...
;
I Had a New York Girlfriend
I Had a New York Girlfriend
I Had a New York Girlfriend is the third album by Robert Forster. It consists of cover versions.-Side one:# "Nature's Way" – 2:25# "Broken Hearted People" – 3:47# "Echo Beach" – 2:53...
, a collection of cover versions recorded in Melbourne in 1994;
Warm Nights
Warm Nights
Warm Nights is the fourth album by Robert Forster. It was released on LP and CD by Beggars Banquet in 1996.-Side one:#"I Can Do" – 3:00#"Warm Nights" – 4:25#"Cryin' Love" – 5:28#"Snake Skin Lady" – 3:35#"Loneliness" – 3:21-Side two:...
, recorded in London in 1996 and produced by Edwyn Collins
Edwyn Collins
Edwyn Stephen Collins is an Ivor Novello Award winning Scottish musician, playing mostly electric guitar-driven pop. Collins formed the musical group Nu-Sonics in 1976, which later became Orange Juice...
; and The Evangelist
The Evangelist
The Evangelist is the fifth album by Robert Forster. It was released by YepRoc in 2008.-Track listing:#"If It Rains" – 3:47#"Demon Days" – 3:40#"Pandanus" – 3:59#"Did She Overtake You" – 3:24#"The Evangelist" – 4:30...
, recorded (all but one track - "A Place to Hide Away") at Good Luck Studios, London, September - November 2007 with long time collaborators Adele Pickvance and Glenn Thompson
Glenn Thompson (musician)
Glenn Thompson was born in Albury NSW Australia in 1964. He is a musician who first came to prominence in Brisbane QLD playing in the popular local bands Madam Bones Brothel with Pearly Black and John Rodgers, and COW with Robert Moore and David McCormack. Thompson played drums with Robert Forster...
.
Critically acclaimed internationally as a songwriter, he reveals a strong literary influence in his work. He became, through his work with McLennan and the Go-Betweens, one of a group of Brisbane musicians who established a particular Brisbane sound characterised by laid-back, jangly arrangements.
In 2005, Forster began writing for the Australian magazine, The Monthly
The Monthly
The Monthly is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer Morry Schwartz...
. He had virtually no print experience, with only a column on hair care for a fanzine in the 1980s to his credit. On 25 October 2006, it was announced that Forster was the winner of the Pascall Prize
Pascall Prize
The Pascall Prize: Australian 'Critic of the Year is an annual Australian award for critical writing and review, awarded to a critic whose work over the previous 12 to 18 months has contributed significantly to public appreciation, enjoyment and understanding of the area or areas of the arts in...
for Critical Writing for his columns.
On 6 May 2006, Grant McLennan died in his sleep at his home in Brisbane. Forster picked three songs co-written by Grant McLennan, including "Demon Days", which is the last song the pair wrote together, and recorded them alongside some of his own material to produce his first album in 11 years. The Evangelist was released on April 26, 2008 through Yep Roc Records
Yep Roc Records
Yep Roc Records is an independent International record label based in Haw River, North Carolina and owned by Redeye Distribution . The label has put out albums by artists like The Go-Betweens, The Fleshtones, Gang of Four, The Reverend Horton Heat, and The Minus 5, as well as the work of important...
.
Forster announced his return to live performance with four nights at the Queensland Music Festival
Queensland Music Festival
The Queensland Music Festival is a series of musical events staged in a number of locations in Queensland, Australia usually around late July, every second year. It is financially supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and a wide range of other partners...
in July 2007.
Solo
- Danger in the PastDanger in the PastDanger in the Past is the debut solo album by Robert Forster, formerly of the Go-Betweens.-Side one:# "Baby Stones" – 4:07# "The River People" – 3:25# "Leave Here Satisfied" – 4:59# "Heart Out to Tender" – 4:14# "Is This What You Call Change" – 2:38...
(1990) - Calling from a Country PhoneCalling from a Country PhoneCalling from a Country Phone is the second album by Robert Forster.-Side one:#"Atlanta Lie Low" – 3:13#"121" – 3:28#"The Circle" – 3:45#"Falling Star" – 4:05#"I Want to Be Quiet" – 3:34-Side two:#"Cat's Life" – 3:52#"Girl to a World" – 4:18...
(1993) - I Had a New York GirlfriendI Had a New York GirlfriendI Had a New York Girlfriend is the third album by Robert Forster. It consists of cover versions.-Side one:# "Nature's Way" – 2:25# "Broken Hearted People" – 3:47# "Echo Beach" – 2:53...
(1995) - Warm NightsWarm NightsWarm Nights is the fourth album by Robert Forster. It was released on LP and CD by Beggars Banquet in 1996.-Side one:#"I Can Do" – 3:00#"Warm Nights" – 4:25#"Cryin' Love" – 5:28#"Snake Skin Lady" – 3:35#"Loneliness" – 3:21-Side two:...
(1996) - Songs for the Young at HeartSongs for the Young at HeartSongs for the Young at Heart is a children's music album put together by Stuart A. Staples and Dave Boulter, both from the band Tindersticks...
(2007) - contributed Uncle Sigmund's Clockwork Storybook - The EvangelistThe EvangelistThe Evangelist is the fifth album by Robert Forster. It was released by YepRoc in 2008.-Track listing:#"If It Rains" – 3:47#"Demon Days" – 3:40#"Pandanus" – 3:59#"Did She Overtake You" – 3:24#"The Evangelist" – 4:30...
(2008)
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)
Writing
- "The Exford Dregs," The MonthlyThe MonthlyThe Monthly is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer Morry Schwartz...
, 11, April 2006 - "A True Hipster," The MonthlyThe MonthlyThe Monthly is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer Morry Schwartz...
, 14, July 2006 - "Modern Times and Times Before That," The MonthlyThe MonthlyThe Monthly is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer Morry Schwartz...
, 17, October 2006 - "The Coronation of Normie Rowe," MeanjinMeanjinMeanjin is an Australian literary journal. The name - pronounced Mee-AN-jin - is derived from an Aboriginal word for the land where the city Brisbane is located.It was founded in December 1940, in Brisbane, by Clem Christesen...
, volume 65, number 3, 2006, pp. 48–52. - "Love Goes to a Building on Fire," The MonthlyThe MonthlyThe Monthly is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer Morry Schwartz...
, 21, March 2007, pp. 58–60.
Further reading
- David Nichols (2003). The Go-Betweens. Puncture Publications. ISBN 1-891241-16-8
External links
- www.robertforster.net Robert Forster website
- www.go-betweens.net Go-Betweens Website
- www.myspace.com/gobetweensmusic Go-Betweens Myspace page