Grant McLennan: The Australian singer-songwriter Grant McLennan, who has died aged 48, would have recognised the irony of his own death - while taking an afternoon nap prior to holding a party - because his keen, literate songs always observed the nuances and mysteries of life.
McLennan was half of his country's most critically acclaimed rock group, the Go-Betweens. With his songwriting partner Robert Forster, he pioneered a strong, subtle musical style that was lauded by critics and a discerning public.
McLennan was born in Rockhampton, Queensland. His father, a doctor, died when he was four, and after his mother married a rancher the family moved to a ranch in Cairns. Its isolation helped feed McLennan's passion for books and music; he would later write about the surrounding environment in such acclaimed songs as Cattle and Cane. He met Forster when they were both studying at Queensland University. Finding they shared an enthusiasm for the burgeoning punk movement, they formed the Go-Betweens.
After producing two singles on their own label, they moved to Glasgow with drummer Lindy Morrison, recording a single for hip independent label Postcard Records. They returned to Australia in 1981 for their debut album, Send Me a Lullaby, which was championed by John Peel and won positive reviews in the British music press.
Encouraged, the band moved to London.
Their literate, bookish songs and refusal to play by the cliches meant the Go-Betweens nurtured a fervent cult audience, releasing a great series of albums: Before Hollywood (1983), Spring Hill Fair (1984), Liberty Belle & the Black Diamond Express (1986), Tallulah (1987) and 16 Lovers Lane (1988). By the end of the 1980s, internal and romantic tensions split them up; McLennan returned to Brisbane, where he released two albums with Australian guitarist Steve Kilbey as Jack Frost, and four solo albums - the most acclaimed being the double CD Horsebreaker Star (1995). By 2000 both McLennan and Forster realised that their destiny lay as Go-Betweens, and they reunited, signing to London's Lo-Max Records.
This proved an astute move because the label focused on promoting the band and their back catalogue, thus winning a whole new audience. The new albums - The Friends of Rachel Worth (2000), Bright Yellow Bright Orange (2003) and Oceans Apart (2005) - found the Go-Betweens attracting not only critical acclaim but larger audiences than in their original incarnation. At home they were recognised as two of Australian music's most distinctive voices; in the UK, Belle and Sebastian and Teenage Fanclub championed their influence.
In 2004, the Barbican theatre in London hosted a Go-Betweens' day, with archive footage showing in the cinema as the band played on stage with a string section. Last year's Oceans Apart album made many annual best-album lists - the Guardian awarded it five stars, and noted that "the air of two lavishly talented writers on rare form, confidently challenging each other to greater heights is inescapable". The group was also awarded an Australian Grammy, an Aria.
Those who knew McLennan remember a man of fine humour, dapper tailoring and gentlemanly manners. "His enthusiasm for making music and the craft of songwriting was infectious," said Bernard MacMahon, of Lo-Max Records. "Such an urbane, witty man, the opposite of the Crocodile Dundee cliche."
McLennan was apparently at his happiest in recent months; he had a new house and a new relationship with Emma. The party he was hosting was to celebrate both. He is survived by his mother, sister and brother.
Grant McLennan, singer-songwriter, born February 12th 1958; died May 6th, 2006.