Go-Betweens founder member Grant McLennan died this weekend after a suspected heart attack. He was at his home in Brisbane, Australia when he died.
McLennan and long time musical partner Robert Foster enjoyed both critical and commercial success as the Go-Betweens, with a dedicated fan base around the world. The band initially split in 1989, and in the nineties McLennan released four solo albums and recorded with the band Jack Frost, but in 2000 the Go-Betweens reunited, winning more acclaim and a new generation of fans.
Paying tribute to McLennan, the MD of EMI in Australia, John O'Donne, told reporters yesterday: "Grant deserved to be considered one of the greatest songwriters Australia has produced, and certainly the Forster-McLennan songwriting team is up there with very few others. The strength of their partnership helped them produce such a consistent body of work over such a long period of time. The fact that they only had five songs each on an album meant a song really had to justify its inclusion."
Foster has indicated that the Go-Betweens will not continue following McLennan's death.