The Go-Betweens’ Beggars Banquet albums return to vinyl for first time in three decades

The trio of albums were recorded during what is often called the band’s London years. The Go-Betweens had already built a reputation on Rough Trade with Before Hollywood, their sophomore album from 93, but it was on Beggars Banquet that Robert Forster and Grant McLennan’s songwriting went to the next level, balancing Forster’s dark romanticism with McLennan’s melodic pop instincts. Drummer Lindy Morrison, who co-produced Liberty Belle with the band, says, “We produced this ourselves and it’s got the best songs, and I think every single song is a classic.”

The third studio album in the reissue series, 16 Lovers Lane, arrived in 1988 after the band had decamped back to Sydney. It yielded the sunlit single “Streets of Your Town” and a run of ten love songs that Forster later described as “the perfect combination between London melancholy and Sydney sunshine.” By that point, the line-up had shifted, with John Willsteed joining on bass and guitar, but the dual songwriting at the centre remained constant.

Capturing the group between Tallulah and 16 Lovers Lane, Fountains of Youth documents a one-off performance at London’s Town and Country Club in May 1987. Recorded onto 24-track, two-inch analogue tape from a mobile truck parked by the stage door, it’s deliberately atypical. “What you are hearing is not a typical Go-Betweens show,” Forster explains. “Given this opportunity to catalogue over four sides of vinyl, we took a more adventurous course regarding ‘the set’. What we have is not only a one-off recording, but a one-off show. And some of the best moments come from our wild intent.”

Formed in Brisbane in 1978 by Forster and McLennan – two university students bonded over mid-sixties Dylan and New York punk – The Go-Betweens remain a touchstone for generations of indie songwriters. A bridge in their hometown now carries their name. And these reissues make three of their most celebrated records more accessible than ever.