WHEN The Go-Betweens’ classic album 16 Lovers Lane came out in 1988,
David McCormack was starting out in Ipswich band Who’s Gerald?.
He and his old school mate from Ipswich Grammar School, Who’s Gerald? bass player Paul Medew, would go on to form Custard.
Five years after the release of 16 Lovers Lane, McCormack was recording with Go-Betweens singer-
songwriter Robert Forster along with Custard drummer Glynn Thompson, on Forster’s solo album Calling From A Country Phone and toured the album.
Thompson later became a member of The Go-Betweens when the band reformed in 2000.
McCormack was an obvious choice when members looked for guest singers to perform the classic album with them in a special show to celebrate QPAC’s 40th anniversary.
“Being in Brisbane at that time, to hear a band referencing Brisbane was huge,” McCormack said.
“That Brisbane, striped sunlight sound was really empowering. They say you can’t be what you can’t see, so to see a band from Brisbane doing interesting stuff and getting exposure was really inspiring.”
Guitarist John Willsteed joined The Go-Betweens at the end of 1987 as the band returned to Australia from London and started recording 16 Lovers Lane early in 1988.
He was replacing bass player Robert Vickers but contributes guitar, Hammond organ and piano along with bass on the album.
“I just look at (the recording studio) as a place where you do stuff appropriate to the skills you have or the ideas you have,” Willsteed said.
“The producer (Mark Wallis) was really open to me playing more guitars.
“It was all about making things lush and beautiful.”
One of the standout moments on the album is Willsteed’s guitar solo on Streets Of Your Town, played on a nylon-string classical guitar.
“They are really beautiful songs and it is a gorgeous sounding album,” Willsteed said.
“(16 Lovers Lane) was really lush and the band was never that lush. The band was really different, sparser and more angular.
“That’s what doing this show at QPAC is really good for.
“With the extra players it is an opportunity to get closer, though without Robert and Grant (McLennan who passed away in 2006) there, to get closer to the sound of the album.”
Former Go-Betweens Lindy Morrison, Amanda Brown and John Willsteed perform 16 Lovers Lane with Dan Kelly, Danny Widdicombe and Luke Daniel Peacock and guest vocalists David McCormack, Patience Hodgson (The Grates), Darren Hanlon, Meg Washington, Ben Ely (Regurgitator), Jem Cassar-Daley, Seja Vogel and Eamon Sandwith (The Chats) at QPAC Concert Hall on September 26.
