During the 80s, they released six albums of the most exquisite, guitar-led poetry. Songs that reflected both the wide spaces of their native land, and the easy betrayal of friends and lovers. Songs which delighted in their intricacy, in their subtle, deprecating insights into human relationships and suburban nostalgia. Songs which became more and more polished with every new release, as new members and instruments got added, but never lost sight of the basic humanity at the core. Those cruel bastard kids.
Time sometimes provides happy endings.
A new Go-Betweens album, the superbly laconic The Friends Of Rachel Worth, is shortly to appear. That's why the people here tonight are excited. When She Sang About Angels' with its memorable line about how Robert wished she'd 'sung about Tom Verlaine', not Kurt Cobain. Grant's almost wearily resonant 'The Clock' and a run-through of the classic 'Bye Bye Pride'. A solitary cheer comes from the audience.