On The Air: Secondhand Furniture

The Go Betweens: Secondhand Furniture

[purchase]

   On an Autumn day in 1984, The Go Betweens appeared on John Peel's BBC radio show and performed four songs that would become available on an EP. They'd just completed Spring Hill Fair, their third album. Their single "Bachelor Kisses" was getting some airplay and the band was in terrific form--bouncy, edgy, tight. You can hear early Talking Heads and Gang of Four, I suppose, but the band's songwriters Grant McLennan and Robert Forster also approached lyrics with the humanity of  short story writers. In this song, a divorced man sees his old marriage bed in a secondhand furniture store. All four songs benefit from the stripped down production. It's not surprising to hear fans say, despite its 14 minute length, this is their favorite Go Betweens release.