The Go-Betweens - "Cattle and Cane" To "Streets of Your Town"

"Cattle and Cane" To "Streets of Your Town"

The Go-Betweens returned to UK and recorded their second album, Before Hollywood (May 1983), with John Brand producing, at the International Christian Communications studio in Eastbourne. It established them as cult favourites while "Cattle and Cane" was released as a single and was "rguably the band's absolute highlight of its earliest years". In Australia the song had exposure on the national broadcaster, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), pop music TV series, Countdown. Their tracks were played on ABC's alternative rock radio station Triple J—although mainly heard in the Sydney region at that time. Despite the consistent critical acclaim their recordings garnered both in Australia and overseas, The Go-Betweens were mostly ignored by Australian commercial pop radio and never gained a broad national audience. Before Hollywood was described as "more world-weary full of deceptively simple yet accomplished songs".

Robert Vickers joined on bass guitar in late 1983—freeing McLennan for lead guitar work. Their next album Spring Hill Fair (September 1984) was produced by Brand with Robert Andrews and Colin Fairley, for Sire Records. The album was acclaimed as "the sound was bolder and more confident", while "Man O' Sand to Girl O' Sea", "Bachelor Kisses" and "Part Company" were issued as singles. In 1985, the band signed with True Tone Records distributed by Polygram.

Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, released in March 1986 on Beggars Banquet Records, received favourable reviews, and showed the band gradually moving towards a smoother and more contemporary sound, while retaining elements of their idiosyncratic early style. McFarlane claims " remains the band's most cohesive and finely crafted statement". "Spring Rain" (February) and "Head Full of Steam" (June) were released as singles with "Spring Rain" reaching the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart Top 100.

Amanda Brown on violin, oboe, guitar, keyboards and backing vocals joined later in the year. Within a few months, Brown and McLennan were lovers—many of McLennan's new lyrics were about this relationship. Tallulah (June 1987), produced by The Go-Betweens for True Tone and Beggars Banquet contained their "most winsome and hummable songs, `Right Here' and `Bye Bye Pride'"; while Brown's contributions "added extra lustre". LO-MAX Records released a 2× CD version of Tallulah in 2004, one of the additional tracks, "Doo Wop in 'A' (Bam Boom)" was co-written by Morrison, Brown, McLennan and Forster. In November 1987, The Go-Betweens returned to Australia and John Willsteed (ex-Xero with Morrison) replaced Vickers on bass.

16 Lovers Lane (1988), was the group's most commercial offering, providing the alternative radio hit "Streets of Your Town" (1988), which became the band's biggest chart hit in both the UK and Australia peaking in the Top 100. The follow-up single "Was There Anything I Could Do?" was a No. 16 hit on US Modern Rock radio stations, and Beggars Banquet, trying to encourage the band's commercial momentum re-released "Streets Of Your Town" in the UK in early 1989, where it charted low once again. These minimal successes were hardly the hoped-for commercial breakthrough for the band, and after recording six albums, Forster and McLennan disbanded The Go-Betweens in December 1989. McLennan and Brown had separated as a couple earlier and both Forster and McLennan pursued solo careers. Brown and Morrison formed Cleopatra Wong in 1991. All official albums published in the 1980s have titles with a double L word, except 16 Lovers Lane, which has two words beginning with an L.