23 June 2023 - 0 Comments

The latest release in Bloomsbury Publishing's new 33 1/3 Oceania series is Matthew Bannister's The Front Lawn's Songs From The Front Lawn.

The Front Lawn was a multi-award-winning and much-loved New Zealand duo-turned-trio made up of Don McGlashan, Harry Sinclair and, eventually, Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand. All three have continued with exceptional artistic careers in the years since (and before) The Front Lawn.

A 1980's variety act, The Front Lawn was part of an Aotearoa/New Zealand alternative tradition of duos that combine music, comedy, theatre and film. Their debut album Songs From The Front Lawn (1989) distilled McGlashan and Sinclair's stage shows and groundbreaking short films – Walkshort and The Lounge Bar – while also thrusting the band into the burgeoning New Zealand indie music scene.

The Songs From The Front Lawn album is a snapshot of 80's New Zealand, a turbulent, creative period for indie music, film and musical theatre, celebrating local identity in new ways.

In the book Matthew Bannister, himself a songwriter, interviews McGlashan, Sinclair and Ward-Lealand to uncover the stories behind each song on the album, and analyses each track's musical inspiration. He also describes the group's origins, and what became of the group after this record.

Find out more about the book here

What are The Front Lawn trio doing right now?

Don McGlashan is about to tour his most recent album Bright November Morning in August/September.

Harry Sinclair is a director, most recently of the children's series Kiri and Lou.

Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand is currently performing in the Auckland Theatre Company's season of King Lear.

Songs From The Front Lawn is set for release on June 29th.

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