Friday, 23rd of July 2010 at 19:00

£8

Don McGlashan is one of New Zealand's favorite songwriters, both at
home- with five entries in APRA's "NZ's Top 100 Songs Of All Time", and abroad - the Mutton Birds album "Envy Of Angels" made the UK Sunday Times top ten list when it was released in 1997.

His first band, Blam Blam Blam, had a string of top 20 singles in the early eighties and a No. 4 album. Don's song "Don't Fight it, Marsha, It's Bigger Than Both Of Us" won Song of the Year in the 1982 NZ Recording Industry Awards.

After a year in New York as a drummer with avant-garde dance company Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians, he returned to New Zealand and founded the music/theatre duo "The Front Lawn" with Harry Sinclair. The Front Lawn toured Australasia, Europe and America from 1985-90, picking up many awards and rave reviews, including being called "a superb duo" by New York Times music critic Jon Pareles.

During the four years that The Mutton Birds lived in London, McGlashan's songs traveled well, even ending up in novels by best-selling Scottish writers Ian Rankin and Christopher Brookmyre. After the release of the band's fourth album "Rain, Steam & Speed", he was hailed by The Sunday Times as "one of Britain's most intelligent, poetic songwriters".

Since then he has recorded two solo albums, 'Warm Hand' and 'Marvellous Year' (Arch Hill Records), collaborated with other New Zealand musicians, playing the euphonium in tracks by Dave Dobbyn ('It Dawned On Me'), Tim Finn and on Time On Earth, by Crowded House. He also played live with Crowded House at Glastonbury 2008 and has been a regular member of the touring line-up throughout their 2008 world tour.

Websites: http://www.myspace.com/donmcglashan