I’m feeling very proud to be from Brisbane today.

It was announced by the Brisbane City Council that the new link from Hale Street in Brisbane (that’s the street next to Lang Park for the football fans) to West End in South Brisbane will be named after out very own Go Betweens.

I feel proud because Brisbane has come ahead in leaps and bounds in acknowledging their cultural heritage. The Go-Betweens, The Saints and others had to leave Brisbane for Sydney (and latter London) to further their career. The late 70’s and early 80’s in Brisbane were ruled by a peanut farmer from Kingaroy names Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Brisbane was an oppressive society. A group of three people in one place at the same time constituted an illegal assembly so you could imagine how difficult it was for musical artists with punk leanings to actually be able to play live shows.

Fast forward some thirty years and we now have a bridge named “The Go Between Bridge” acknowledging the artistic success of Robert Forster and the late Grant McLennan and their influence on music in Queensland. Now that’s progress!