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6 unusual facts about John Willsteed


John Willsteed

As a musician, he is best known as a member of the iconic Brisbane band The Go-Betweens, in which he played bass guitar from 1987–1989, most notably on the album 16 Lovers Lane.

He has worked on a number of Australian features - including Angst and The Rage In Placid Lake – and over 60 television documentaries and short films.

Willsteed has won three Australian Film Institute Awards for Sound Design (Vietnam Nurses, The Beat Manifesto and Rare Chicken Rescue).

As a sound designer he won Australian Film Institute awards for his work on The Beat Manifesto (1996), Vietnam Nurses (2005, as composer) and Rare Chicken Rescue (2008).

In 1978, and with little formal musical training, John became a member of Brisbane feminist punk group Zero (later Xiro) after a chance meeting with drummer Lindy Morrison and Brisbane visual artist Gary Warner.

Streets of Your Town

Featuring polished production, a prominent backing vocal by Amanda Brown and a guitar solo by bassist John Willsteed, "Streets of Your Town" is one of the band's most recognised songs and is arguably the closest the group had to a mainstream hit.



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