On this page:- websites  - articles books (not online) band members worked with movies awards mailing lists feathered variety

The Mutton Birds

Mutton Bird Pages

Web sites:-

• The Mutton Birds own site is no longer online. It is archived here, though most of the images are missing.
  • note it was http://www.muttonbirds.co.nz/
  • NOT http://www.muttonbirds.com/ which is an anonymous 'finance' search site.
• Pete & Shel's Mutton Bird site, which includes a two-part interview Don did for Radio New Zealand's "Musical Chairs" programme in April, 1998. Also lyrics, reviews etc.
• A Religion of a Kind - Spencer Bayles' site.  Lots of magazine and newspaper articles and reviews, music - rare audio.
• muttonbirdsandbeyond: YouTube "Primary video resource for fans of The Mutton Birds and associated artists - Don McGlashan, Alan Gregg (Marshmallow), David Long, The Front Lawn, Blam Blam Blam etc."
• Mr. Sneeze's Mutton Bird pages - UK and NZ discography, (NZ more up to date than old Kiwi Rock site) lyrics, reviews etc.
• The Mutton Birds (Howlspace: Music from Australia & NZ)
• The Mutton Birds (Australian Rock Database)

• On this site:-
  • Mutton Birds timeline - releases in date order (where possible), concert dates etc.
  • Mutton Bird releases - alphabetical order, by title
  • Don McGlashan - music, movies, tv, short films, dance
  • Don't Fight It Marsha was originally a Blam Blam Blam song.
  • The Mutton Birds sometimes sing Front Lawn songs
  • Photos I took in the UK
  • Tickets and advertisements for shows from the UK - in no particular order.
  • Name index

Articles etc.

• Flying west to a cooler climate 17th July, 1997, Vol. 2 #30, FFWD Weekly (Calgary News and Entertainment)
• New Zealand Herald articles:-
  • The Don of Song By Russell Baillie, 22nd May, 1999 - ten Mutton Bird/Front Lawn/Blam Blam Blam songs
  • The Mutton Birds: Rain, Steam and Speed Reviewed by Russell Baillie, 29th May, 1999
  • A special day in the life of the city By Bronwyn Sell - [Auckland] City Mission's annual Christmas dinner, 26th December, 1999
  • Rockers Go Back to School  By Rebecca Walsh, 28th March, 2000
  • Mutton Bird follows the band - Don commissioned to write a feature piece for a CD by the Waitakere City Brass Band, 3rd July, 2000
  • Mutton Birds British tour, 2000
    • Mutton Bird up in the air By Don McGlashan, 18th November, 2000
    • Cocoon breaks open after night caught in the storm By Don McGlashan, 25th November, 2000
      • Edinburgh - Ian Rankin tells Don the title of his novel, The Falls, is taken from the Mutton Bird song The Falls.
    • Up Over: It's the grand old puke from York By Don McGlashan, 9th December, 2000
    • Up Over: Brighton rocks towards finale By Don McGlashan, 16th December, 2000
  • Chatterbox: Author a glutton for mutton - Ian Rankin and The Falls, 19th May 2001
  • Muttonbird wins $30,000 arts award, 22nd October, 2002
  • Flock of swansongs from the Mutton Birds, by Russell Baillie, 30th November, 2002
  • Chatterbox: It's the Blam rock revival, 19th April, 2003
• Rain, Steam and Speed by JMW Turner at the National Gallery, London.
  
  
• For the record - dead links:-
  • Sept 1995 short interview Musicwest, Canada:
    • http://www.musicwest.com/index.html
  • Kiwi Rock:- The Mutton Birds biography; The Mutton Birds discography, NZ to 1996.- site no longer available, Jan 2000. According to Netlink the owner did not renew his subscription.
  • Interview "Bucketfull of Brains" - included origins of White Valiant, A Thing Well Made. 1997:
    • http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~spacedog/Bucketfull/issue48/mutton.htm
  • The Mutton Birds - Highway One:
    • http://www.gofree.co.uk/home/muttonbirds/ - 'not found' 12th May 2002
  • Real Groove Interview - How they came to record "Don't Fear The Reaper" - November 1996:
    • http://www.realgroove.xtra.co.nz/45-1196/mutton-birds.html
  • Mutton dressed as lamb:
    • http://members.tripod.com/kerzo/index.html - discontinued 17th June, 2002
  • Virgin:- The Raft: The Mutton Birds - Nature:
    • http://raft.vmg.co.uk/muttonbirds.html - no mention of the Mutton Birds in Virgin's list of artists, 12th March, 2003.

Books with relevant articles

• Bannister, Matthew, Positively George Street - a personal history of Sneaky Feelings and the Dunedin Sound, Reed, 1999. ISBN 0-7900-0704-5
  • Foreword by Don McGlashan, who played frying pan on 'Now' and euphonium on 'It's So Easy'
  • Ross Burge was in the final line-up of Sneaky Feelings, went on their second European tour 1988.
  • Photo of Alan Gregg in the Dribbling Darts of Love, 1992.
• Chunn, Mike and Jeremy, The Mechanics of Popular Music - A New Zealand Perspective, GP Publications, 1995. ISBN 1-86956-130-9
  • Inside the front cover of this book is an advertisement for NZ On Air which includes a photo from a Mutton Bird video: Nature.
• Dix, John, Stranded In Paradise, New Zealand Rock and Roll 1955 to the Modern Era, 2nd edition, Penguin, 2005. ISBN 0-14-301953-8
  • Brief mention, p 284
• Eggleton, David, Ready To Fly, The Story of New Zealand Rock Music, Craig Potton Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-877333-06-9
  • Chapter 13, Dominion Road, has three pages on the Mutton Birds.
• Spittle, Gordon, Counting The Beat, A History of New Zealand Song, GP Publications, 1997. ISBN 1-86956-213-5
  • Words/chords for Dominion Road; "Postcards with drawn curtains" - Don McGlashan, summary of his career, talks about his songwriting.

Band Members

• Matthew Bannister (1999) - guitar
• Ross Burge (1991- ) - drums, autoharp, shakers, tambourine
• Andrew Claridge (2000) - guitar
• Tony Fisher - (c1999) guitar, vocals, bass
• Alan Gregg - (1991-99,  2001) bass, vocals, keyboards
  • Marshmallow
  • The Desert Downtown
    • at MySpace
    • at Reason2b
• David Long  (1991-6, 1998, 2001) - lead guitar, vocals, keyboards, banjo
  • David Long (IMDb)
  • David Long (Mana Music)
• Don McGlashan (1991-) - vocals, euphonium, guitars, melodica, e-bow, shaker, tambourine
  • Official site
• Chris Sheehan (aka Chris Starling) (1996-8) - lead guitar, bass
  • Currently in Spain

Mutton Birds - worked/toured with

• Billy Bragg, UK, April 1997
• Sheryl Crow, Canada/US, July, August, 1997, "Another Roadside Attraction" tour
• Paul (Emlyn) Crowther former Split Enz drummer:-
  • Front of house mix, The Gluepot, Auckland, 3rd October, 1992
  • Sound, Armadale, Melbourne, Australia, 22nd May, 1997
• Dave Dobbyn
  • August/September, 1994 - Dave Dobbyn recorded Twist in Auckland.
    • Don McGlashan played euphonium on It Dawned On Me
    • Alan Gregg, bass; Ross Burge, drums on nine tracks.
• Jane Dodd - Anchor Me, Queen's English - backing vocals
• Neil Finn - additional production on "In My Room" (There are different versions on NZ and Aus singles.)
• Tim Finn - toured with, 1999.
• Jan Hellriegel - Nature - backing vocalist, appears in video.
• Caroline Lavelle - Envy Of Angels - cello
• David Mitchell - Jackie's Song, Rain, Steam and Speed
• Ron Sexsmith
  • Canada/US, July/August, 1997,Another Roadside Attraction '97 - Ron Sexsmith
  • Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, 7th November, 1996, double bill with Ron Sexsmith
• Tragically Hip, Canada/US, July/August, 1997, "Another Roadside Attraction" tour
  • Tragically Hip 1997 tour dates

Mutton Bird Movies/TV

• Cinema of Unease (UK/NZ 1995)
• Cosi (Aus 1996)
• Frighteners, The (NZ/US 1996)
• Good Guys, Bad Guys (TV) (1997)
• Mr. Reliable (Aus 1996)
• Perfect Strangers (NZ 2003)

Awards

1993 New Zealand Music Awards:
Winner: Album of the Year: The Mutton Birds - The Mutton Birds
Winner: Single of the Year: The Mutton Birds - Nature
Winner: Best Group: The Mutton Birds

1994 APRA Silver Scroll
Don McGlashan - Anchor Me

2003 New Zealand Music Awards:
Winner: Best Cover Design: Campbell Hooper-Johnson - 'Flock: The Best Of The Mutton Birds'

Mailing lists

Mutton Birds (Yahoo Groups)

Mutton Birds - The Feathered Variety

Mutton Bird (Short-tailed Shearwater) (Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service) page has photo of a Mutton Bird and a Shockwave map showing Mutton Birds migrating around the Pacific.

Page compiled by carolyn
Last updated 16th May, 2008.