b. 29 June 1957, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. A member of the critically acclaimed Australian outfit the Go-Betweens, where he matched co-songwriter Grant McLennan's epic pop narrative with epic pop narrative, Forster launched his solo career in the early 90s following the initial break-up of the Go-Betweens in December 1989. Danger In The Past (1990) addressed the albatross-like history that the Go-Betweens gave Forster, though it also proved he retained the ability to convey genuine melancholia in his songwriting. Produced by Mick Harvey (of Nick Cave's Bad Seeds and Crime And The City Solution), it fared as well as all his previous Go-Betweens releases - achieving immediate critical acclaim but failing to sell in substantial quantities. The same fate befell the understated Calling From A Country Phone (1993) and Forster's offbeat collection of cover versions, I Had A New York Girlfriend (1994). For 1996's Warm Nights Forster chose to collaborate with the esteemed Scottish artist/producer Edwyn Collins. Promoted by the single "Cryin' Love', the album's highlights included a reprise of the Go-Betweens" "Rock 'N' Roll Friend" and a polka, "The Fortress".
This collection proved to be the last recorded output from Forster for several years, as he returned to live in Germany with his wife Karin Bäumler and concentrated on spending time with his young family. He reunited with McLennan on several occasions, using the Go-Betweens banner for a well-received series of live dates, which became a more permanent reunion with the release of a new studio album, 2000's The Friends Of Rachel Worth. Forster and McLennan cemented their renewed songwriting union with Bright Yellow Bright Orange (2003) and Oceans Apart (2005) before the latter's untimely death.
