Don McGlashan needs little introduction in Aotearoa, and this honour celebrates not only the artist’s iconic songwriting and acclaimed work as a composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, but also his pivotal role as an advocate and leader in the Aotearoa music community. His career has wound its way through myriad avenues and collaborations, and his impact is undeniable across a broad spectrum of genres and musical spheres.
McGlashan started out playing French Horn and percussion in the Auckland Symphonia (now known as the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra). He then joined experimental ensemble From Scratch, and became the singing drummer in art-pop band Blam Blam Blam, before heading overseas where he ended up composing for dance ensembles in New York.
On his return he collaborated with several different people, including joining forces with Frank Stark, Geoff Chapple, Chris Knox, and Rick Bryant for ‘Don’t Go’ – a protest song against the proposed All Blacks tour of South Africa in 1985. Don then formed multi-media theatrical duo The Front Lawn with Harry Sinclair, combining narrative, music, and comedy in a truly memorable fashion. They toured extensively, and made several short films and two albums, and can be credited as an early forerunner to Flight of the Conchords.
Deciding he wanted to concentrate on music, in 1991 McGlashan went on to co-found The Mutton Birds, contributing many classic hits as their singer and main songwriter, including Auckland anthem ‘Dominion Road’. The group released 4 NZ top 10 albums and achieved multiple awards, including Album of the Year at the NZ Music Awards, and an APRA Silver Scroll Award in 1994 for ‘Anchor Me’.
At the same time Don began doing further work on film composing – namely An Angel At My Table, Dean Spanley, and No.2. They’ve become some of our most recognisable soundtracks, and No.2 spawned the remarkable hit song ‘Bathe In The River’ – written specifically for the film and the scene, sung by Hollie Smith, and forever cemented as one of Aotearoa’s great gospel-style anthems. It won Don a second Silver Scroll Award in 2006, and has become one of our biggest singles of all time. 14 years later, in 2020, the song was translated into te reo Māori as part of the Waiata Anthems TV series.
He has continued to punctuate our cultural landscape with wonderful work. From his solo albums, and collaborations, through his writing residencies (at the University of Auckland, and in Antarctica), his creative approach to touring, and his work on hit children’s animation show Kiri & Lou (written and directed by his old Front Lawn partner, Harry Sinclair). Don has also been a founding trustee and champion of New Zealand music industry charity MusicHelps, since 2011, and with his work as the writer director on the APRA board from 2010 to 2016, he has embodied the phrase ‘renaissance man’ (check out his amazing speeches at the awards in 2012, 2014, and 2015).
Don has released four solo albums: Warm Hand (2006), Marvellous Year (2009), Lucky Stars (2019), and Bright November Morning (2022). The latest record features his band The Others – Shayne P Carter, Chris O’Connor, and James Duncan along with guest appearances from Hollie Smith, Emily Fairlight, Anita Clark and The Beths. The album went straight into the top position on the Official New Zealand Music Charts, giving McGlashan his first No. 1 album.