The Mutton Birds | Artist

The Mutton Birds was a New Zealand rock band formed 1991 in Auckland by Don McGlashan (lead vocals, guitar, euphonium), Ross Burge (drums, autoharp), David Long (guitar, keyboards, vocals), and Alan Gregg (bass, keyboards, vocals) joined one year later in 1992. McGlashan was previously in post-punk band Blam Blam Blam, and Ross Burge was with indie-pop outfit Sneaky Feelings, along with Matthew Bannister (guitar, vocals) who would also join The Mutton Birds in later years. Four of their albums reached the top 10 on the New Zealand Albums Chart, plus they had success with number-one hits "The Heater" (1994), "Nature" (1992), and "Anchor Me" (1994). The band's four studio album releases are uniformly excellent: The Mutton Birds, Salty, Envy of Angels, and Rain, Steam and Speed. The 2002 compilation Flock: The Best of the Mutton Birds is a good collection of some of their best tunes. From 1996 to 2000 the group was based in England, then returned to New Zealand and disbanded in 2002. Since leaving the Mutton Birds, Don McGlashan has focused on film and TV soundtrack work. David Long also has become one of NZ's leading soundtrack artists, having worked on many of Peter Jackson's epic films.

Artist Website: donmcglashan.com

Featured Albums: The Mutton Birds

Related Artists: Sneaky Feelings, Don McGlashan, The Fourmyula, Blam Blam Blam

Video Clips: A Thing Well Made, Nature, Dominion Road