Donald McGlashan is a New Zealand composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist who Is best known for membership in the bands Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, and The Mutton Birds, before going solo. He has also composed for cinema and television. Among other instruments, McGlashan has played guitar, drums, euphonium and French horn.
McGlashan at the Raglan Club in 2015
McGlashan playing the Euphonium in concert with the Mutton Birds, 2012
The Mutton Birds were a New Zealand rock music group formed in Auckland in 1991 by Ross Burge, David Long and Don McGlashan, with Alan Gregg joining a year later. Four of their albums reached the topĀ 10 on the New Zealand Albums Chart, The Mutton Birds (1992), Salty (1994), Envy of Angels (1996) and Rain, Steam and Speed (1999). They had a number-one hit with "The Heater" (1994), while their two other topĀ 10 singles were a cover of "Nature" by the Fourmyula (1992), and an original, "Anchor Me" (1994). From 1996 to 2000 the group were based in England; they returned to New Zealand and then disbanded in 2002.
The Mutton Birds performing at Bar Bodega, Wellington, 2012