Drummer Lindy Morrison joined the band in 1980, and its lineup would later expand to include bass guitarist Robert Vickers and multi-instrumentalist Amanda Brown.

[2] The band made its first public appearance as the support act for The Numbers at Baroona Hall in Brisbane in early April 1978.

The group's first real drummer was Temucin "Tim" Mustafa, recruited after the recording of "Lee Remick", although he appears on the picture sleeve of the single.

[2][3][4] The band's second single, "People Say", which was recorded in May 1979, was produced by The Go-Betweens with Mustapha on drums and Malcolm Kelly on piano and organ.

[2] From May 1978 to May 1979, the group recorded some tracks live in Forster's bedroom using McLennan's two-track tape deck—they were not released until 1999 as 78 'Til 79 – The Lost Album, which also includes both sides of the first two singles.

[2] In Glasgow, Scotland, on 28 April 1980, for independent label Postcard, they recorded their next single, "I Need Two Heads", with Steven Daly of Scottish band Orange Juice guesting on drums and Alex Fergusson producing.

In November 1980 the band played their first Sydney show at the Paris Theatre, supporting The Birthday Party and the Laughing Clowns.

[8] The band's first official album, Send Me a Lullaby, produced by The Go-Betweens and Tony Cohen, on Missing Link in Australia, was released as an eight-track mini-album in November 1981.

[9] The group had developed a subtler sound consisting of dry semi-spoken vocals, complex lyrics and melodic but fractious guitar pop influenced by contemporary bands such as Television, Wire and Talking Heads.

[3][6] In 2002, UK label Circus released a 2× CD version of Send Me a Lullaby which included "After the Fireworks" recorded as a collaboration with The Birthday Party's Nick Cave on vocals, Mick Harvey on piano and Rowland S. Howard on guitar.

[12] The Go-Betweens returned to the UK and recorded their second album, Before Hollywood (May 1983), with John Brand producing,[6] at the International Christian Communications studio in Eastbourne.

[2] It established them as cult favourites while "Cattle and Cane" was released as a single and was "[a]rguably the band's absolute highlight of its earliest years".

Despite the consistent critical acclaim their recordings garnered both in Australia and overseas, The Go-Betweens were mostly ignored by Australian commercial pop radio and never gained a broad national audience.

[2] Their next album, Spring Hill Fair (September 1984), was produced by Brand with Robert Andrews and Colin Fairley for Sire Records.

[6] The album was acclaimed as "the sound was bolder and more confident", while "Man O' Sand to Girl O' Sea", "Bachelor Kisses" and "Part Company" were issued as singles.

[3][6] Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, released in March 1986 on Beggars Banquet Records, received favourable reviews, and it showed the band gradually moving towards a smoother and more contemporary sound while retaining elements of their idiosyncratic early style.

[3] LO-MAX Records released a 2× CD version of Tallulah in 2004, one of the additional tracks, "Doo Wop in 'A' (Bam Boom)" was co-written by Morrison, Brown, McLennan and Forster.

16 Lovers Lane (1988), was the group's most commercial offering, providing the alternative radio hit "Streets of Your Town" (1988), which entered the chart singles both the UK and Australia peaking in the Top 100 but not higher than the number 80.

16 hit on US alternative Modern Rock radio stations, and Beggars Banquet, trying to encourage the band's commercial momentum re-released "Streets of Your Town" in the UK in early 1989, where it charted low once again.

This line up of Forster, McLennan, Pickvance and Thompson went on to record Bright Yellow Bright Orange and in October 2005, The Go-Betweens finally achieved mainstream recognition, with the album Oceans Apart (produced by Mark Wallis and Dave Ruffy) winning the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album.

[22] The focal point of The Go-Betweens was the song writing skills of Forster and McLennan, described by The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau as "the greatest songwriting partnership working today."

Without ever securing an Australian or UK Top 50 chart single—a fact which mystified their supporters in the press, to the point where this "scandalous" lack of popular success became a cliché when writing about the band.

In May 2001 "Cattle and Cane", written by McLennan and Forster,[23] was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time.

[26] On the eve of the first anniversary of McLennan's death, Triple J & JTV broadcast a tribute concert to The Go-Betweens, recorded in 2006 at Brisbane venue, the Tivoli Theatre.

[29] Many Australian bands and artists associated with the dolewave genre cite the Go-Betweens as a major influence, including Dick Diver and singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett.