Career
McGlashan has played a number of different instruments throughout his musical career. Some of his earliest instrumental work was with the French horn and percussion for the Auckland Symphonia. Working with From Scratch, from 1979, McGlashan played a number of more eclectic percussion instruments, such as PVC piping struck with jandals; the name of the group came from the fact that they produced their own instruments ''from scratch''. On Standards, the album he jointly produced with Ivan Zagni for Propeller Records in 1982, he is credited as playing bass guitar, horn, whistle, percussion, marimba and vocals. When asked what Instruments he plays he answered with "Well I don't play violin".
With Blam Blam Blam, McGlashan played drums and euphonium. He later picked up guitar duties for his work with The Front Lawn and The Mutton Birds. McGlashan has also collaborated with other New Zealand musicians, playing the euphonium in tracks by Dave Dobbyn (''It Dawned On Me''), Tim Finn and on Time On Earth, by Crowded House. He played live with Crowded House at Glastonbury 2008 and has been a regular member of the touring line-up throughout their 2008 world tour.
McGlashan played euphonium on the track ''Hole In My Head'' by Melbourne singer/songwriter Marjorie Cardwell, on her album ''In Another World'', released in 2012.
In 2008 McGlashan was angered that TVNZ had used a song performed by the Muttonbirds (Anchor Me) when the election results showed that the National Party had won the New Zealand elections. McGlashan stated that he "would rather have sex with a very ugly crayfish" than let the National Party use his music. The song had been used by TVNZ in terms of the Australasian Performing Right Association's blanket licence with TVNZ.
After the Standards project with Ivan Zagni, McGlashan's first solo album, entitled "Warm Hand", was released in May 2006.
In March 2009, the Marvellous Year album was released through Arch Hill Records. This album is the first to be credited to ''Don McGlashan & the Seven Sisters''. It includes a new version of the hit ''Bathe in the River'', this time with McGlashan on lead vocals.