Australian Crawl – the band who from 1979–1986 perfectly married the sounds of the summer and good times into musical form, celebrate the 35th anniversary of their first single Beautiful People with the January 24th 2014 release of a new career-spanning Greatest Hits collection.
Formed in 1978 on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula – Australian Crawl at the time of their debut album ‘The Boys Light Up’ in 1980 were Simon Binks (lead guitar), Bill McDonough (drums), James Reyne (vocals, piano), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar) and Paul Williams (bass). That album sold over 4× platinum and spawned the tracks Beautiful People, The Boys Light Up, Downhearted, Hoochie Gucci Fiorucci Mama and Indisposed.
It was followed up in 1981 with the ‘Sirocco’ recording which boasts the singles Things Don’t Seem, Unpublished Critics, Lakeside, Oh No Not You Again and of course Errol – the latter two singles featuring lead vocals by Guy McDonough who joined the band late in 1980. In 1982 the band issued its third album ‘Sons Of Beaches’. The album debuted at #1 yet again and spent five weeks atop the chart and achieved 2× Platinum. Singles from this album included Runaway Girls, Daughters Of The Northern Coast and Shutdown. In 1983 – the ‘Semantics’ EP was issued. Featuring the enduring single Reckless (Don’t Be So) – this track gave the band an ARIA #1 single in November that year.
The Australian Crawl catalogue boasts a nigh-unparalleled, cherished legacy among fans and critics. ‘The Boys Light Up’ was included in the Top 50 entries of the 2010 publication 100 Best Australian Albums. In 2001, Reckless (Don’t Be So) was included in APRA’s Top 30 Australian songs.
The cumulative total of eleven weeks at Number 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart places Australian Crawl equal fourth for most weeks at #1 for an Australian group – behind Skyhooks, The Seekers and Midnight Oil. The release of Australian Crawl The Greatest Hits represents a sentinel of further catalogue activity for the band in 2014. Fans of Australian Crawl will be pleased to hear Deluxe Editions of their albums are expected later in 2014; collecting archival material from deep within the band vaults for the very first time.