Australian Crawl discography

Last updated
Australian Crawl discography
Studio albums4
Live albums3
Compilation albums7
Video albums3
EPs1
Singles17

Australian Crawl was an Australian surf / pop rock band. The band released four studio albums, three live albums, six compilations, seventeen singles, one extended play, and three video albums. These include releases credited to Australian Crawl, Australian Crawl and James Reyne (but not his solo material), and 'Members of Australian Crawl'.

Contents

Formation and line-up

The band was founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano), his younger brother David Reyne (drums), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams (bass guitar) and Simon Binks (lead guitar) in 1978. [1] [2] David Reyne left in 1979 and was replaced by Bill McDonough (drums, percussion), [3] and in October 1980 the band was joined by his younger brother Guy McDonough (vocals, rhythm guitar). [3] [4] In 1979, Australian Crawl recorded their first single, "Beautiful People", produced by Little River Band's guitarist David Briggs. [3] Briggs helped them gain a recording contract with EMI Records; [1] he also produced their debut album The Boys Light Up in 1980, [3] [5] which peaked at number four on the Australian Kent Music Report album charts and remained on the charts for 101 consecutive weeks from 1981 to 1982. [6]

The band's second album, Sirocco , was released in 1981 and achieved number one on the albums charts. [3] [6] On the 1981 Australian End of Year Album Charts, Sirocco is number two, behind Double Fantasy by John Lennon and ahead of AC/DC's Back in Black , making it the best-charting album by an Australian act for the year. [6] [7] [8] Their third album, Sons of Beaches , was released in 1982; it also reached number one. [6] Bill McDonough left before they recorded their extended play, Semantics , in 1983, [3] [6] which achieved number one on the Kent Music Report singles chart. [1] [6] Bill McDonough was replaced on drums, temporarily by Graham Bidstrup and permanently by John Watson. [1] [3] Semantics contained the track "Reckless (Don't Be So)", which is described as a number one-single in Music Australia's profile on James Reyne. [4] [8] [9] The live album Phalanx was a stop-gap measure between studio albums; nevertheless, it reached number four on the albums charts during December 1983. [1] In early 1984, the band signed with Geffen Records for international release of their material. [1]

In 1984, the band released the best of their early material as a compilation titled Crawl File , [4] which peaked at number two on the albums charts. [6] Geffen released Semantics, internationally, as a long play album with six newly re-recorded tracks compiled from their first three studio albums. [10] Promotion of the album and the subsequent tour was stalled when Guy McDonough died in June of viral pneumonia. [1] [2] Before Guy's death, he had recorded demos with his brother Bill McDonough, and ex-members of their earlier band, The Flatheads. [3] [11] Bill McDonough assembled the tapes and produced Guy McDonough's posthumous album My Place on Wheatley Records in April 1985. [1] [11] [12] Tracks from these sessions were re-mastered and released on Lost & Found in 1996, credited under the 'Members of Australian Crawl' name. [13] Meanwhile, remaining Australian Crawl members had recorded their fourth studio album, Between a Rock and a Hard Place , which was released in 1985 and achieved number 11 on the albums charts. This was followed by the announcement that they would disband after another tour. [1] The live album, The Final Wave recorded their performance on 27 January 1986; [1] it was released in October and peaked at number 16 on the albums charts. [6]

Australian Crawl were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame on 30 September 1996. [14] Two weeks later, on 13 October 1996, Robinson died of lymphoma. [1] [14] [15] After Lost & Found, another compilation was released, More Wharf: Their Greatest Hits in 1998. [3] This was followed by the compilation Reckless: 1979–1995 , released in 2000 and credited to Australian Crawl and James Reyne. This was followed by the compilation Australian Crawl and James Reyne: The Definitive Collection, released in 2002. [3]

Albums

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart
positions		 Certifications
AUS
[6] 		NZ
[16]
The Boys Light Up
  • Released: April 1980
  • Label: EMI (EMX102)
  • Format: LP
414
Sirocco
  • Released: July 1981
  • Label: EMI (EMX108)
  • Format: LP
1—
  • ARIA: 4× Platinum [1]
Sons of Beaches
  • Released: July 1982
  • Label: EMI (EMI 3423)
  • Format: LP
129
  • ARIA: 2× Platinum [1]
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
  • Released: July 1985
  • Label: EMI, Freestyle (SFL1-0134)
  • Format: LP
11—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart and/or did not receive certification.

Live albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart
positions
AUS
[6] [17] 		NZ
[16]
Phalanx
  • Released: December 1983
  • Label: EMI (EMI P-4000)
  • Format: LP
413
The Final Wave
  • Released: September 1986
  • Label: EMI, Freestyle (SFL1-0142)
  • Format: LP
16—
Live at Billboard 1981
  • Released: 1 July 2020 [18] [19]
  • Label: Australian Crawl, Black Box, MGM Distribution
  • Format: CD (limited), DD, streaming
——
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Compilation albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart
positions		 Certifications
AUS
[6] [17]
Semantics [nb 1]
  • Released: 1983
  • Label: Geffen (GHS 4028)
  • Format: LP
—
Crawl File
  • Released: November 1984
  • Label: EMI (EMC245)
  • Format: CD, LP
2
Lost & Found [nb 2]
  • Released: 1996
  • Label: EMI, Global (GRCD 0001)
  • Format: CD
—
More Wharf: Greatest Hits
  • Released: 16 October 1998
  • Label: Virgin, EMI (EMI 4973272)
  • Format: CD
—
Reckless: 1979–1995 [nb 3]
  • Released: 26 May 2000
  • Label: EMI, Raven (RVCD-83)
  • Format: CD
—
The Definitive Collection [nb 3]
  • Released: 14 October 2002
  • Label: EMI (5423512)
  • Format: 2CD
—
The Greatest Hits
  • Released: 24 January 2014
  • Label: Universal (3766933)
  • Format: CD
4
  • ARIA: Platinum [20]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Video albums

List of video albums, with selected details
TitleVideo details
The Crawl Video File
  • Released: 1985 [21]
  • Label: EMI
  • Format: VHS
More Wharf: Their Greatest Video Hits
  • Released: 9 November 1998 [22] [23]
  • Label: EMI 152302 (EMIVIDEO)
  • Format: VHS
Australian Crawl and James Reyne: The Definitive Collection [nb 4]

Extended plays

List of EPs, with selected chart positions and certifications
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart
positions		Certifications
AUS
[6]
Semantics [nb 1]
  • Released: 10 October 1983
  • Label: EMI (BUG-3)
  • Format: 12" vinyl
1

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
YearTitlePeak chart positionsAlbum
AUS
[6] 		NZ
1979"Beautiful People"22—The Boys Light Up
1980"The Boys Light Up"22—
"Downhearted"1225
1981"Things Don't Seem"11—Sirocco
"Errol"18—
"Oh No Not You Again"58—
1982"Shut Down"17—Sons of Beaches
"Daughters of the Northern Coast"76—
"Runaway Girls"88—
"Santa Claus Is Back in Town" [nb 6] [27] ——Non-album single
1983"Reckless (Don't Be So)" [nb 1] 18Semantics EP
1984"Louie Louie"81—Phalanx
"Unpublished Critics"——Crawl File
1985"Two Can Play"44—Between a Rock and a Hard Place
"If This Is Love"87—
"Trouble Spot Rock"69—
1986"Two Hearts"——
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Other appearances

YearSong contributedAlbum
1982"Six Days on the Road" (Dave Dudley cover)Rocking Australia Live [28]
"Unpublished Critics" (live version)Rocking Australia Live [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Crawl</span> Australian rock band

Australian Crawl were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne, Brad Robinson, Paul Williams (bass), Simon Binks and David Reyne (drums) in Melbourne in 1978. David Reyne soon left and was replaced by Bill McDonough. They were later joined by his brother Guy McDonough. The band was named after the front crawl swimming style also known as the Australian crawl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Reyne</span> Musical artist

James Michael Nugent Reyne OAM is an Australian musician. He achieved fame as the lead singer of Australian Crawl, and subsequently went on to a successful solo career.

<i>Sirocco</i> (album) 1981 studio album by Australian Crawl

Sirocco is the second album from Australian rock band Australian Crawl. It was released in July 1981 and on 3 August, it topped the Australian charts where it remained for six weeks, the band's first of two albums to hit #1. It was released a year after their successful debut The Boys Light Up which had reached #4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Binks</span> Australian rock musician

Simon John Binks is an Australian rock musician who was a guitarist and singer-songwriter for Australian Crawl from founding in 1978 to disbanding in 1986.

Guy Gillis McDonough was an Australian rock musician best known for rhythm guitar and singer-songwriter with the iconic band Australian Crawl. He provided rhythm guitar and lead vocals on two of their well-known songs, "Oh No Not You Again" and "Errol". McDonough's solo 1985 release, My Place, was produced by his brother, Bill McDonough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oh No Not You Again</span> 1981 single by Australian Crawl

"Oh No, Not You Again" is the third single by Australian rock band Australian Crawl from their 1981 studio album Sirocco. The song was written and sung by Guy McDonough, the band's rhythm guitarist, and was about "two young lovers who lived on the coast" whose relationship is disrupted by the man spending his nights "out on the town". It was produced by Peter Dawkins.

<i>Sons of Beaches</i> 1982 studio album by Australian Crawl

Sons of Beaches is the third studio album from Australian rock band Australian Crawl, released in July 1982. It became the band's second #1 in the Australian albums charts. The album was recorded in Hawaii with ex-pat Mike Chapman, who had also produced Blondie and The Knack.

<i>The Boys Light Up</i> 1980 studio album by Australian Crawl

The Boys Light Up is the debut album from Australian pub rock band Australian Crawl, which was released in 1980 and contains the title track, "The Boys Light Up", "Indisposed", "Downhearted" and their previously released debut single "Beautiful People". The album reached #4 on the Australian album charts and remained in the charts for an unbroken 101 weeks, eventually selling over 280 000 copies.

<i>Semantics</i> (album) 1983 EP by Australian Crawl

Semantics was a 1983 EP by Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl. The album marked a change in the line-up of the band as Bill McDonough (drums) was replaced first by Graham Bidstrup to record the EP. The more permanent replacement, after the EP, was John Watson.

<i>Phalanx</i> (album) 1983 live album by Australian Crawl

Phalanx is the first live album released by Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl. It was recorded live at concerts at Bombay Rock Gold Coast, Queensland and at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in October, 1983, during the 'Semantics' tour. The album was initially released on vinyl in December 1983 and was re-released on CD in May 1995. The album reached #4 on the National Album Charts being released by EMI.

<i>The Final Wave</i> 1986 live album by Australian Crawl

The Final Wave is the second live album released by Australian rock band Australian Crawl. It is a recording of the band's final Melbourne concert on 27 January 1986. The album reached #16 on the Australian album charts upon its release.

<i>More Wharf</i> 1998 compilation album by Australian Crawl

More Wharf: Greatest Hits is a compilation album of songs by Australian rock band Australian Crawl taken from their four studio albums and their EP, Semantics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Errol (song)</span> 1981 single by Australian Crawl

"Errol" is the second single by Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl taken from their 1981 album Sirocco. The song was written by James Reyne and Guy McDonough and sung by McDonough instead of Reyne, and is a lyrical biography about Australian-born actor Errol Flynn. It was produced by Peter Dawkins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downhearted</span> 1980 single by Australian Crawl

"Downhearted" is the third single released by Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl from their debut album The Boys Light Up. The song was written by Sean Higgins, Guy McDonough and Bill McDonough. All three songwriters had been bandmates in the Flatheads, but at the time only Bill McDonough was a member of Australian Crawl. It was produced by David Briggs.

Bradford Leigh Robinson was an Australian rock musician best known as lead and rhythm guitarist with the 1980s band Australian Crawl. He had a later career as a manager for musicians and sports personalities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reckless (Australian Crawl song)</span> 1983 single by Australian Crawl

"Reckless" (aka "Reckless (Don't Be So)", "Reckless (Don't You Be So)", "She Don't Like That") is a 1983 song from the EP Semantics by Australian band Australian Crawl. The song showed a change in the line up of the band as drummer Bill McDonough was temporarily replaced by Graham Bidstrup (also on keyboards). After the EP was released, Bidstrup was replaced by John Watson (drums).

<i>Reckless: 1979–1995</i> 2000 compilation album by Australian Crawl / James Reyne

Reckless: 1979–1995 is a compilation album of songs by Australian rock band Australian Crawl and the band's lead singer, James Reyne, from his solo career. It was released in May 2000 by Raven Records, and included a twelve-page colour booklet with extensive liner notes and various images.

"Things Don't Seem" is the first single by Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl from their 1981 album Sirocco. It was produced by Peter Dawkins The song features one of the band's most complex pieces of lead guitar work, thanks to the skills of guitarist Simon Binks.

<i>Live in Rio</i> (James Reyne album) 1996 live album by James Reyne

Live in Rio is a 2-disc live album by Australian singer songwriter James Reyne. The album was recorded live in Circo Voador, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in May 1995.

<i>And the Horse You Rode in On</i> 2005 studio album by James Reyne

And the Horse You Rode in On is the seventh solo studio album by Australian singer/songwriter James Reyne released on 14 March 2005. It's an acoustic recording of songs taken from his earlier solo work and Australian Crawl songs. It includes two new tracks. Later digital editions renamed this album as Greatest Hits Acoustic.

References

General

Specific

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Australian Crawl'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop . St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN   1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
  2. 1 2 Nimmervoll, Ed. "Australian Crawl". Howlspace – The Living History of Our Music (Ed Nimmervoll). Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Australian Crawl". Australian Rock Database . Magnus Holmgren. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mureika, Tomas. "Australian Crawl > Biography". Allmusic. Macrovision. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  5. ↑ "The Boys Light Up". Microsoft. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian singles and albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  7. ↑ Angus Cameron, ed. (1986). The Second Australian almanac : an 800-page databank crammed with essential information for every Australian. North Ryde, NSW: Angus & Robertson. p. 345. ISBN   0-207-15232-2.
  8. 1 2 3 St. John, Ed (1986). The Final Wave (Media notes). Australian Crawl. Sydney, NSW: EMI.
  9. 1 2 "James Reyne". Music Australia . National Library of Australia. 3 April 2007. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  10. ↑ Schnee, Stephen SPAZ. "Semantics > Overview". Allmusic. Macrovision. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Guy McDonough". Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Archived from the original on 19 March 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  12. 1 2 "Obscure 80's/MFV Archive". New Wave Outpost. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  13. 1 2 3 "Lost & Found album insert". James Reyne Official website. Archived from the original on 27 July 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  14. 1 2 "1996: 10th Annual ARIA Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  15. ↑ Petkovski, Suzi (December 1996). "Master Blaster". Australian Tennis Magazine. Archived from the original on 2009-10-20. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  16. 1 2 Steffen Hung. "Australian Crawl - Downhearted". charts.nz. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  17. 1 2 "Discography Australian Crawl". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 24 April 2009. NOTE: Information supplied by ARIA shows that Australian Crawl has no Top 50 charting albums or singles since they started their charts in mid-1988.
  18. ↑ "ARCA Desk Tape Series". Support Act. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  19. ↑ "Live at Billboard 1981 (DD)". Apple Music. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  20. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2019 Albums". ARIA. November 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  21. ↑ "Crawl Video File, The". Office of Film and Literature Classification (Australia) . Australian Federal Government . Retrieved 2009-05-26.[ dead link ]
  22. ↑ "Catalogue Details - Australian Crawl, Greatest Hits and More Wharf". State Reference Library of Western Australia. Retrieved 2009-05-26.[ permanent dead link ]
  23. ↑ "Australian Crawl - Greatest Hits and More Wharf". Office of Film and Literature Classification (Australia) . Australian Federal Government . Retrieved 2009-05-26.[ dead link ]
  24. ↑ "Archived Australasian Releases: May 2004". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
  25. ↑ "The Definitive Collection - Australian Crawl". Office of Film and Literature Classification (Australia) . Australian Federal Government . Retrieved 2009-05-26.[ dead link ]
  26. ↑ "International Dateline" (PDF). Cash Box . 25 February 1984. p. 18. Retrieved 8 December 2021– via World Radio History.
  27. ↑ "single cover of "Santa Claus is Back in Town"". Rate Your Music.com. Retrieved 2009-05-26.[ dead link ]
  28. 1 2 "Rocking Australia Live". Rate Your Music . Retrieved 29 April 2009.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Semantics was released as a four-track EP in 1983 in Australia. [3] It peaked at number 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report singles chart - there was no separate EP chart. [6] The track, "Reckless (Don't Be So)", was the main one played on radio stations. [1] Some sources describe "Reckless" as a number 1 single. [4] [8] [9] Semantics was released by Geffen Records as a ten-track LP in 1984 for the international markets, by the addition of six re-recorded tracks from their first three studio albums. [1]
  2. ↑ Lost & Found is credited to 'Members of Australian Crawl'. [3] [13] Seven tracks on this album had originally appeared on Australian Crawl's guitarist and songwriter Guy McDonough's posthumously released solo album, My Place in 1985. [3] [11] [13] Both My Place and Lost & Found were produced by Bill McDonough (ex-Australian Crawl drummer and percussionist), Guy's older brother. [1] [11] [12]
  3. 1 2 Reckless: 1979–1995 and Australian Crawl and James Reyne: The Definitive Collection are credited to both Australian Crawl and to James Reyne. [3] They contain material from Australian Crawl's performances, and James Reyne's subsequent solo performances. [3]
  4. ↑ Australian Crawl and James Reyne: The Definitive Collection was a 2 disc DVD; the first disc featured 15 video clips of Australian Crawl songs, two live appearances, two television appearances and a number of extras including a rare recorded performance by Spiff Rouch (the earliest incarnation of Australian Crawl). The second disc features videos and live recordings of James Reyne, as a solo artist.
  5. ↑ The DVD was pulled from shelves by the distributor shortly after its release.
  6. ↑ "Santa Claus is Back in Town" was originally released as a B-side to "Runaway Girls" in December, 1982 but was also released as a separate single.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.