Australian Crawl form. The band plays its first gig in October.

Lineup:

James Reyne (lead vocals, piano, harmonica)
Simon Binks (guitar)
Brad Robinson (guitar)
Paul Williams (bass)
David Reyne (drums)

David Reyne leaves the band and is replaced by Bill McDonough.

Australian Crawl release their debut single, ‘Beautiful People’ (written by James Reyne & Mark Hudson).

Australian Crawl release their debut album, The Boys Light Up. Produced by LRB’s David Briggs, the album stays in the charts for two years, peaks at number four, and goes four-times platinum.

Lineup:

James Reyne (lead vocals, harmonica)
Simon Binks (guitar, backing vocals)
Brad Robinson (guitar, backing vocals)
Paul Williams (bass, backing vocals)
Bill McDonough (drums, percussion, backing vocals)

The album features three singles: ‘Beautiful People’ (written by James Reyne & Mark Hudson), ‘The Boys Light Up’ (written by James Reyne) and ‘Downhearted’ (written by Sean Higgins, Guy McDonough & Bill McDonough).

Guitarist and singer Guy McDonough joins Australian Crawl.

James Reyne wins Most Popular Male Performer at the Countdown Rock Awards.

Australian Crawl’s second album, Sirocco – named after Errol Flynn’s yacht – is the band’s first number one album, spending six weeks on top. Produced by Peter Dawkins, three singles are released: ‘Things Don’t Seem’ (written by Guy McDonough & Sean Higgins), ‘Errol’ (written by James Reyne & Guy McDonough) and ‘Oh No Not You Again’ (written by Guy McDonough).

Lineup:

James Reyne (lead vocals, piano)
Guy McDonough (lead vocals on three tracks, guitar)
Simon Binks (lead guitar)
Brad Robinson (guitar)
Paul Williams (bass)
Bill McDonough (drums, percussion)

Australian Crawl win Most Popular Group at the Countdown Rock Awards, while James Reyne wins Most Popular Male Performer for the second year running.

Australian Crawl’s third album, Sons of Beaches, becomes the band’s second number one album, spending five weeks on top. Produced by Mike Chapman, the album features three singles: ‘Shut Down’ (written by Bill McDonough), ‘Daughters Of The Northern Coast’ (written by James Reyne & Guy McDonough) and ‘Runaway Girls’ (written by Guy McDonough).

Lineup:

James Reyne (lead vocals)
Guy McDonough (lead vocals on three tracks)
Simon Binks (lead guitar)
Brad Robinson (guitar)
Paul Williams (bass)
Bill McDonough (drums, percussion, backing vocals)

Bill McDonough leaves the band.

Release of the Semantics EP featuring ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne). Produced by Mark Opitz, the EP goes to number one, the band’s biggest hit single.

Lineup:

James Reyne (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar)
Guy McDonough (vocals, guitar)
Simon Binks (lead guitar)
Brad Robinson (guitar, keyboards)
Paul Williams (bass)
Graham “Buzz” Bidstrup (drums, keyboards)

The band also re-records six songs for the international release of the Semantics album – ‘The Boys Light Up’ (written by James Reyne), ‘Errol’ (written by James Reyne & Guy McDonough), ‘Indisposed’ (written by Brad Robinson, James Robinson, James Reyne & Bill McDonough), ‘Lakeside’ (written by James Reyne), ‘Things Don’t Seem’ (written by Guy McDonough & Sean Higgins) and ‘Unpublished Critics’ (written by James Reyne & Paul Williams).

Drummer John Watson joins the band.

Australian Crawl release their first live album, Phalanx, featuring a cover of ‘Louie Louie’. The album reaches number four.

Lineup:

James Reyne (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, harmonica)
Guy McDonough (lead vocals one track, guitar)
Simon Binks (lead guitar)
Brad Robinson (guitar)
Paul Williams (bass)
John Watson (drums)

Australian Crawl tour the UK with Duran Duran, where Geffen Records release Phalanx as Australian Crawl: Live.

Australian Crawl sponsor the Bells Beach Surf Classic. It’s the Rip Curl/Australian Crawl Bells Beach Surf Classic.

James Reyne wins a Logie for Most Popular New Talent at the TV Week Logie Awards.

Australian Crawl win Most Popular Group at the Countdown Rock Awards.

Guy McDonough dies of viral pneumonia, and the band cancels a planned US tour.

The first Australian Crawl best-of, Crawl File, is released and peaks at number two.

James Reyne and Brad Robinson help organise the EAT Concert, at Melbourne’s Myer Music Bowl, which raises money for East African famine relief.

Paul Williams leaves the band.

Australian Crawl play at the Oz For Africa concert – part of Live Aid – performing ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne), ‘Two Can Play’ (written by James Reyne & Simon Hussey) and ‘The Boys Light Up’ (written by James Reyne).

Australian Crawl release their final studio album, Between A Rock And A Hard Place, on the band’s own label, Freestyle Records. It peaks at number 11. Produced by Adam Kidron, the album features the singles ‘Two Can Play’ (written by James Reyne & Simon Hussey), ‘If This Is Love’ (written by James Reyne), ‘Trouble Spot Rock’ (written by James Reyne) and ‘Two Hearts’ (written by James Reyne & Simon Hussey).

Lineup:

James Reyne (lead vocals, guitar, marimba, harp, saxophone)
Simon Binks (lead guitar)
Brad Robinson (keyboards, clavinet, synthesizer)
John Watson (drums, timbales, marimba)

Additional musicians:
Harry Brus (bass)
Mark Greig (guitar)

Australian Crawl play their final Melbourne show, at the Myer Music Bowl on January 27. The band’s final show is at the Perth Entertainment Centre on February 1. A live album, The Final Wave, is released in October.

Lineup:

James Reyne (lead vocals, harmonica)
Simon Binks (lead guitar, backing vocals)
Brad Robinson (guitar, keyboards)
John Watson (drums)
Harry Brus (bass)
Mark Greig (guitar)

James Reyne premieres his debut solo single, ‘Fall Of Rome’, on the final Countdown.

James Reyne’s self-titled debut album is released. Produced by Davitt Sigerson, the album hits number four. It features a re-recording of an Australian Crawl song from Between A Rock And A Hard Place, ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ (written by James Reyne).

Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls cover ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne) for the Dumb Things EP.

James Reyne releases his third solo album, Electric Digger Dandy, his first for Virgin Records. Produced by Simon Hussey, the album peaks at number three. It features a new version of ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne).

Raven Records release a compilation album, Reckless: 1979-1995, gathering 11 songs from Australian Crawl and eight songs from James Reyne’s solo career.

To celebrate its 75th anniversary, the Australian songwriting association APRA releases a list of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time. ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne) comes in at number 19.

The Definitive Collection is released, featuring 19 Australian Crawl songs and 17 songs from James Reyne’s solo career.

Smash ’n’ Grab have a Top 40 hit with ‘She Don’t Like That’, a dance remix of ‘Reckless’.

James Reyne releases the Liberation Blue album …And The Horse You Rode In On, featuring acoustic re-workings of songs from his catalogue, including new versions of the Australian Crawl songs ‘Errol’ (written by James Reyne & Guy McDonough), ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne), ‘Oh No Not You Again’ (written by Guy McDonough) and ‘Downhearted’ (written by Sean Higgins, Guy McDonough & Bill McDonough).

Australian music critic Ed Nimmervoll writes that James Reyne’s voice is “as familiar to us as the taste of Vegemite, as essentially Australian”.

John Farnham covers ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne) and ‘Downhearted’ (written by Sean Higgins, Guy McDonough & Bill McDonough) for his album I Remember When I Was Young, The Great Australian Songbook.

James Reyne is part of the Countdown Spectacular tour, performing ‘Beautiful People’ (written by James Reyne & Mark Hudson), ‘Errol’ (written by James Reyne & Guy McDonough), ‘The Boys Light Up’ (written by James Reyne) and the solo single ‘Fall of Rome’.

James Reyne releases a second Liberation Blue album, Ghost Ships, featuring new versions of the Australian Crawl songs ‘Beautiful People’ (written by James Reyne & Mark Hudson), ‘Always The Way’ (written by James Reyne & Simon Hussey), and ‘The Boys Light Up’ (written by James Reyne).

James Reyne releases the live CD/DVD One Night In Melbourne. It features new live versions of the Australian Crawl songs ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne), ‘Errol’ (written by James Reyne & Guy McDonough), ‘Oh No Not You Again’ (written by Guy McDonough), ‘The Boys Light Up’ (written by James Reyne), ‘Beautiful People’ (written by James Reyne & Mark Hudson), ‘Downhearted’ (written by Sean Higgins, Guy McDonough & Bill McDonough) and ‘Daughters Of The Northern Coast’ (written by James Reyne & Guy McDonough).

Triple M does the Essential 2007 Countdown of Songs, with their listeners voting for the best 2007 songs of all time. The countdown features 11 Australian Crawl tracks: ‘Hoochie Gucci Fiorucci Mama’ (written by James Reyne & David Briggs, #1673), ‘Lakeside’ (written by James Reyne, #1354), ‘Indisposed’ (written by Brad Robinson, James Robinson, James Reyne & Bill McDonough, #956), ‘Downhearted’ (written by Sean Higgins, Guy McDonough & Bill McDonough, #728), ‘Oh No Not You Again’ (written by Guy McDonough, #587), ‘Shut Down’ (written by Bill McDonough, #415), ‘Things Don’t Seem’ (written by Guy McDonough & Sean Higgins, #371), ‘The Boys Light Up’ (written by James Reyne, #305), ‘Errol’ (written by James Reyne & Guy McDonough, #227), ‘Beautiful People’ (written by James Reyne & Mark Hudson, #153) and ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne, #39).

Author and music critic Craig Mathieson writes about the enduring appeal of ‘Reckless’ in his book Playlisted, calling it “as haunted and impervious an Australian classic as you will ever hear”. Mathieson writes that ‘Reckless’ is “the five minutes that is keeping Australian Crawl’s legacy alive, which is a compliment to the composition (penned by vocalist James Reyne) and a reminder of how tenuous the strands of shared cultural memory are. The song is Australian Crawl’s life-support system.”

Thirty years after it was released, Australian Crawl’s debut album, The Boys Light Up, is featured in the book The 100 Best Australian Albums by John O’Donnell, Toby Creswell and Craig Mathieson. “Australian Crawl would never have gone much beyond their living rooms on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula,” the authors stated, “had it not been for singer/songwriter James Reyne … a keen observer of human nature and a man with a vitriolic wit.”

Semantics producer Mark Opitz releases his autobiography Sophisto-punk. He writes: “No one else sings like James Reyne. He is unique, and you don’t want to lose that.”

James Reyne does the “Time Of My Life” tour with Daryl Braithwaite, Ross Wilson and Joe Camilleri. He performs the Australian Crawl songs ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne), ‘Errol’ (written by James Reyne & Guy McDonough) and ‘The Boys Light Up’ (written by James Reyne).

The Australian Crawl catalogue is released digitally for the first time, and a new Australian Crawl Greatest Hits album is released. It goes straight to number one on the iTunes chart. And it’s the week’s highest new entry on the ARIA charts, debuting at number four, to become Australian Crawl’s first Top 5 album in 30 years. Two Australian Crawl singles also re-enter the ARIA charts – ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne, #71) and ‘The Boys Light Up’ (written by James Reyne, #86).

James Reyne receives an Order of Australia Medal, recognising his work as the chairman of the Leukaemia Foundation, as well as his work with young artists.

James Reyne launches the “James Reyne Plays Australian Crawl” tour.

A new James Reyne double live album, All The Hits Live, is released, featuring solo hits and songs from every Australian Crawl album: ‘Daughters Of The Northern Coast’ (written by James Reyne & Guy McDonough), ‘Beautiful People’ (written by James Reyne & Mark Hudson), ‘Indisposed’ (written by Brad Robinson, James Robinson, James Reyne & Bill McDonough), ‘Lakeside’ (written by James Reyne), ‘Downhearted’ (written by Sean Higgins, Guy McDonough & Bill McDonough), ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne), ‘Hoochie Gucci Fiorucci Mama’ (written by James Reyne & David Briggs), ‘Always The Way’ (written by James Reyne & Simon Hussey), ‘La Califusa’ (written by James Reyne), ‘Unpublished Critics’ (written by James Reyne & Paul Williams), ‘Errol’ (written by James Reyne & Guy McDonough), ‘Oh No Not You Again’ (written by Guy McDonough), ‘Things Don’t Seem’ (written by Guy McDonough & Sean Higgins) and ‘The Boys Light Up’ (written by James Reyne).

James Reyne tours New Zealand.

The vinyl box set Australian Crawl – The Album Collection is released. The 7LP set includes the international version of the Semantics album.

American artist Ryan Adams tweets a link to ‘Reckless’ and exclaims, “HOLY CRAP – consider me obsessed.”

James Reyne does a national tour celebrating the 35th anniversary of ‘Reckless’.

James Reyne announces 2020’s “The Boys Light Up 40th Anniversary Tour”.

James Reyne and Mark Seymour are part of the Music From The Home Front concert, performing Australian Crawl’s ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne) and Hunters & Collectors’ ‘Throw Your Arms Around Me’. Both songs are later included on the Music From The Home Front album, which debuts at number one.

The Australian Road Crew Association releases Australian Crawl Live At Billboard 1981 as part of its Desk Tape Series raising money for Support Act’s Roadies Fund.

James Reyne is part of the Sounds Better Together concert at Mallacoota in Victoria. He is introduced by Kylie Minogue, who joins him on stage when he performs ‘The Boys Light Up’ (written by James Reyne).

Covid means “The Boys Light Up 40th Anniversary Tour” becomes “The Boys Light Up 41”.

James Reyne releases a new acoustic version of ‘Reckless’.

James Reyne announces the “Songs of Beaches” national tour, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Australian Crawl’s third album, Sons of Beaches.

James Reyne releases the live album Live In The Corner Hotel Front Bar. It features five Australian Crawl songs: ‘Beautiful People’ (written by James Reyne & Mark Hudson), ‘Downhearted’ (written by Sean Higgins, Guy McDonough & Bill McDonough), ‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne), ‘Oh No Not You Again’ (written by Guy McDonough) and ‘The Boys Light Up’ (written by James Reyne).

Bill McDonough releases the memoir Sons of Beaches, subtitled “family, fame and tragedy, the story of Australian Crawl’s McDonough brothers”.

James Reyne does the “Crawl File” tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Australian Crawl’s first greatest hits collection.

‘Reckless’ (written by James Reyne) comes in at number 39 in Triple J’s Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.
James Reyne – The Best is released on double vinyl for the first time.

James Reyne’s “Fall of Crawl” tour kicks off, marking 40 years since the end of Australian Crawl.