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 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 4x 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. This album also attained 4x platinum accreditation and spent six weeks at #1 on the ARIA chart. This album boasts the singles Things Don’t Seem, Unpublished Critics, Lakeside, Oh No Not You Again and of course Errol – the latter two singles featuring lead vocals by Guy McDonough who joined the band late in 1980. ‘Sirocco’ spent eight months in the ARIA Top 20. ARIA’s 1981 Australian End of Year Album Charts has ‘Sirocco’ at #2 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 in that year.

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 2x 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 ‘Between A Rock And A Hard Place’ album followed in 1985, while two live albums ‘Phalanx’ and ‘The Final Wave’ showcased the live prowess of the band. Australian Crawl performed their final show in Perth on 1st February 1986. Australian Crawl was inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame in 1996. 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.