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'sBack 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
^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. ISBN0-207-15232-2.
^ ab"Discography Australian Crawl". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. 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.
^"International Dateline"(PDF). Cash Box. 25 February 1984. p. 18. Archived(PDF) from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via World Radio History.
^ abcSemantics 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]
^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]
^ abReckless: 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]
^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.
^The DVD was pulled from shelves by the distributor shortly after its release.
^"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.
