We chat with Jeff Apter author of Reckless

Bestselling music writer Jeff Apter talks about Reckless, his poignant account of legendary group Australian Crawl.

A&U: What made you want to write about Australian Crawl?

JA: I’ve had a fascination in the band since 1979, when I first saw them play at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney opening up for Americans the Knack (of ‘My Sharona’ legend). What intrigued me at first was why the singer had plaster casts on his arms — was it a gimmick? It wasn’t, as I found out — James Reyne had broken both his wrists, but the show had to go on. I saw them play a lot subsequently and always thought they’d be strong material for a biography, especially when I learned that despite the band’s huge success, they fell apart in a messy, tragic and very costly fashion.

 A&U: What impact has the band had on Australian music?

JA: Well, let me put it this way: I can’t recall a day when I haven’t heard one of their songs — be it Errol or Downhearted or Reckless or Oh No Not You Again — as I drove in my car, browsed in a shop, walked through the mall, stopped for a coffee, walked the dog, etc. The band broke up 40 years ago, yet their music lives on, which is not necessarily something you can say about many of their peers. It’s a hell of a legacy. In fact, while writing this book, I heard a relatively obscure Oz Crawl song while using a public bathroom. It was almost as though their music was stalking me . . .

A&U: Was there anything you learnt during researching this book that surprised you?

JA: Oh absolutely. While I understood that the band had come undone badly, when they split up in early 1986, I had no idea of the emotional and financial toll that had taken on some of the band members, especially those who, unlike James Reyne, didn’t progress to a successful solo career. One former band member told me that discussing his role in the band, and its history, with me, brought on a feeling that he could only liken to PTSD. Clearly, it’s not all champagne and cocaine and supermodels when you’re in a hugely popular rock band; sometimes there’s a real physical and emotional grind involved.

A&U: What was your reaction to the news that Australian Crawl is reforming this year?

JA: I wasn’t surprised — there’s a lot of money in summer festivals and band reformations — but I was confused, because I know that the situation regarding the Australian Crawl name and trademark, which is currently owned by former drummer Bill McDonough, hasn’t yet been legally resolved. Personally, though, it rings a little hollow with me: two of the key members of the classic line-up, Brad Robinson and Guy McDonough, are dead, and, apart from James Reyne, only one member of that line-up, Simon Binks, is part of Oz Crawl 2026. I was lucky enough to see the band often in their prime, during the heyday of Oz Rock, and that to me is the best memory of all.

A&U: If you had to choose - what would be your favourite Australian Crawl song? And what do you think is an underrated gem?

JA: I’m a sucker for ballads, and I particularly like Downhearted and Oh No Not You Again: check out the lovely, melodic guitar work from Simon Binks. Very very classy. But I also think that Reckless, their only number one hit, is a stone-cold Aussie classic, right up there with Cold Chisel’s Flame Trees, the Triffids Wide Open Road and the Church’s Under the Milky Way. That song will still be heard everywhere in another 50 years — and to think that James Reyne wasn’t convinced that the band should record it when he brought the demo into the studio.

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Reckless

by Jeff Apter

The incredible inside story of the iconic band behind 'Reckless', 'Boys Light Up' and many more hits, by Australia's bestselling music biographer.

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