James Reyne Awaits 2024 Crawl File Tour

MARKING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF GREATEST HITS ALBUM, CRAWL FILE

As announced last month, James Reyne is dipping back into the Crawl File, hitting the roadto celebrate the 40th anniversary of Australian Crawl’s first greatest hits collection.

In a move sure to satisfy ardent fans, he unveils a further 12 dates, running from the end of March right through to July and including locations in NSW, TAS, WA and QLD.

To coincide with the tour, Crawl Filehas being reissued on vinyl by Universal Music, access HERE.

Crawl File plays like a classic gig, opening with the band’s debut single, ‘Beautiful People’, and closing with their most popular live song, ‘The Boys Light Up’. In between are some of the most-loved Australian songs of all time, including ‘Reckless’, ‘Errol’, ‘Oh No Not You Again’, ‘Lakeside’, ‘Downhearted’ and ‘Things Don’t Seem’.

As one fan noted, “I can put on this album and almost feel the sea spray and the late summer nights.”

Just a snippet of any song is enough to take you back: “The garden’s full of furniture, the house is full of plants … Had an experience bizarre … I would give everything just to be like him … Let me tell you ’bout two young lovers that lived on the coast … All them summer rubbernecks kept coming to panel-van the street … Broken dreams that never really started … Things justa don’t seema to be going right … She don’t like that kind of behaviour … Hopes are up for trousers down … The garden it is dorsetted, that lady she’s so corseted.”

The wordplay is magical; the songs are unforgettable. What a sing-song dance, what a performance. Rah-rah, hey!

Fun fact: Crawl File’s distinctive artwork was co-designed by Buster Stiggs, who had been the drummer in The Swingers and Models.

Crawl File was the biggest Australian best-of of 1984, hitting #2 on the charts (kept out of top spot by the year’s biggest compilation, Choose 1985, which spent nine weeks at #1).

The best-of capped a bittersweet year for James Reyne and Australian Crawl. The band sponsored 1984’s Bells Beach Surf Classic, James won a Logie for Most Popular New Talent following his starring role in the hit mini-series Return To Eden, Australian Crawl won Most Popular Group at the Countdown Rock Awards, but then the band was rocked by the death of Guy McDonough and a planned US tour was cancelled.

James Reyne is an artist who doesn’t live in the past. But occasionally he pays it a visit.

“It was all a long time ago,” James reflects, “and sometimes I feel like it was another person who lived that life. 

“But I’m still making music and I’m still on the road. Australian Crawl was a great apprenticeship.”

Catch James Reyne with an 8 piece band – guitarists Brett Kingman and Josh Owen, bassist Andy McIvor, with Sean Johnson on keys, drummer John Watson (who was part of Australian Crawl with James) and backing singers Melinda Jackson and Nicky Kurta– with a further announcement of new dates to come.

CRAWL FILE 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR – 2024

JANUARY

Sat 6               Kingscliff Beach Hotel NSW

Sun 7              Miami Marketta, Gold Coast Qld

Sun 14            Torquay Hotel Vic 

Mon 15            Torquay Hotel Vic 

Thurs 25          Prince Of Wales Hotel, Melbourne Vic 

Sat 27              Prince Of Wales Hotel, Melbourne Vic 

FEBRUARY

Fri 9                 Penrith Panthers NSW 

Sat 10             Selinas, Sydney NSW with Baby Animals 

Fri 23               Princess Theatre, Brisbane Qld 

Saturday 24    Princess Theatre, Brisbane Qld 

MARCH

Fri 8                 The Gov, Adelaide SA 

Sat 9               The Gov, Adelaide, SA 

Sat 23             Northcote Theatre, Vic

APRIL 

Fri 12               Sunken Monkey, Erina NSW

Sat 13             Toronto Hotel, NSW 

Sat 27             Forth Pub, TAS

Sun 28            Longley Hotel, TAS 

MAY 

Fri 10               Dee Why RSL, NSW 

Sat 11             Anita’s Theatre, Thirroul NSW 

Fri 24               Club Corowa, NSW 

Sat 25             SS&A Albury, NSW

JUNE

Fri 7                 The Charles, North Perth WA 

Sat 8               The Charles, North Perth WA 

JULY 

Fri 19               Moncrieff Entertainment Centre, Bundaberg, QLD 

Sat 20             Brolga Theatre, Maryborough, QLD