Australian Crawl - Boys Light Up/Way I've Been Reaction

[@yendor9078]

James Reyne's mother taught me at school. What a truly lovely lady. I remember she wasn't a fan of the record cover but I can't remember any controversy about this song. BLU. Fun fact. Before Australian Crawl, James and the boys had a kick arse blues band .

[@hanierfamily]

I guess it wasn't a huge thing. Anyway, if you want raw lyrics, that Ice Cube song was never going to make radio play ever.

[@trumpsta4759]

Errol and Beautiful People are my fave Aus Crawl tracks.

[@trumpsta4759]

Fall of Rome and Downhearted also good. Not many reactions on KZbin to Australian Crawl at all. You will be the first.

[@mightyV444]

@@trumpsta4759 - 'Errol' is also _my_ favourite song by them 😀👍 And I'd first heard 'Beautiful People' on this channel, a few months ago 😊

[@Nina-rj4nu]

I don't know why but the harmonica was used A LOT in the eighties in Oz.

[@darienfischer5758]

Yeah The Harp as we uses to call it was a sign of Bluesy style of Rock from the 80s I'm so glad I played in many bands in Adelaide back then drumming/singing. 😅

[@VolumeEleven]

I never thought about it before, but with a bit of maturity and hindsite, I can see that ''Boys'' is not the best Australian Crawl song. There were a few cute numbers on their first album, but the real stuff begins with the Sirocco. Maybe this channel would like to check out ''Beautiful People''. The singer performed the song on Countdown with his arms in plaster after a car knocked into him. He wrote about the accident in a song called ''Indisposed''. Cold Chisel captured the working class, fairly bleak side of Australia in the early 80's. Australian Crawl were the encapsulation of the good life in Australia if you born in the right place, right time, right amount of money.

[@mightyV444]

They'd checked out 'Beautiful People' already several months ago. And also 'Oh No, Not You Again' 🙂

[@VolumeEleven]

@@mightyV444 Thanx for the heads up.

[@mightyV444]

@@VolumeEleven - 😊👍

[@liveitup67]

Thank you for using that specific video. The other videos available have always been a bit of an eyesore. ''Way I've Been'' is a quick and easy song that I would have come around to requesting. I figured we might as well get the song out of the way. I remember routinely playing ''Way I've Been'' after school, and just liking it as a simple little number. There wasn't much controversy over Boys Light Up. I just remember Ian ''Molly'' Meldrum talking about the song being banned from radio play, and reading about the lyrical content: ''And later at the party where all the MP's rave about the hummers she's been giving, and the money that they save.. To her it's skin lotion for his promotion too...'' I know it's not Darling Nikki or some 2 Live Crew number, but radio programmers in 1980 were not keen on the song and it was banned from radio play in Australia for roughly a year. It was a storm in a tea cup, and Australian Crawl did get to play the song on the Countdown Music Awards thing in 1981. I hear the song played on those ''Classic'' stations, and at the local supermarket nowadays. It's nothing really... Silly schoolboy humour attached to a pretty catchy song. I have to admit that the second verse has always been a deal breaker for me. I've never appreciated the imagery. The other thing about the song that has amused people for years is the neologism ''dorsetted'', which was a made-up word created for the sake of a rhyme. Next Australian Crawl song to check out is ''Indisposed''.

[@kaitlynbatt_]

I agree with ''Indisposed''. That's the next one that should be checked out.

[@I_was_a_Countdown_Kid-75-83]

@@kaitlynbatt_ Same. Great song.. about a car accident.

[@VanessaSun-ls2kr]

@@I_was_a_Countdown_Kid-75-83 James Reyne wasn't watching where he was going and got himself knocked down by a car. Then he spent the rest of 1979 waving his plastered arms about on Countdown singing '"Beautiful People''. Now that's a sing-song-dance.

[@australianbananapie2017]

I first saw them open for The Knack in 1979 after the success of their first single ''Beautiful People''. Two new bands opened for The Knack that night - Australian Crawl and Mondo Rock. Great time to be alive! Teehee ❤

[@craigalden9416]

This Album the debut by Australian Crawl was pretty big when it first came out….with songs like Indisposed, Chinese Eyes , Coffees gone cold, Downhearted…. They produced 4 studio albums until 85 then broke up…. A great live band and just another part of the Aussie pub rock scene.

[@garrysalis4312]

I seen them at Sylvania hotel Sydney James had both hands in plaster, I'm guessing 1978

[@darienfischer5758]

That's after he got hit by a car in Melbourne's CBD hahaha during "Beautiful People" film clips his arms were still in plaster lol poor bugger

[@InvidiousProductions]

Hearing Australian Crawl songs in the 80s was kinda like reading Peyton Place in the 50s. Exposé of the well-to-do Mt.Eliza set.

[@iankearns774]

You arent alone in not getting the lyrics, most of us Aussies couldn't understand what James Reyne was singing. He had a quirky way of pronouncing words.

[@shaundgb7367]

Correct. I never really knew what he was singing about. He had a funny way of singing. I think he had a solo career and some song called the Fall of Rome or something and had no idea what it was about but it was still catchy.

[@iankearns774]

@@shaundgb7367He had quite a few hits once he went solo, Motors too fast and Hammerhead are two more.

[@lesliedavis2185]

The way he sang was not his choice but the choice of his producer of the time

[@iankearns774]

@@lesliedavis2185 He still sang that way when he went solo. I reckon its just the way he intonated and not deliberate.

[@darienfischer5758]

Quirky?? 😅😅😅 he just drawled every word lol 😆

[@karenglenn6707]

Saw them a lot in Melbourne back in the day. R.I.P. Brad Robinson, such a sweetie.

[@AshleyBaker-ll2ug]

They were sort of music industry plants in their day. They did pay their dues in various groups, but it was one of the guys from Little River Band that gave them the big boost.. I grew up in the Mornington Peninsula Shire, and know a few folks that are still pretty proud of Ozzie Crawl. Looking at the ''Boys Light Up'' video it's pretty obvious that they're in need of Guy McDonough. He was the missing link.

[@ShadeParade-]

I always speculated that Men At Work took a few cues from Australian Crawl. Australian Crawl were the new and improved version of The Sports, and Men At Work were the new and improved version of Australian Crawl. Even the chorus of ''Boys Light Up'' is similar to The Sports' ''Boys (What Did The Detective Say)''. With members of Skyhooks spilling over into The Sports and Jo Jo Zep/Falcons, and Australian Crawl being Little River Band's pet project band, and Mondo Rock and The Sports writing and producing eachother's material, and Mondo Rock's singer being Skyhooks' producer .. one cannot help but wonder if the Melbourne rock music scene was a tad incestuous?

[@TheMicturation]

the sports were a clever witty tight and excellent band in theyre own right ,AC was not an improvement on the Sports,AC were an excellent band in theyre own right as well,i preferred the Sports myself,they were city guys,they resonated with me even tho i did holiday down Torquay every 2nd summer with the family from the age of 8-16,i never fitted in down there for the 2 weeks wed stay even amongst the other city tourists,let alone the locals.

[@glenchapman3899]

It was pretty much the same in Sydney. Vander and Young had their fingers in so many pies it was embarrassing through their involvement with Mushroom records. That being said the huge amount of great bands that all burst onto the scene in that era, can't really complain lol

[@kaitlynbatt_]

18:38 My sister had that picture as a poster on her wall. It had been up on her wall for a couple of weeks before our Dad noticed it. He looked at the band, read their name and without a shadow of doubt, told my sister that he was happy to see her taking a new interest in the Australian men's swimming team. Ugh.. Boys Light Up was a fun song at the time, but there were much better songs that would come out the following year. As Gillian said, the song being banned from radio play was a storm in a tea cup. The band were still big at the time, and I do remember hearing Boys Light Up at almost every party and pub. Personally, I liked Flowers a lot more than Australian Crawl.

[@Robbo766]

But they were swimming champions at their school! Good way to market an Aussie band full of swimmers and surfers. Make them look like a swimming team.

[@kaitlynbatt_]

@@Robbo766 Yeah KISS had their space alien look, Devo had their nuclear energy domes and Australian Crawl had their swimming team look! Rock 'n' Roll BABY! Oz Crawl were alright, I guess. I met James Reyne years ago, and he was a pretty unassuming guy. Do you still surf those mean Bondi waves?

[@thrusta100]

Flowers? Icehouse for gawds sake ,quit trying to be “edgy “ 🤦‍♂️🙄🤣

[@kaitlynbatt_]

@@thrusta100 Chill. Nobody is trying to be ''edgy''. I'm talking about what Iva Davis did before 1981. That is why I am identifying Icehouse by their old name. I want to make a clear distinction.

[@Robbo766]

@@kaitlynbatt_ lol.. Never knew mentioning an old band name was ''edgy''. The guy must be really sheltered if he thinks that's trying to be edgy. Sheesh

[@ghichens3418]

Yep on Holiday !

[@rhonda_hart4982]

James Reyne's singing: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGXRpGaIqL5sjZI James Reyne impersonation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHu8lKtvYt2Xoqc If he was Australian or knew about Oz Crawl, a young Jim Carey would have had a field day aping James Reyne. lol

[@I_was_a_Countdown_Kid-75-83]

lol@The D-Generation. I used to love their work.

[@rhonda_hart4982]

@@I_was_a_Countdown_Kid-75-83 Me too! I'm only just rediscovering Australia..You're Standing In It and The Gillies Report. I do miss a lot of the 80's.

[@Robbo766]

A nice catchy pop song there. A little juvenile in the lyric department. Not sure if I was amused by it at the time. Just thought it was a dopey song by a bunch of surfer boys from Mornington Peninsula. I gotta say that it takes being a surfer to recognise other surfers. We just carry this vibe that may not be noticed by anybody else but surfers. I knew Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil was a surfer when I first saw him play with the Oils when they were called Farm. They played gigs with AC/DC. Peter Garrett had a surfer look, as did the Oxley boys of Sunnyboys and Australian Crawl. Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons and The Sports were NOT surfer boys. You can just tell. I had a chat with the Oz Crawl boys about surfing and surfing brands at the time, and a couple of years later they sponsored a surfing contest. I think there's a bit of ground to cover with Australian Crawl. Gillian, Hayley, Kaitlyn and I will guide you through Australian Crawl. We will talk about the next Oz Crawl song you guys need to do. Keep you on the right path. ''Reckless'' will be a song you two can do in March next year. As for now, let's stick to this period. They're a good band!

[@VanessaSun-ls2kr]

You're a bragger

[@axl_rose3758]

Nah.. UK radio programmers are more notorious with banning songs than Australian radio programmers. Boys Light Up has been playing on radio in Australia for over 40 years. It was banned for a couple of years and then programmers thought ''fark it, let's just play the farken song'' and everybody was happy.. We had a Top 10 hit in Australia called ''Man Overboard'' by a band called Do-Re-Mi. They were on Countdown, on radio and on TV doing ''Man Overboard'' and nobody cared. But they were banned in the UK because of the mention of ''pubic hairs'' and ''penis envy''. There you go.. Aussies are not that uptight about shit like that. We're not a God fearing country, we're not scared of marijuana... we do have some backward censorship laws but that's not a complete reflection of the people. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was banned in Australia, but then again, A Clockwork Orange was banned in the UK Give or take

[@rhonda_hart4982]

I was pretty young when this song was a thing, and Australian Crawl were becoming a pretty big ''Countdown'' band. I read through the lyrics while listening to the song, and was wondering what ''dorseted'' meant. Then the 2nd verse came along, and I had enough. I just saw them as a bunch of wankers after that. That said, it's still an important song in the Crawl song book and it's a page we need to get through. Downhearted, Things Don't Seem, Reckless, Shut Down, are much much much better songs.

[@craigalden9416]

Dorsetted …. Was a play on words …. Garden it is Dorsetted…. Dorset Gardens hotel Croydon Victoria.

[@VanessaSun-ls2kr]

@@craigalden9416 That's where they got the word from? That doesn't take away from the fact it's a made up word and lazy word play. Who else in Australia would know the reference?

[@VanessaSun-ls2kr]

Hey Rhonda, I'm with you on that one. I also thought they were a bunch of wankers. But even wankers can have a few good songs. I met a couple of the Crawl boys in the late 80's and they were quite nice.

[@shaundgb7367]

Never heard the second song. First song always liked but never listened to it closely and do not recall any controversy about it at all. Not sure anyone took Australian Crawl seriously. Just a fun light hearted band. I really love their song Reckless though. They had some other song that was fun and heard a lot but because never took much notice of any of the words I only found out it about the famous Aussie actor Flynn. In like Flynn is a saying which I am sure is related about him and his ways off camera. I think he did movies in the 1940s and from Tasmania originally.

[@Leah91au]

There was no controversy around this song. Radio just temporarily punished the band for the crimes of writing a rude song by not playing it. I saw the band perform the song on the Countdown Music Industry Awards ceremony of 1980, and that was televised. I guess this song's about a wife of a business man that allows his peers to blow a load on her face? That's the take away from this tune? Charming.

[@johnchrysostomon6284]

This was banned from the airwaves by certain stations such as Sydney's 2SM - the Catholic radio station (and derisively known as 2 St Mary's)

[@mitchellbeston1033]

Oz Crawl are an awesome band but generally James Reyne is a great singer/songwriter. His phrasing ensures that you will never get sick of any of his songs however you may need lyrics for future songs to know what he is saying. These blokes were a bunch of uni students having a bit of fun when their music just took off. So many great songs...try Downhearted, Oh no not you again, Reckless, Things don't Seem. I don't recall any real controversy back in the day over this song but maybe radio wouldn't play it. Oh and i've finally subscribed...i couldn't ignore your content any longer, not that i was trying to. Thanks for the reaction.

[@kaitlynbatt_]

Flowers - Can't Help Myself *nzoz1980* Sooner or later, you have to do this song and start the ball rolling for Flowers/Icehouse. I know you already did ''Hey Little Girl'', but now you need to dig deeper into the dark ages when they were a super cool/super hip band from the Sydney scene. I used to see Flowers when they did T-Rex and Kinks covers, and they were icey cold... And please don't leave out nzoz1980 because it's a pretty strong upload of the song.

[@australianbananapie2017]

Flowers aka Icehouse were great!

[@liveitup67]

Is it controversial to say that Flowers were better than Icehouse? lol

[@kaitlynbatt_]

@@liveitup67 lol, good question! I've never pondered over that before. I like them a lot more when they were Flowers. Iva was okay as Icehouse, but Flowers were much better.

[@liveitup67]

@@kaitlynbatt_ Ha, ha - I'm the same. I do stand by Primitive Man being my favourite album of 1982, but the 'Icehouse' album by Flowers was a lot more interesting. You should check out Stephen Schnee's reviews on Icehouse's catalogue. He's an American, but he got into a lot of Australian music in real time. He got into Icehouse (sorry, FLOWERS) in 1980, and he was pretty early onto INXS, Divinyls, Mental As Anything, etc. He isn't a reaction channel, because he already knows the music. Check this out! It's him in 1982 miming to ''Counting The Beat''. You have to see it to believe it. He would have been a Countdown kid if he was Aussie ---> kzbin.info/www/bejne/maKYhmqZrL-dbKs

[@kaitlynbatt_]

@@liveitup67 That was so funny! I never in my life would have thought I'd see an American teenager in the 80's jumping to Counting The Beat! I'm surprised the song even made it in the US! I had to leave him a message on that video. Thanx Gillian for the link. I'll check out more of his stuff.

[@SunShine-qk4rb]

Great Australian band and song

[@dariusdodd]

I always thought it was about professional married couples and secret suburban lives

[@arconeagain]

They mention a pub I used frequent... unfortunately.

[@jaymacgee_A_Bawbag_Blethering]

I’m quite conscious of not being too rude about a song the Aussie Countdown mafia clearly like , so I’ll say with Boys light up , it has yet to become my fav track seen on this channel but it does have good points , I like the sound the rhythm guitarist is getting , choppy and clean . The second one was ok , just doesn’t appeal to me personally but I listened to both all the way through out of respect to C n C and the folk who asked for it . 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@liveitup67]

That's cool, Albert.. Steptoe. 😁 It wouldn't make my skin crawl if you rubbished Australian Crawl. They were a very successful band in Australia, and people are still enjoying their music. They were a band of rich athletic boys from Shire of Mornington Peninsula (nice area), and were favoured by the music industry. ''Boys Light Up'' was about the debaucherous behaviour of the upper-middle class. In spite of their good beginning, the band weren't immune to drugs, death and mental illness. Australian Crawl could have been a much better band, but they were too caught up in living the good life of surfing and excess (I guess). They toured Europe and the UK with The Police and Duran Duran, and just as things were looking good for them, they ditched the tour and returned to Australia for touring commitments. They also lost momentum in the US by not taking advantage of opportunities. I don't remember many Countdown kids liking ''Boys Light Up''. A few of my friends thought the lyrics were disgusting. My sister, Hayley, thought it was a bit of a shit song. But it has gotten requests, so let it be over and done with.. I used enjoy playing ''Way I've Been'' after school. For some reason, the song appealed to me in 1980, and then it got shoved at the back with all the other old songs in 1981. By the way, the Countdown mafia was killed by the music industry in 1983. They took our voice away, and kept us from influencing the charts. I trust you're doing well?

[@I_was_a_Countdown_Kid-75-83]

You'll be fine. The Countdown mafia was killed forty years ago when the major record companies took away our voice and began telling the show and radio programmers what to do.

[@brettfrench6121]

Not the most sensitive approach to the subject character - a lonely housewife that gives amazing hummers and has fun with Taxi drivers and convenient little helpers. What to her is skin lotion exactly? And speaking of which, what the hell is a dorseted? The only thing that makes sense is that boys are lighting up. I saw these guys religiously back in the early 80's. Just a fun quirky band with a surf rock thing going on. Thankfully Guy McDonough stepped in to add a bit of a more serious tone.

[@kennogawa6638]

Teddy Swims " I Can't Make You Love Me".

[@ACE-gk5gi]

Saturday night music video by cold chisel..reckless by ozi crawl...goofy m8te from Australia

[@SPKdesign1]

Sounds late 70s/early 80s.

[@liveitup67]

It is..

[@SPKdesign1]

@@liveitup67 Ta.

[@jasonsmith7402]

"The boys light up" in Aussie terms means they got into a fight...

[@Tully_23_32]

I'm soz but if Aussie's like i am are saying they don't understand the song then they have issues. U know exactly what James is singing about ..

[@liveitup67]

It'd be fun if you guys did a reaction to Australian Crawl's Santa Claus Is Back In Town during the Christmas season. Their Christmas rock song did make us cringe at the time. I'll make the request when the time comes.

[@jaymacgee_A_Bawbag_Blethering]

Another empty page … omg I’m not a stalker .. honestly 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@SPKdesign1]

There are a lot o shy folks watching these vids.

[@jaymacgee_A_Bawbag_Blethering]

@@SPKdesign1 50 views , only 7 likes and 8 comments n me n you are most of them .. some really cold fish about aren’t there ? 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@SPKdesign1]

@@jaymacgee_A_Bawbag_Blethering The other chatterboxes must be off on holiday.

[@jaymacgee_A_Bawbag_Blethering]

@@SPKdesign1 aye..or coordinating their response 🤷‍♂️ 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@jaymacgee_A_Bawbag_Blethering]

@@SPKdesign1 or work in the same biscuit factory and don’t get off for a few hours yet 👀 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@andysparks1973]

Australia is an island ,

[@Parta4gfg]

island continent

[@EveJenkins58]

If I had a reaction channel and people warned me about the lyrical content of this song before I played it, I think I would appreciate the heads up No matter how you look at it, this really is one of Australian Crawl's poorer lyrical choices. I'm not a raging feminist, but I can do without the graphic detail of this lady's activities...

[@candicessssasssy2160]

could have been worse. the song could have been called ''boys line up''.

[@hanierfamily]

Maybe that was the original title.

[@mightyV444]

That's exactly what I used to hear! 😄

[@gbsailing9436]

I love my Australian Crawl. But I just can't stand to watch James mime the songs for TV appearances. Ugh, it makes me cringe. He just not good at it! Sorry I can't keep watch no matter how much I like the song! You should listen to "Reckless" by them as well! Great channel!

[@andrewthompson6908]

if you have never lived on Dorset road how do you know you are really alive.?

[@ashgolf01]

I can never understand what James Reyne is singing about so the lyrics are irrelevant 😅

[@glenchapman3899]

Never cared much either way for this. It was an okay pop song, bit of a foot tapper. But compared with the rest of the catalogue it really is a bit of a bottom feeder.

[@Sspringgrainn]

It was early days for the band and is not their best moment.

[@mightyV444]

Here in NZ, it seems to be the moment they're best known for 😅

[@Sspringgrainn]

@@mightyV444 Australian Crawl's manager must have been pretty shabby. Let me check who it is. Huh! They were under the management of Glenn Wheatley - Little River Band/John Farnham's big monster manager. Damn.. They could have at least taken over New Zealand with their songs. Boys Light Up isn't even their best.

[@mightyV444]

@@Sspringgrainn - Luckily other, better Aussie Crawl songs like 'Reckless' and 'Downhearted' are also known here! 😅 'Boys Light Up' definitely is their worst one to me. I'm far from knowing _all_ of their songs, but 'Errol' is my favourite so far 🙂