Their 1980 debut album The Boys Light Up had a number of hit singles including the title track; "Indisposed"; and "Beautiful People". The Boys Light Up appeared on the Aussie charts for 104 weeks. In 1981 the band released their second album, Sirocco. This album contained the hits "Lakeside", "Things Don't Seem" and "Errol", a song written about the Australian actor Errol Flynn. It was produced by Peter Dawkins in Sydney.
In 1982 they released the Sons of Beaches album. The album was recorded in Hawaii with producer Mike Chapman. The album featured the hit "Shutdown" and it became their third album in a row to reach the top five in the Australian charts.
Soon afterwards Bill McDonough left the band. The remaining members then recorded the EP Semantics. The EP contained what would become possibly their best-known song, "Reckless".
The first of two deaths in the group came in 1984 when Guy McDonough died in Melbourne of viral pneumonia secondary to endocarditis due to intravenous amphetamine use. "From Simon Binks: Incorrect and libellous. You'd better hope Bill doesn't see this. Guy died after receiving intravenous vitamin supplements from a naturopath friend of ours to overcome a curious fatigue".
The band recorded their final studio album, Between A Rock And A Hard Place, in 1985.
Tensions within the band caused them to disband in 1986. Performing a final concert on 27 January 1986, the concert was recorded and released under the title The Final Wave.
In seven years, Australian Crawl sold over a million records in Australia. After the group disbanded, Reyne went on to pursue a successful solo career. Robinson moved into a career in television (with Network Ten's Page One) and documentaries; in the 1990s he became the manager for the Reyne brothers, James and David. (David had been the drummer in Reyne and Binks' first band, Spiff Roach.) "From Simon Binks: No. David never played in Spiff Rouch. Bill filled those shoes. David was the first drummer in Australian Crawl."
After a three-year battle with lymphoma, Robinson died on 13 October 1996. The band was inducted into the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 1996, just before Robinson's death.
In 2002 EMI released a two-CD Greatest Hits package called Australian Crawl: James Reyne, The Definitive Collection, which contained songs from the band and from James Reyne's solo career.
"All the names on the picture in this forum are wrong. You have me labelled as James Reyne. Simon Binks"
"Thank you for your corrections Mr Binks - I thought I was mistaken but realise I was right.
Beautiful People
Australian Crawl Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They've got a robert palmer t-shirt in their travel bag
Beautiful people
They've got a price upon their head
I said beautiful people
Have got some friends
Who just flew in from la yeah
Beautiful people
[Chorus]
I said people, they just want to take you
People, they just want to make you
People, they just want to break you down
They just want to take you down
I said beautiful people
They ride two hundred dollar pushbikes in the park
Beautiful people
They won't admit it
But they make love in the dark
Beautiful people
Snap frozen potted palms
In the corner of the living room
Beautiful people
The art-decor sonic boom
[Chorus]
Beautiful people
You know they're going out tonight
To get their bombay rocks off
Beautiful people
They've got a kerouac condition, got a cocaine cough
Beautiful people
Studio 54 is the only place to dance
Beautiful people
You know the garden's full of furniture, the house is full of plants
[Chorus]
The lyrics of Australian Crawl's song "Beautiful People" express a sense of detachment and cynicism towards a certain group of people who the singer regards as beautiful. The first verse describes these people as having a Robert Palmer t-shirt in their travel bag, suggesting they are into fashion and trends. However, they also have a price on their head, implying they are willing to sell out their beauty and values for money.
The chorus focuses on the negative aspects of people's intentions towards beautiful people. The singer suggests that people, in general, just want to take advantage of and break down beautiful people. The second verse presents more images of beautiful people's lifestyles, such as riding a two hundred dollar pushbike in the park or making love in the dark. While the beautiful people may seem glamorous, they also have a Kerouac condition and cocaine cough and are only interested in partying at Studio 54.
Overall, the song's lyrics take a critical view of the people who appear beautiful and glamorous but lack depth and authenticity in their personalities and values.
Line by Line Meaning
I said beautiful people
These are the kind of people that the singer is talking about and he mentions them multiple times throughout the song.
They've got a robert palmer t-shirt in their travel bag
These beautiful people have a lot of possessions, even a t-shirt from a famous person.
They've got a price upon their head
The beautiful people have a certain value placed on them that others may try to exploit.
Have got some friends who just flew in from la yeah
The beautiful people have well-connected friends and connections in high places.
They haven't really much to say
Despite their glamorous reputation, the beautiful people are not particularly interesting or talkative.
People, they just want to take you, make you, break you down
The singer suggests that people are not always genuine and may have ulterior motives when approaching the beautiful people.
They ride two hundred dollar pushbikes in the park
These beautiful people are able to afford expensive things like bicycles.
They won't admit it but they make love in the dark
The beautiful people keep some of their actions hidden from others, even if it is something innocent like making love.
Snap frozen potted palms in the corner of the living room
The beautiful people own fashionable decorations for their living space.
The art-decor sonic boom
The beautiful people are into trendy styles and have an appreciation for art.
You know they're going out tonight to get their bombay rocks off
The beautiful people are planning on enjoying themselves and taking drugs like Bombay Sapphire gin.
They've got a kerouac condition, got a cocaine cough
The beautiful people may have a drug addiction or be involved in that culture, as mentioned by the reference to author Jack Kerouac and cocaine use.
Studio 54 is the only place to dance
The beautiful people are interested in exclusive nightclubs and parties that are difficult to get into.
You know the garden's full of furniture, the house is full of plants
The beautiful people own many things and are interested in interior design.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JAMES MICHAEL REYNE, MARK DOUGLAS HUDSON, MICHAEL REYNE JAMES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind