Reyne show heavy on the Aussie Crawl
Music legend James Reyne can’t wait to Australian crawl in Tobruk Pool when he returns to Townsville in June.
Better known as the swimming stroke freestyle, Australian Crawl is also the name of the chart-topping rock band Reyne cofounded and fronted between 1978 and 1986.
Regarded as Aussie rock royalty, the band sold more than a million records and dominated the charts, ranking in the top five for most successful homegrown acts for time spent at No.1 on the album charts.
Forty years after they hit No.2 on the charts with their first greatest hits collection Crawl File,
James Reyne has embarked with his band on a national tour that is selling out shows and electrifying nostalgic audiences with its wall-towall Australian Crawl setlists.
“(The crowd) goes nuts, they love it, it’s wild,” Reyne said. “I’m lucky that I’m singing in this great band … everybody is amazing on their particular instrument … for my money, I’m the singer in the best band in Australia.
“We’ve put on many, many shows, and there’s a lot of thought that goes into making it look like you’re not doing very much … you work hard looking relaxed.”
Estimating that he’d played dozens of Townsville gigs over the years, Reyne was looking forward to playing at the Kirwan Tavern on June 22.
“I really like Townsville, it's a great place,” he said. “Our drummer John Watson, who I’ve played with for 38 years, was born and raised in Townsville so we have a connection.
“Townsville audiences are fantastic. I like the weather, the people, the area and I like (Tobruk) pool because I can swim my laps there every morning.”
Reyne was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1996 and was honoured with the Order of Australia in 2014. Music journalist Ed Nimmervoll once described Reyne’s voice as being “as familiar to us as the taste of Vegemite”.
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