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The Boys Light Up
Studio album by Australian Crawl
Released	April 1980
Recorded	August 1979 – February 1980
Studio	AAV Studios (Melbourne, Victoria)
Genre	Pop/Rock
Length	38:25
Label	EMI
Producer	David Briggs
Australian Crawl chronology
The Boys Light Up (1980) Sirocco (1981)
Singles from The Boys Light Up
"Beautiful People" Released: August 1979 "The Boys Light Up" Released: March 1980 "Downhearted" Released: May 1980
The Boys Light Up 1992 Re-release
The Boys Light Up 1992 CD cover

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

The Boys Light Up is the debut album from Australian pub rock band Australian Crawl, which was released in 1980 and contains the title track, "The Boys Light Up", "Indisposed", "Downhearted" and their previously released debut single "Beautiful People". The album reached #4 on the Australian album charts and remained in the charts for an unbroken 101 weeks, eventually selling over 280 000 copies (five times platinum).

Various band members were involved in songwriting, often with relatives or former bandmates. Rhythm guitarist Brad Robinson's father James Robinson was a Federal Arbitration Court Justice and co-wrote two songs for this album. Reyne's bandmate from Spiff Rouch, Mark Hudson co-wrote their first single, "Beautiful People" (1979). "Downhearted" was written by Bill McDonough and his bandmates from The Flatheads, Guy McDonough (his brother, who later joined the Crawl) and Sean Higgins. Producer, David Briggs (Little River Band guitarist), co-wrote "Hoochie Gucci Fiorucci Mama" with Reyne.

The album was re-released in 1992 in CD format (see cover right below), and as a 2-CD set with follow-up album Sirocco in 1996. In October 2010, Boys Light Up was listed in the top 50 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.

Track listing

1. "My Coffee's Gone Cold" (Simon Binks) – 3:29
2. "Man Crazy" (James Reyne) – 3:39
3. "Way I've Been" (Brad Robinson, James Robinson) – 2:17
4. "Chinese Eyes" (James Reyne, Simon Binks) – 3:01
5. "Downhearted" (Sean Higgins, Guy McDonough, William 'Bill' McDonough) – 3:09
6. "Beautiful People" (James Reyne, Mark Hudson) – 2:56
7. "Indisposed" (Brad Robinson, James Robinson, James Reyne, William 'Bill' McDonough) – 4:04
8. "Walk My Way" (James Reyne, Brad Robinson) – 2:44
9. "The Boys Light Up" (James Reyne) – 4:41
10. "Boot Hill" (James Reyne, Simon Binks) – 2:36
11. "Red Guitar" (Simon Binks) – 3:19
12. "Hoochie Gucci Fiorucci Mama" (James Reyne, David Briggs) – 2:30

Songwriting credits from Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).

Personnel

Credited to:

Australian Crawl

• James Reyne – lead vocals, harmonica
• Simon Binks – lead and slide guitar, vocals
• Bill McDonough – drums, percussion, vocals
• Brad Robinson – rhythm guitar, vocals
• Paul Williams – bass, vocals

Additional musicians

• Mal Logan, Eddie Rayner, Peter Jones, Keith McKay – keyboards
• Bill Harrower – saxophone
• Derek Pellicci – percussion
• Mal Stainton – backing vocals

Additional credits

• Engineer — Ross Cockle
• Producer — David Briggs

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

1. Allmusic review
2. "1996: 10th Annual ARIA Awards". ARIA. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
3. ^ Holmgren, Magnus; Warnqvist, Stefan; Draper, Oliver; McDonough, Bill. "Australian Crawl". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
5. "Love is in the air Episode 5: "National Anthems"; transcript of interview with James Reyne". ABC-TV. 9 November 2003. Archived from the original on 28 January 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
6. "Memorable TV Oz Rock: Australian Crawl entry". Memorable TV / Little Acorns Publishing. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
7. ^ "APRA". Archived from the original on 24 January 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
8. O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (October 2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 978-1-74066-955-9.
9. "MSN entry on The Boys Light Up". Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 432. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
12. "Kent Music Report No 341 – 5 January 1981 > Platinum and Gold Albums 1980". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 12 November 2021 – via Imgur.com.

• Australian Crawl albums
• 1980 debut albums