James Reyne and Simon Binks, two of the founding members of veteran pub rock act Australian Crawl, have issued a statement addressing a nascent trademark dispute with former member Bill McDonough.
The statement notes that on Thursday, March 12th, the band's founding members filed an application to the Australian Federal Court challenging McDonough’s acquisition of Australian Crawl trademarks.
McDonough had previously acquired these trademarks back in 1990 for matters relating to “Entertainment services including artists' agencies, sound recording, radio and television programme production, theatre or cinema productions and amusement centres and parks," while he acquired the trademark for matters relating to “Clothing, footwear and all goods” in 1994.
However, the band contends there was never any consultation or agreement with any members of Australian Crawl in relation to registering the trademarks, and "As such, the founding members do not recognise Bill’s ownership of these assets."
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“This action is not about stripping Bill of these trademarks," said Scot Crawford, Australian Crawl's manager and representative. "This is about the original members having access to trademark registration individually or in partnership.”
"In 1978 I formed the band with Simon Binks and Brad Robinson," Reyne recalled in a statement. "We subsequently asked our friend Paul Williams to join on bass guitar, and my brother, David Reyne, to play drums. This was the original Australian Crawl lineup."
Indeed, Australian Crawl first formed in Victoria's Mornington Peninsula in 1978, with Reyne, Binks, Williams, and brothers Bill and Guy McDonough having previously played together in a separate band.
Upon David Reyne's departure, Bill McDonough stepped in to serve as drummer, performing with the band on their first three albums – 1980's The Boys Light Up, 1981's Sirocco, and 1982's Sons Of Beaches.
“James, Brad and I formed Australian Crawl in 1978," echoed Binks in a statement. "In 1983 the then members of Australian Crawl unanimously voted Bill out of the band."
Bill McDonough's 1983 departure saw him replaced by Graham 'Buzz' Bidstrup. The following year, his younger brother Guy – who had joined Australian Crawl in 1980 and sung lead vocals on tracks such as Oh No Not You Again and Errol – passed away at the age of 28.
Though Australian Crawl would split in 1986, the band were inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame in 1996. Reyne would embark on a solo career, and in 2024 he celebrated the 40th anniversary of Australian Crawl’s Crawl File compilation with a national tour, with this year also seeing the launch of his Fall Of Crawl tour, which continues this weekend.
