Reckless: Jeff Apter author talk

Next date: Friday, 14 August 2026 | 04:00 PM to 05:00 PM

More than 40 years after their success, Australian Crawl's legacy remains tangled, yet their songs still command the airwaves and millions of streams.

Join us at Gerringong Library to hear about the incredible inside story of the iconic band behind 'Reckless', 'Boys Light Up' and many more hits, with Australia's bestselling music biographer Jeff Apter.

This is FREE event, booking essential.

Books available for purchase and signing.

Reckless: The Saga of Australian Crawl

The incredible inside story of the iconic band behind 'Reckless', 'Boys Light Up' and many more hits, by Australia's bestselling music biographer

When Australian Crawl first appeared on Countdown in August 1979 performing 'Beautiful People', no one knew what to make of them. Certainly not the TV crew, who thought the song was called 'Beautiful Beach Ball'. The band was quirky, charismatic and unmistakably different. But they quickly proved they were no novelty act. Over the next seven years, this band of high school mates produced two of Australia's bestselling albums, The Boys Light Up and Sirocco, and a string of major hits including 'Downhearted', 'Errol' and the timeless 'Reckless'. Their success would launch the screen and solo career of heart-throb lead singer James Reyne.

To the public, Australian Crawl were sun-kissed surfies from the Mornington Peninsula—though not all of them actually surfed. They toured relentlessly, partied hard and built a huge and loyal following. Yet behind the scenes, tensions simmered. Disputes over songwriting credits, musical direction, money and status gradually frayed the once tight-knit group. The tragic death of guitarist Guy McDonough in 1984 left what one member described as 'a big hole in our lives, and in the band,' a blow from which they never fully recovered.

Decades later, Australian Crawl's legacy remains tangled, yet their songs still command the airwaves and are streamed by millions. Reckless, featuring interviews with key band members and industry insiders, is bestselling music writer Jeff Apter's poignant account of this legendary group.

Reviews

'Jeff Apter is a born storyteller. Reckless is a meticulously researched, cracking read that hands you an all-access pass to the evolution, fame, human frailties and implosion of one of Australia's most iconic bands. The major players leap off the page, no detail is too small for Apter to uncover, and the narrative puts you front row at a fascinating, seminal era in Australian rock history.' KATE HALFPENNY, columnist at The Age and Sydney Morning Herald

'Massive hits, maximum attitude and drama for days - at the peak of Australian pub rock, Aussie Crawl had it all. A thorough account of one of the most recognisable and successful bands of the era, the creative chemistry that fuelled them and the fallout of their difficult legacy.' ELLA HOOPER, ARIA Award-winning lead singer of Killing Heidi

'Australian Crawl does it best. It is music which comes out of the surf, clubs and pubs. It is arrogant, driving, pushy, larrikin, joyous.' CANBERRA TIMES

Jeff Apter

As author, co-author or ghostwriter, Jeff Apter has worked on more than 30 biographies. His subjects include Keith Urban, George Young (Friday On My Mind), Malcolm Young (The Man Who Made AC/DC), Daniel Johns (The Book of Daniel), Angus Young (High Voltage) and John Farnham (Playing to Win). As ghostwriter, Jeff has worked with Mark Evans (Dirty Deeds), Michael Browning (Dog Eat Dog), Kasey Chambers (A Little Bird Told Me) and Richard Clapton (Best Years of Our Lives). He also worked on 2015's Helpmann award-nominated live show, A State of Grace: The Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley and was on staff at Rolling Stone for several years.