Huxton Creepers
Encyclopedia
The Huxton Creepers were an Australian
rock band from Melbourne. They formed in 1984, three years after they left high school
, and split in 1989. Their notable Australian hits were "My Cherie Amour", "I Will Persuade You" and their version of Manfred Mann
's "Pretty Flamingo".
The lineup was Rob Craw (lead vocals and guitar), Paul Thomas (guitar and vocals), Matthew Eddy (bass) and Archie Law (drums). All four members attended Scotch College, Melbourne, completing their HSC year in 1981.
song) on the Au Go Go Records
Melbourne compilation Asleep At The Wheel in 1984. This and their two tracks on the Triple J
compilation Cooking With George brought them to the attention of Big Time Records
, their label throughout their career. Their first album was 12 Days To Paris in 1986 and their second was So This Is Paris in 1988 (titled Keep To The Beat on the Canadian release).
and later Custard
. He has also played in local Melbourne bands such as Four Door Shitbox, Son of John and skiffle
group The Rock Island Linesmen. He did the album Rob Knows Paul, an acoustic album of left over songs he and Rob Craw had written for the Creepers, covers of Screaming Jay Hawkins, Johnny Thunders
and NRBQ
, as well as acoustic versions of This Day Is Mine and Better Days from So This Is Paris. He has also played with Archie Roach
, Ruby Hunter
and Nick Barker
.
Rob Craw works as a high school drama
and media studies teacher. He plays in his own bands such as Rob Craw's Acoustic Dilemma and The Craw and recorded the Rob Knows Paul album with Paul Thomas. He has also written for and played with David Bridie
and Monique Brumby
. Rob Craw also wrote original music for the Shakespeare Play "A midsummer nights dream" for Sacred Heart College, Newtown. Song's included "Hail the Duke" and "The Cause of True Love never did run Smooth".
Archie Law returned to university after the band split, coming to prominence again in 2000 as director of the British
mine clearance
charity Mine Action Group (MAG), running a team of 400 people clearing land mine
s in Cambodia
. He was employed by the United Nations
, first in New York
and then in Johannesburg, South Africa
. Arch returned to Australia in 2007 and lives in Sydney where he works as the Chief Executive for ActionAid.
Matthew Eddy recorded a solo album in 2000 called Egg, released by Corduroy Records. He works as a high school Indonesian
and Geography teacher.
The band reformed in June 2002 to play the Melbourne radio station 3RRR
Sex Pistols
Celebration at the Esplanade Hotel in St. Kilda.
Music of Australia
The music of Australia is the music produced in the area of, on the subject of, or by the people of modern Australia, including its preceding Indigenous and colonial societies. Indigenous Australian music is a part of the unique heritage of a 40–60,000 year history which produced the iconic...
rock band from Melbourne. They formed in 1984, three years after they left high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, and split in 1989. Their notable Australian hits were "My Cherie Amour", "I Will Persuade You" and their version of Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
's "Pretty Flamingo".
The lineup was Rob Craw (lead vocals and guitar), Paul Thomas (guitar and vocals), Matthew Eddy (bass) and Archie Law (drums). All four members attended Scotch College, Melbourne, completing their HSC year in 1981.
Recording history
Their first released recording was the track "King Of The Road" (an original, not the Roger MillerRoger Miller
Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...
song) on the Au Go Go Records
Au Go Go Records
Au Go Go Records is the name of a Melbourne, Australia based independent record label.It was founded by Bruce Milne and Philip Morland from a house in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in 1979 and is now operated by Greta Moon....
Melbourne compilation Asleep At The Wheel in 1984. This and their two tracks on the Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
compilation Cooking With George brought them to the attention of Big Time Records
Big Time Records (label)
Big Time Records was an independent record label based in Sydney, Australia. The label was owned by Lance Reynolds and Fred Bestall, who managed Air Supply in their early days among others. From 1979 up until 1981 Big Time was distributed by Wizard Records, who were purchased by EMI Ltd...
, their label throughout their career. Their first album was 12 Days To Paris in 1986 and their second was So This Is Paris in 1988 (titled Keep To The Beat on the Canadian release).
After the Huxton Creepers
Paul Thomas went on to be a major part of the final line up of Weddings Parties AnythingWeddings Parties Anything
Weddings Parties Anything were an Australian folk rock band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1998. Their name came from The Clash song and musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Australian rock debut since Skyhooks' Living in the '70s.-Formation and...
and later Custard
Custard (band)
-Overview:The band were originally known as Custard Gun and featured David McCormack on vocals and guitar, Paul Medew on bass, James Straker on guitar and Shane Brunn on drums. After a few shows and line up changes Custard Gun morphed into Custard...
. He has also played in local Melbourne bands such as Four Door Shitbox, Son of John and skiffle
Skiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
group The Rock Island Linesmen. He did the album Rob Knows Paul, an acoustic album of left over songs he and Rob Craw had written for the Creepers, covers of Screaming Jay Hawkins, Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr. , was an American protopunk guitarist, singer and songwriter.He came to prominence in the early '70s as a member of the New York Dolls...
and NRBQ
NRBQ
NRBQ is an American rock band founded in 1967. It is known for its live performances, containing a high degree of spontaneity and levity, and blending rock, pop, jazz, blues and Tin Pan Alley styles. Its best known line-up is the 1974–1994 quartet of pianist Terry Adams, bassist Joey Spampinato,...
, as well as acoustic versions of This Day Is Mine and Better Days from So This Is Paris. He has also played with Archie Roach
Archie Roach
Archie Roach is an Australian musician. A singer, songwriter and guitarist, he survived a turbulent upbringing to develop into a powerful voice for Indigenous Australians, a storyteller in the tradition of his ancestors, and a nationally popular and respected artist.- Biography :In his own words,...
, Ruby Hunter
Ruby Hunter
Ruby Charlotte Margaret Hunter was an Australian singer and songwriter. She was a member of the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal nationality, and often performed with her partner, Archie Roach, whom she met at the age of 16, while both were homeless teenagers...
and Nick Barker
Nick Barker
Nicholas "Nick" Paul Barker is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who formed a Melbourne-based rock, power pop band Nick Barker & the Reptiles in March 1988. Their cover version of Cockney Rebel's "Make Me Smile " reached the top 30 on the Australian Recording Industry Association ...
.
Rob Craw works as a high school drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
and media studies teacher. He plays in his own bands such as Rob Craw's Acoustic Dilemma and The Craw and recorded the Rob Knows Paul album with Paul Thomas. He has also written for and played with David Bridie
David Bridie
David Bridie is a musician from Melbourne, Australia. Bridie first rose to prominence as a member of Not Drowning, Waving, which he started in the early 1980s with guitarist John Phillips. They released four albums on Australian independent labels to some level of critical acclaim and very limited...
and Monique Brumby
Monique Brumby
Monique Brumby is an Australian Indie pop/rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. Her debut single, "Fool for You", peaked into the top 40 in the Australian Recording Industry Association ARIA Singles Charts, and provided an ARIA Award for 'Best New Talent' in 1996...
. Rob Craw also wrote original music for the Shakespeare Play "A midsummer nights dream" for Sacred Heart College, Newtown. Song's included "Hail the Duke" and "The Cause of True Love never did run Smooth".
Archie Law returned to university after the band split, coming to prominence again in 2000 as director of the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
mine clearance
Mine clearance agencies
A mine clearance agency, or demining agency, is an organization involved in removal of landmines and Unexploded Ordnance for military, humanitarian, or commercial reasons....
charity Mine Action Group (MAG), running a team of 400 people clearing land mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
s in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. He was employed by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, first in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and then in Johannesburg, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Arch returned to Australia in 2007 and lives in Sydney where he works as the Chief Executive for ActionAid.
Matthew Eddy recorded a solo album in 2000 called Egg, released by Corduroy Records. He works as a high school Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
and Geography teacher.
The band reformed in June 2002 to play the Melbourne radio station 3RRR
3RRR
3RRR is a popular Australian community radio station, based in Melbourne. It is the largest per capita subscribed radio station in the world....
Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
Celebration at the Esplanade Hotel in St. Kilda.
Discography
Australian releases except as noted- King Of The Road (track on Asleep At The Wheel, Au Go Go ANDA-33, 1984)
- Slow Attack/Happy Days (2 tracks on Cooking With George, ABCAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
L-80201/2, 1984) - The Murderess/Happy Days (7", BTS 1455, Big Time, 1985)
- 12 Days To Paris (album, Big Time, 1986)
- I Will Persuade You
- Guilty
- Life Fit for a King
- Part the Seas
- I've Been Around
- Autumn Leaves
- Long Hot Summer
- Don't Even Think About It
- King of the Road
- True Love Baby
- My Cherie Amour/True Love Baby (7", Big Time BTS-1706, 1986)
- I Will Persuade You/I've Been Around (7" BTS-1774, Big Time, 1986)
- I Will Persuade You (Extended Mix)/I've Been Around/The Murderess (12" BTE-1011 Big Time, 1986)
- Autumn Leaves/Don't Even Think About It (7", Big Time BTS-1849, 1986)
- Pretty Flamingo/25 Words Or Less (7", BTS 23, Big Time, 1987)
- Skin Of My Teeth/Come Another Day (7", Big Time, 1987)
- So This Is Paris (album, BT 7805,Big Time, 1988)
- Skin of My Teeth
- Rack My Brains
- Edge of Darkness
- When You Sleep
- Visually
- This Day Is Mine
- Better Days
- Nights Become Your Days
- Keep to the Beat
- Slow Attack
- Time Heals All Wounds
- Pretty Flamingo (Missing On BT 7805 Vinyl Pressing)
- Rack My Brains/When You Leave (7", Big Time, 1988)
- Keep To The Beat (album, Big Time/Polydor, 1988) — Canadian release of So This Is Paris
- same track listing minus "Pretty Flamingo"
- Small Mercies (12" EP, MUS MLP 2014, Musicland, 1990)
- Small Mercies
- Everyday Things
- Anytime Of Day
- Ghost Town
- Little Secrets
- Going To The Dogs