Simon Binks
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| Simon Binks | |
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 Simon Binks as lead guitarist of Australian Crawl
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Simon John Binks |
| Born | November 27, 1956 |
| Genre(s) | rock |
| Occupation(s) | musician, singer, songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Label(s) | EMI Geffen Virgin Blue Pie |
| Associated acts | Spiff Rouch, Australian Crawl |
| Website | Official website |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| 1964 Fender Stratocaster L series | |
Simon John Binks[1] (born 27 November 1956,[2][3][4] Mt. Eliza, Melbourne) is an Australian rock musician who is best known for his guitar work and song writing with Australian Crawl from founding in 1978 to ending in 1986.[5][6]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early career
Binks was raised in the Mornington Peninsula suburb of Mt. Eliza on the outskirts of Melbourne and educated at The Peninsula School.
Spiff Rouch[5][6] was a band formed in 1976, it included Binks and fellow locals James Reyne, Bill McDonough, Guy McDonough, Paul Williams, and Robert Walker.[6][7] By early 1978 Spiff Rouch had separated and Australian Crawl was formed with Binks (lead guitar), Reyne (lead vocals, piano, harmonica), and Williams (bass guitar), they were joined by James Reyne's younger brother David Reyne (drums) and schoolmate Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals).[6][7]
[edit] Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl performed their first live gig in October 1978.[8] Bill McDonough (drums) replaced David Reyne within the first year.[5][6]
Binks wrote or co-wrote four tracks[1] for the Crawl's 1980 debut album The Boys Light Up as well as lead and slide guitar and vocals.[9] Guy McDonough (guitars) joined Australian Crawl later that year.[5] For their second album Sirocco in 1981, there were two Binks tracks,[1] and he added acoustic guitar to his other guitar work.[10] Third album, Sons of Beaches from 1982, had Binks providing lead guitar only.[11]
Drummer Bill McDonough left early in 1983, the Crawl recorded an EP Semantics with Graham Bidstrup on drums.[5][6] Of the four tracks, Binks wrote "White Limbo"[1] which was also the B-side of the European single release "Reckless". The EP Semantics charted on the Australian Singles Charts to reach #1 and consequently some sources list "Reckless" as a #1 single.[12][13] After the EP, John Watson replaced Bidstrup as drummer.[5][6]
Phalanx released late in 1983 was a live album which saw Binks and Australian sound engineer Ross Cockle[14][15] as producers.[6] Australian Crawl toured England supporting Duran Duran in late 1983 but they returned to Australia with Guy McDonough seriously ill and subsequently dying in June 1984.[5] During recording sessions for Between a Rock and a Hard Place Binks was replaced with Simon Hussey (ex Cats Under Pressure) providing guitars, keyboards and song writing contributions.[5][6] Binks returned to the band for their final national tour and record the live album The Final Wave, which was released in 1986.
[edit] Later career
Binks played guitar in the Broderick Smith Band in 1988.[16] He signed with Blue Pie Productions, in July 2004[17] but didn't produce any recorded materials and has subsequently left.
An injury in a 1995 car crash at a North Sydney Council roadworks left Binks slightly brain-damaged with some sensory loss and restriction of finer movements of his right hand, which had prevented him from regaining the high level of skill he had previously shown.[4][18][19] A court in 2006 awarded him $330,253 in damages, down from an estimated $750,000 because lawyers for North Sydney Council provided evidence that Binks was speeding and over the legal alcohol limit.[4][20] Binks later disputed the alcohol reading as belonging to another driver and stated the remuneration mostly went to his lawyers.[19] During the court case media also reported that he fell out with Crawl co-founder James Reyne after claiming to have written "The Boys Light Up", one of Australian Crawl's early hits.[4] Binks denied this also, claiming that although he wrote the introductory musical theme from "The Boys Light Up" such work was not usually credited, and that the basic chords and lyrics of "The Boys Light Up" were written by Reyne.[19] After an appeal by the Council, in September 2007, the amount Binks was awarded was reduced to $304,750.[21]
[edit] Personal life
By November 1993 Binks was married and they had a child.[22] During his court case v North Sydney Council, evidence was presented that he suffered from migraines most of his life and had been taking injections of pethidine to combat them.[22] Evidence from the court cases reported that Binks was due to separate from his wife Sharon in 2006.[4][19]
[edit] Discography
- Spiff Rouch (1976-1978)
- no known recorded output
- Australian Crawl (1978-1984)
- for full list or for a quick link to albums and singles use infobox below. Studio albums with Binks:
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- The Boys Light Up (1980)
- Sirocco (1981)
- Sons of Beaches (1982)
- Semantics (1983 EP, 1984 LP)
- Broderick Smith Band (1988)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Australasian Performing Right Association. APRA. Retrieved on 2008-04-01.
- ^ Simon Binks Band. www.fasterlouder.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
- ^ Simon Binks. Showcase Your Music. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
- ^ a b c d e Wallace, Natasha; David Braithwaite. "Rocker gets $330,000 for drunken crash", The Sydney Morning Herald, 2006-05-26. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ a b c d e f g h McFarlane, Ian (1999). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (doc), Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Australian Rock Database entry on Australian Crawl. Magnus Holmgren. Retrieved on 2008-04-01.
- ^ a b Howlspace entry on Australian Crawl. Ed Nimmervol. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
- ^ Nostalgia Central entry on Australian Crawl. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
- ^ MSN entry on The Boys Light Up. Retrieved on 2008-03-04.
- ^ MSN entry on Sirocco. Retrieved on 2008-03-04.
- ^ MSN entry on Sons of Beaches. MSN. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 (doc), Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W.. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ Baker, Glenn A. (1983). Phalanx liner notes. Axel Husfeldt. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
- ^ Discogs entry on Ross Cockle. www.discogs.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Internet Movie Database entry on Ross Cockle. IMDb. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Australian Rock Database entry on Broderick Smith. Magnus Holmgren. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Blue Pie Productions Archived Nooze. Damien Reilly.
- ^ Wilmoth, Peter. "Home, James", The Age, 2007-06-10. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ a b c d Temple, Will. ""Guitarist wins compo claim"", news.com.au, 2005-05-26. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ Gallagher, Patrick (2008-01-24). Case Note: North Sydney Council v Binks [2007]. DLA Phillips Fox. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
- ^ "Less damages for Australian Crawl member", National Nine News, 2007-09-18. Retrieved on 2008-04-09.
- ^ a b Brown, Malcolm. "Court cuts musician's damages", The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
[edit] External links
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