Australian Crawl And Men At Work Reunite For Historic Red Hot Summer Tour 2026

Australian Crawl will perform under their original band name for the first time since 1986 when they join Men At Work on the 2026 Red Hot Summer Tour, marking the first time the two iconic Australian acts have shared a stage since 1983.

by Paul Cashmere

One of the most significant reunions in Australian rock history will take place in 2026 when Australian Crawl return under their original name for the first time in 40 years as part of the Red Hot Summer Tour. The national concert series will also reunite Australian Crawl and Men At Work on the same bill for the first time since January 1983, when both bands appeared at the landmark Narara Music Festival in New South Wales during the peak of Australia’s pub rock era.

The announcement places two of Australia’s defining early 1980s bands together on a national tour that spans ten dates across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia. Joining them will be Birds Of Tokyo, Vika & Linda, Eskimo Joe, Boom Crash Opera and Ella Hooper, creating one of the strongest Australian line-ups assembled for the long-running touring brand.

The significance of the reunion extends beyond nostalgia. Australian Crawl officially disbanded in February 1986 after a turbulent final period that followed the death of guitarist and songwriter Guy McDonough, major line-up changes and commercial challenges surrounding their final studio album. Since then, the band’s catalogue has remained one of the most enduring in Australian music, but a return under the Australian Crawl name has never eventuated.

For the 2026 performances, three original members, James Reyne, Simon Binks and David Reyne, will share the stage together for the first time in more than four decades. They will be joined by former Australian Crawl drummer John Watson, who was a member between 1983 and 1986, along with Brett Kingman, Josh Owen, Andrew McIvor, Sean Johnson, Melinda Jackson and Nicole Kurta.

Reflecting on the band’s beginnings, James Reyne recalled the unlikely rise of the group from Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula pub circuit.

“We ran our own shows on the Pen and a following grew,” Reyne said. “We decided we should perhaps give this thing a year, before we returned to our studies, just to see what happens. What a ride.”

Simon Binks acknowledged the rarity of the reunion.

“I’m looking forward to this upcoming celebration of Australian Crawl. Who would have thought that this far down the track three original members would be sharing the same stage once again,” he said.

David Reyne also reflected on the band’s origins.

“Back in 1979, a bunch of us from the beaches of the Mornington Peninsula twanged some guitars, banged some drums, blended together some tunes and played a gig or two for the local board riders’ club,” he said. “Australian Crawl was born. What a delight it will be to do it all again with those of us from the original gang who haven’t yet propped permanently at Heaven’s Bar.”

Australian Crawl’s influence on Australian rock remains substantial. Between 1980 and 1985 the band scored two No. 1 albums with Sirocco and Sons Of Beaches, achieved major success with albums including The Boys Light Up and Semantics, and delivered enduring songs such as Beautiful People, Downhearted, Errol, Things Don’t Seem and the No. 1 single Reckless. The group was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1996.

The reunion also reconnects Australian Crawl with Men At Work, another cornerstone Australian act whose international success helped define the global perception of Australian music during the early 1980s. Men At Work achieved worldwide fame through songs including Down Under, Who Can It Be Now?, Overkill, Be Good Johnny and It’s A Mistake before the original group ceased activity in the mid-1980s.

The last documented occasion Australian Crawl and Men At Work shared a major festival bill was the Narara Music Festival near Somersby, New South Wales, in January 1983. Both bands were central figures in the Australian pub rock and festival circuit of the era, yet they never toured together again following their respective break-ups.

Men At Work founder Colin Hay, who has continued performing the band’s catalogue internationally for decades while also pursuing an acclaimed solo career and performing with Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band, said the tour would reconnect him with a formative period of Australian music.

“My favourite Men At Work tour was the summer of 1981, when our stars were in ascension,” Hay said. “I very much look forward to returning, 45 years on, to join the Red Hot Summer Tour 2026, to share the stage with old friends and new, and play those songs again, for all those who want to hear them.”

Beyond the headline reunion, the tour also highlights the breadth of Australian music across multiple generations. Birds Of Tokyo arrive with one of the strongest modern rock catalogues in the country, while Vika & Linda continue to build momentum around their recent album Where Do You Come From?. Eskimo Joe, Boom Crash Opera and Ella Hooper complete a bill that spans more than four decades of Australian music history.

For Australian Crawl fans, however, the central story remains the return of a band that has not officially performed under its original name since 1986. Combined with the first Australian Crawl and Men At Work pairing in 43 years, Red Hot Summer Tour 2026 is set to deliver a rare chapter in Australian rock history.

RED HOT SUMMER TOUR 2026
17 October 2026, Toowoomba, Queens Park
18 October 2026, Sandstone Point, Sandstone Point Hotel
24 October 2026, Berry, Berry Showground
25 October 2026, Manly, Keirle Park
31 October 2026, Hunter Valley, Roche Estate
1 November 2026, Coolangatta, Coolangatta Beach
7 November 2026, Ballarat, Victoria Park
8 November 2026, Mornington, Mornington Racecourse
14 November 2026, Swan Valley, Sandalford Wines
15 November 2026, Glenelg, Glenelg Beach

Tickets go on sale Thursday 25 June at 9.00am local time.
Telstra Plus presale runs from 22 June to 23 June, with Red Hot Summer Tour presale from 23 June to 24 June.
Tickets: www.redhotsummertour.com.au