Melbourne band The Huxton Creepers return with a restored edition of their debut album 12 Days To Paris, marking 40 years since its original release and bringing the record to vinyl and digital platforms for the first time in decades
by Paul Cashmere
The Huxton Creepers will celebrate four decades of their debut album 12 Days To Paris with a newly announced anniversary reissue, arriving June 5 via Cheersquad Records & Tapes. The release marks the first time the album has been repressed on vinyl since its original 1986 run and its first-ever availability on digital platforms.
The reissue resolves a long-standing gap in the Australian catalogue. With the band’s original label having folded and rights tied up for years, the album has remained largely inaccessible outside of second-hand copies. Its return places one of Melbourne’s defining mid-80s guitar records back into circulation at a time when archival releases continue to reshape how audiences revisit the country’s independent music history.
Originally recorded at Platinum Studios in Melbourne at the height of the band’s early momentum, 12 Days To Paris captured a group already operating with professional intent. Co-production support came from Steve Berlin of Los Lobos and Chris Copping of Procol Harum, an unusual international alignment for a young Australian act of the period. Drummer Archie Law reflects on the sessions as a moment of clarity. “We knew we had the songs and the band was firing on all cylinders,” he said. “We were creating something special.”
The album sits at the centre of The Huxton Creepers’ brief but productive recording timeline. Formed in 1984 by school friends Rob Craw, Paul Thomas, Matthew Eddy and Archie Law, the band quickly moved from suburban rehearsal rooms to regular support slots for established acts including Sunnyboys and Hoodoo Gurus. Their early singles, including “The Murderess”, established a foothold, but it was 12 Days To Paris that defined their sound, built on tight arrangements, dual guitars and melodic hooks.
Key tracks such as “My Cherie Amour”, “I Will Persuade You” and “Autumn Leaves” became staples of their live set and helped secure radio and television exposure, including appearances on Rock Arena. The record’s blend of power pop and guitar-driven rock aligned with a broader Australian movement in the mid-80s that favoured immediacy and songcraft over the more experimental directions of the late 70s.
The reissue will be available in two formats, a limited gold vinyl pressing capped at 100 copies and a standard black vinyl edition. Both formats include a digital component, with three tracks available immediately upon pre-order. The rollout also marks the first time the album has been formally distributed across streaming platforms, expanding its reach beyond collectors and long-time fans.
The release also sets up the band’s first national tour since 2011. While dates are yet to be announced, the group has confirmed plans to return to stages across Australia, positioning 2026 as a renewed chapter rather than a retrospective exercise.
From an industry perspective, the reissue reflects a sustained interest in Australian catalogue preservation. Labels such as Cheersquad Records & Tapes have increasingly focused on restoring recordings from the 1980s independent sector, a period that produced a significant volume of influential but under-documented work. Bringing 12 Days To Paris back into print aligns with similar efforts to recontextualise the era for contemporary audiences and collectors.
There is limited counterpoint to the release itself, though the broader trend of archival reissues has raised questions about market saturation and the balance between nostalgia and new production. In this case, the scarcity of the original pressing and the absence of a digital version positions the reissue less as repetition and more as recovery.
For The Huxton Creepers, the anniversary provides a practical reason to revisit material that has remained part of their sporadic reunion shows. Their previous re-formations, including appearances alongside Sunnyboys and other contemporaries, have demonstrated the durability of the songs and the audience connection built during their initial run.
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