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Binks played guitar in the [[Broderick Smith|Broderick Smith Band]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/s/smithbroderick.html |work=Australian Rock Database|title=Broderick Smith|publisher=Magnus Holmgren |accessdate=2008-04-03 }}</ref> He signed with Blue Pie Productions, in July 2004<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bluepie.com.au/v4/nooze.html |title=Blue Pie Productions Archived Nooze |publisher=Damien Reilly }}</ref> but didn't produce any recorded materials as they would not provide any recording money. One may ask, what use a recording company or contract if they won't record you. Yet Blue Pie retains the www.simonbinks.com Web address, after permission was withdrawn to all copyright material. Blue Pie also retains, illegally, countless permutations of 'Australian Crawl' Web domains, unlawfully and without permissions of the members and rightful owners of the name.
Binks played guitar in the [[Broderick Smith|Broderick Smith Band]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/s/smithbroderick.html |work=Australian Rock Database|title=Broderick Smith|publisher=Magnus Holmgren |accessdate=2008-04-03 }}</ref> He signed with Blue Pie Productions, in July 2004<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bluepie.com.au/v4/nooze.html |title=Blue Pie Productions Archived Nooze |publisher=Damien Reilly }}</ref> but didn't produce any recorded materials as they would not provide any recording money. One may ask, what use a recording company or contract if they won't record you. Yet Blue Pie retains the www.simonbinks.com Web address, after permission was withdrawn to all copyright material. Blue Pie also retains, illegally, countless permutations of 'Australian Crawl' Web domains, unlawfully and without permissions of the members and rightful owners of the name.


An injury in a 1995 car crash at a [[North Sydney]] Council roadworks left Binks slightly brain-damaged. This is technically true, yet his recoverty was unprecedented, according to the hospital psychologist Narci Sutton. Three separate psychologists and psychiatrists came to study Binks in attempt to quantify his recovery, though some sensory loss and restriction of finer movements of his right hand remain, which had prevented him from regaining the high level of skill he had previously shown.<ref name="SMH"/><ref name="Wilmoth">{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/home-james/2007/06/07/1181089236518.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 |title=Home, James |last=Wilmoth |first=Peter |date=[[2007-06-10]] |publisher=''The Age'' |accessdate=2008-03-05 }}</ref><ref name="news">{{cite news |url=http://blogs.news.com.au/index.php/news/comments/newsdesk_update_guitarist_wins_compo_claim |title="Guitarist wins compo claim" |last=Temple |first=Will |date=[[2005-05-26]] |publisher=news.com.au |accessdate=2008-03-05 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="SMH"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=55936 |title=Case Note: ''North Sydney Council v Binks'' <nowiki>[2007]</nowiki> |publisher=DLA Phillips Fox |last=Gallagher |first=Patrick |date=[[2008-01-24]] |accessdate=2008-04-24 }}</ref>
An injury in a 1995 car crash at a [[North Sydney]] Council roadworks left Binks slightly brain-damaged. This is technically true, yet his recovery was unprecedented, according to the hospital psychologist Narci Sutton. Three separate psychologists and psychiatrists came to study Binks in attempt to quantify his recovery, though some sensory loss and restriction of finer movements of his right hand remain, which had prevented him from regaining the high level of skill he had previously shown.<ref name="SMH"/><ref name="Wilmoth">{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/home-james/2007/06/07/1181089236518.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 |title=Home, James |last=Wilmoth |first=Peter |date=[[2007-06-10]] |publisher=''The Age'' |accessdate=2008-03-05 }}</ref><ref name="news">{{cite news |url=http://blogs.news.com.au/index.php/news/comments/newsdesk_update_guitarist_wins_compo_claim |title="Guitarist wins compo claim" |last=Temple |first=Will |date=[[2005-05-26]] |publisher=news.com.au |accessdate=2008-03-05 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="SMH"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=55936 |title=Case Note: ''North Sydney Council v Binks'' <nowiki>[2007]</nowiki> |publisher=DLA Phillips Fox |last=Gallagher |first=Patrick |date=[[2008-01-24]] |accessdate=2008-04-24 }}</ref>


During the court case, media also miss-quoted Binks in stating that he had 'written Boys Light Up', a matter which Binks telephoned Reyne and cleared up immediately. He had only rightly claimed that he wrote the the musical theme to 'Boys Light Up', one of Australian Crawl's early hits. Such work was not credited at the time, the basic chords and lyrics of "The Boys Light Up" were written by Reyne. How important and worthy of credit such anthemic additions to Australian Crawl songs were are a constant matter of opinion, but the lack of Binks' musical direction, production assistance, musical passages and anthemic guitar work of the final studio LP 'A Rock and a Hard Place' seems to confirm their importance to the success of Australian Crawl. 'A Rock and a Hard Place' was Australian Crawl's only commercial disaster. After an appeal by the Council, in September 2007, the amount Binks was awarded was reduced to $304,750.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=91517 |title=Less damages for Australian Crawl member |publisher=''National Nine News'' |date=[[2007-09-18]] |accessdate=2008-04-09 }}</ref>
During the court case, media also miss-quoted Binks in stating that he had 'written Boys Light Up', a matter which Binks telephoned Reyne and cleared up immediately. He had only rightly claimed that he wrote the the musical theme to 'Boys Light Up', one of Australian Crawl's early hits. Such work was not credited at the time, the basic chords and lyrics of "The Boys Light Up" were written by Reyne. How important and worthy of credit such anthemic additions to Australian Crawl songs were are a constant matter of opinion, but the lack of Binks' musical direction, production assistance, musical passages and anthemic guitar work of the final studio LP 'A Rock and a Hard Place' seems to confirm their importance to the success of Australian Crawl. 'A Rock and a Hard Place' was Australian Crawl's only commercial disaster. After an appeal by the Council, in September 2007, the amount Binks was awarded was reduced to $304,750.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=91517 |title=Less damages for Australian Crawl member |publisher=''National Nine News'' |date=[[2007-09-18]] |accessdate=2008-04-09 }}</ref>

Revision as of 02:46, 7 June 2009

Simon Binks

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 guitars work and song writing with Australian Crawl from founding in 1978 to ending in 1986.[5][6]

Biography

Early career

Binks was born in Mordialloc Hospital but 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]

Australian Crawl

Main article: 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, rhythm and acoustic guitar, though dismayed at not being credited with songwriting credits for the themes, musical passages and arrangements that remained through re-recordings of the same tracks, was not as involved with the production as the two former records.[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". 'White Limbo' was adopted by the first Australian team to conquer Mount Everest and a face of the world's most famous mountain was named after the song. This is quoted in the book of the climb, also titled White Limbo after Binks gladly gave permission {'White Limbo' Lincoln Hall. K. Weldon Press}. 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 resigned from the band when he walked into the first session to see another guitarist playing on songs he had not yet had the opportunity to work upon, as Musical Director of the band and the one member who sat through all the recording of prior Australian Crawl albums in a virtual co-production facility. Reyne had worked out the songs prior to the recording with keyboard-player Simon Hussey (ex Cats Under Pressure). [5][6]. Engineer Ross Cockle resigned from the sessions in disgust. Binks was requested to not leave but complete the tour to promote 'A Rock and A Hard Place', as $150,000 of his and the same amount of Paul William's money had been used to record the album, it made sense to try to retrieve it. Though playing very little on the record, despite being reviewed by Rolling Stone in the 1981 review of 'Sirocco' as "...along with Ian Moss, the best rock guitarist in Australia", little if any of his guitar playing was used. The result was Australian Crawl's first and only failed record. The album having been secretly rehearsed by Reyne with session musicians, denied Binks the opportunity to contribute arrangements, musical themes and passages which as Musical Director, had become the hallmark sound of Australian Crawl, highlighted by his bright, infectious guitar parts. Binks was talked out of resigning by Brad Robinson and completed the their final national tour, which was recorded in the live album [The Final Wave], released in 1986. Binks was in Japan whilst this record was mixed and unlike Phalanx, which Binks co-produced with Ross Cockle and became the highest-selling Australian live album to that date, was really a mere footnote to the disaster of 'A Rock And A Hard Place'. A sad and avoidable end to a successful venture begun by three former school-friends, who until then, had been inseparable.

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 as they would not provide any recording money. One may ask, what use a recording company or contract if they won't record you. Yet Blue Pie retains the www.simonbinks.com Web address, after permission was withdrawn to all copyright material. Blue Pie also retains, illegally, countless permutations of 'Australian Crawl' Web domains, unlawfully and without permissions of the members and rightful owners of the name.

An injury in a 1995 car crash at a North Sydney Council roadworks left Binks slightly brain-damaged. This is technically true, yet his recovery was unprecedented, according to the hospital psychologist Narci Sutton. Three separate psychologists and psychiatrists came to study Binks in attempt to quantify his recovery, though some sensory loss and restriction of finer movements of his right hand remain, 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]

During the court case, media also miss-quoted Binks in stating that he had 'written Boys Light Up', a matter which Binks telephoned Reyne and cleared up immediately. He had only rightly claimed that he wrote the the musical theme to 'Boys Light Up', one of Australian Crawl's early hits. Such work was not credited at the time, the basic chords and lyrics of "The Boys Light Up" were written by Reyne. How important and worthy of credit such anthemic additions to Australian Crawl songs were are a constant matter of opinion, but the lack of Binks' musical direction, production assistance, musical passages and anthemic guitar work of the final studio LP 'A Rock and a Hard Place' seems to confirm their importance to the success of Australian Crawl. 'A Rock and a Hard Place' was Australian Crawl's only commercial disaster. After an appeal by the Council, in September 2007, the amount Binks was awarded was reduced to $304,750.[21]

The matter is not over. Binks has engaged solicitors to sue his former Firm for not presenting crucial evidence that proved both his earnings (au$160,000 in six months, Jakarta, 1994, au$250,000 pa. in Singapore, 1989-2001 ref: Amy Tan, accountant and Singapore Tax Records) and that his name was not even on the PCA sheet {Ref: Mary Grieve, T.D. Kelly and Co}. Not even the Constable who attended the accident scene believed Binks was affected by alcohol, stating that he .."was lucid, coherent, not slurring his words and did not even smell of alcohol". Constable Dunn's statement implied CPR was applied, as he reputedly stopped breathing. {Ref: Constable Dunn - resigned from the Police Force}

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 prescribed increasing doses of pethidine by his doctor to combat crippling pain.[22] Evidence from the court cases reported that Binks was due to separate from his wife Sharon in 2006.[4][19]

Sharon has now left and Binks is starting his life anew, with his daughter Elizabeth, new music, a book and innovative online concepts to ensure a financial/political disaster such as that of 2008/9 and the disasters/illegalities of the Bush Presidency are not repeated.

Discography

  • Spiff Rouch (1976-1978)
    • no known recorded output
  • Australian Crawl (1978-1984)
Main article: Australian Crawl discography

for full list or for a quick link to albums and singles use infobox below. Studio albums with Binks:

  • Broderick Smith Band (1988)

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  2. ^ "Simon Binks Band". www.fasterlouder.com. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
  3. ^ "Simon Binks". Showcase Your Music. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
  4. ^ a b c d Wallace, Natasha (2006-05-26). "Rocker gets $330,000 for drunken crash". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2008-04-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ 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 2008-03-30. {{cite book}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Australian Crawl". Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  7. ^ a b Ed Nimmervoll (ed.). "Australian Crawl". Howlspace. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  8. ^ "Nostalgia Central entry on Australian Crawl". Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  9. ^ "MSN entry on The Boys Light Up". Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  10. ^ "MSN entry on Sirocco". Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  11. ^ "MSN entry on Sons of Beaches". MSN. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  12. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0646119176. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help) NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  13. ^ Baker, Glenn A. (1983). "Phalanx liner notes". Axel Husfeldt. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  14. ^ "Discogs entry on Ross Cockle". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  15. ^ "Internet Movie Database entry on Ross Cockle". IMDb. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  16. ^ "Broderick Smith". Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  17. ^ "Blue Pie Productions Archived Nooze". Damien Reilly.
  18. ^ Wilmoth, Peter (2007-06-10). "Home, James". The Age. Retrieved 2008-03-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ a b Temple, Will (2005-05-26). ""Guitarist wins compo claim"". news.com.au. Retrieved 2008-03-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Gallagher, Patrick (2008-01-24). "Case Note: North Sydney Council v Binks [2007]". DLA Phillips Fox. Retrieved 2008-04-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "Less damages for Australian Crawl member". National Nine News. 2007-09-18. Retrieved 2008-04-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ a b Brown, Malcolm. "Court cuts musician's damages". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2008-04-11. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Text "date2007-09-18" ignored (help)
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