Guy Gillis McDonough (17 October 1955 – 26 June 1984) was an Australian rock musician best known for rhythm guitar and singer-songwriter with the iconic band Australian Crawl. He provided rhythm guitar and lead vocals on two of their well-known songs, " Oh No Not You Again" and " Errol". McDonough's solo 1985 release, ''My Place'', was produced by his brother, Bill McDonough.

Biography

Early years

McDonough's parents were William Morris McDonough and Juneva McDonough. Together with his elder brother Bill McDonough, he grew up in Mount Eliza on

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geo ...

south east of central

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. McDonough attended

The Peninsula School Peninsula Grammar, formerly The Peninsula School, is an Australian Independent school, independent, co-educational, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, Day school, day and boarding school located in Mount Eliza, Victoria, Mount Eliza, Victoria ...

and formed Spiff Rouch in 1976 with Bill McDonough (drums) and other locals

James Reyne James Michael Nugent Reyne OAM (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian rock musician and singer-songwriter both in solo work and, until 1986, with the band Australian Crawl. Biography Early years Reyne was born in Lagos, Nigeria. His father, Rod ...

(vocals, guitars, keyboards), Brad Robinson (guitars, keyboards), Paul Williams (bass guitar), Robert Walker, Mark Hudson (guitars) and

Simon Binks Simon John Binks (born 27 November 1956,) is an Australian rock musician who was a guitarist and singer-songwriter for Australian Crawl from founding in 1978 to disbanding in 1986. Biography Early career Binks was raised in the Mornington Pen ...

. By early 1978 Spiff Rouch had separated into two groups: The Flatheads and Clutch Cargo. The Flatheads had Guy and Bill McDonough, and Walker, who were joined by Sean Higgins (synthesisers) and Nigel Spencer (bass guitars, synthesisers). Clutch Cargo was renamed Australian Crawl and David Reyne (drums) soon left to be replaced by Bill McDonough. Guy McDonough had co-written "

Downhearted "Downhearted" is the third single released by Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl from their debut album ''The Boys Light Up''. The song was written by Sean Higgins, Guy McDonough and Bill McDonough. All three songwriters had been band ...

", with Higgins and Bill McDonough, for the Crawl's third single from debut 1980 album ''

The Boys Light Up ''The Boys Light Up'' is the debut album from Australian pub rock band Australian Crawl, which was released in 1980 and contains the title track, " The Boys Light Up", "Indisposed", "Downhearted" and their previously released debut single " Beau ...

''.

Australian Crawl

Guy McDonough joined Australian Crawl in October 1980, supplying rhythm guitar, vocals, and songwriting. The Crawl released their second album ''

Sirocco Sirocco ( ), scirocco, or, rarely, siroc (see below) is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season. Names ''Sirocco'' derives from ...

'' in 1981, which became a No. 1 album on the National charts. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. McDonough wrote or co-wrote five of its eleven tracks including two singles " Errol" and " Oh No Not You Again". He sang lead on "Oh No Not You Again" and on "Errol". "Errol" reached #18 on the Australian Singles Chart and was voted their third most popular song by listeners of

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to ...

in 2007. 1982 saw the release of ''

Sons of Beaches ''Sons of Beaches'' is the third studio album from Australian rock band Australian Crawl, released in July 1982. It became the band's second #1 in the Australian albums charts (for 5 weeks). NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums chartin ...

'' with McDonough again writing or co-writing five of its tracks. This album also reached No. 1 but the singles had less success. After its release, Bill McDonough left the Crawl. He was briefly replaced by Graham Bidstrup on drums for the 1983 EP release ''

Semantics Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics and comp ...

''. This four-track EP contained no tracks written by McDonough but did feature the No. 1 Australian Singles Chart success " Reckless (Don't Be So)". The live album ''

Phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...

'' released later that same year saw drummer John Watson replacing Bidstrup. The Crawl's biggest overseas break came when Duran Duran took the band as support on an international tour.

Death

In the early months of 1984, McDonough decided to detox in an attempt to break away from alcohol and heroin addiction. McDonough booked into rehab with family support but then decided to not finish his program and returned home to follow a naturopathic procedure provided by a 'qualified' friend. Unfortunately this was an error of judgment as this treatment exacerbated his health situation rather than improve it, leading him to contract viral pneumonia and to be admitted to hospital in

, forcing Australian Crawl off the road. McDonough was in the Intensive Care Unit for many weeks, and improved enough to return home for a few day visits; but due to extreme physical deterioration from months in hospital and a failing immune system from AIDS he contracted a secondary infection and was placed back into the Intensive Care Unit. Despite intense medical intervention, on 26 June 1984, he died at the age of 28.Death Index Victoria 1921–1985 CDROM, (1998), The Crown in the State of Victoria: Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Solo release/legacy

Prior to his death, Guy McDonough recorded a series of demos with his brother, Bill McDonough (drums), Sean Higgins (keyboards) and Nigel Spencer (bass) (all former bandmates in The Flatheads), Mick Hauser (saxophone) and Michael Bright (guitar). Bill McDonough then assembled the tapes and Wheatley Records issued Guy McDonough's

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

album, ''My Place'', in April 1985. The singles were "My Place" / "Things Don't Seem" and "What's in it For Me" / "Hook, Line and Sinker". Seven of the tracks from ''My Place'' were later remastered and released in 1996 as part of the Australian Crawl compilation '' Lost & Found''. Compilers and producers of ''Lost & Found'' were Bill McDonough and Peter Blyton.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonough, Guy 1955 births 1984 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Victoria (Australia) Australian guitarists Australian Crawl members 20th-century guitarists Australian male guitarists 20th-century Australian male singers