The band members went through various band names, including Clutch Cargo, before they settled on Australian Crawl. They performed their first live gig in October 1978. Bill McDonough replaced David Reyne within the first year. Besides guitars, Robinson also supplied keyboards, backing vocals and song writing for the group. Robinson co-wrote Australian Crawl's early song "Indisposed" with his father, and bandmates James Reyne and Bill McDonough. It appeared on the band's debut 1980 album, "The Boys Light Up". The song describes the car accident which resulted in Reyne breaking both wrists immediately before they recorded their first single "Beautiful People" (1979). His father also helped Robinson write "Way I've Been" for the album, which was the B-side of their fourth single, "Downhearted". Crawl's second album was 1981's "Sirocco", which reached #1 on the Australian Albums Chart and became the best selling Australian album for the year.