Every New Zealand #1 single…
3
Crawl by Atlas
Topped the NZ chart for 7 weeks from 12 March 2007
‘Crawl’ is another unexpected mega chart-topper from New Zealand. After nu-metal and alt-rock was largely extinct, ‘Crawl’ topped the NZ charts for seven weeks in 2007.
Atlas
Producer Hank Linderman introduced Louisville vocalist Sean Cunningham to New Zealand’s Campbell siblings. Bassist Ben Campbell was previously in the band Zed, while Beth Campbell sang backing vocals for The Beach Boys and Chicago. The trio formed Atlas with Andy Lynch and drummer Joe McCallum.
“I was so intrigued when we met because of the New Zealand accent,” says Sean over drinks in an Auckland hotel.
“I hadn’t heard one before. I could have sworn people were telling me I had a ‘sweet ass’. When they said ‘do you want to come back to New Zealand’ it was pretty much instantaneously ‘yes’.
Sean Cunningham, stuff.co.nz
Crawl
‘Crawl’ was Atlas’s first single. It’s extremely serious, with Cunningham’s emotive and husky falsetto. There’s some magic in the vocal blend between Cunningham and Beth Campbell, but largely it feels horrendously dated. It was probably horrendously dated in 2007 too, but New Zealand’s bogans made it a mega seller.
The video simply heightens the impression of ultraseriousness in a post-apocalyptic setting.
The Aftermath
It’s hard to tell if it’s due to label issues or embarrassment, but ‘Crawl’ isn’t even available on Spotify.
None of Atlas’s members enjoyed much subsequent success. Ben Campbell is now a restaurateur.
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You can’t even find it on Spotify? That’s not good because it is a good song.
Yeah, it’s weird it’s not there – it was a huge hit in NZ.
I have never heard this… Apparently it didn’t chart anywhere else. It does take itself very seriously, which doesn’t do it for me, but I can see it appealing to angsty 14 year olds. Ps ‘bogan’ is my favourite Antipodean word of all time.
Have you heard of bogans before? I saw an art gallery exhibition about them recently.
I grew up watching Neighbours, and that introduced me to all the Aussie slang… Pashing, yute… Best of all: rack off!
I’ve never heard this either, and it’s not a bad song. I always find it interesting how some songs are massive hits in one country or part of the world, yet are virtually unknown elsewhere.
It’s weirder when they’re a hit outside the local market. There are so many songs out there so all can’t be hits. Lots of people like this one, I think I’m a bit allergic to the modern rock sheen.
I never heard this one. Not too bad but just a little slick for me.
Not surprised you haven’t heard it – huge in New Zealand, obscure elsewhere. I find most mainstream rock after about 1980 too slick – lots of indie/punk stuff has some edge and some swing, but not so much in the mainstream.