diff --git a/Lib/SocketServer.py b/Lib/SocketServer.py
index afb8686..23ce6fc 100644
--- a/Lib/SocketServer.py
+++ b/Lib/SocketServer.py
@@ -416,8 +416,12 @@
         self.socket = socket.socket(self.address_family,
                                     self.socket_type)
         if bind_and_activate:
-            self.server_bind()
-            self.server_activate()
+            try:
+                self.server_bind()
+                self.server_activate()
+            except:
+                self.server_close()
+                raise
 
     def server_bind(self):
         """Called by constructor to bind the socket.