Men at Work

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Men at Work
Origin St. Kilda, Australia
Genre(s) New Wave, rock, pop
Years active 1979–1985, 1996–2000
Label(s) Columbia, Sony
Members
Colin Hay
Ron Strykert
Jerry Speiser
Greg Ham
John Rees
For the movie "Men at Work", see Men at Work (film).

Men at Work was an Australian reggae-influenced rock band which achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to reach the Number 1 position in album and singles charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom with Business as Usual and "Down Under" respectively.[1] The group won the 1983 Grammy Award for Best New Artist and sold over 30 million albums worldwide

Contents

[edit] Early years

Colin Hay emigrated to Australia in 1967 with his family. In 1978 he formed a duo with Ron Strykert, which expanded with the addition of drummer Jerry Speiser and keyboard player Greg Sneddon, who soon left, to be replaced by saxophonist/flutist/keyboardist Greg Ham. After a time, the band recruited bass guitarist John Rees and the group was complete.

The band played a regular residency at Melbourne's Cricketers Arms Hotel and built a strong local following. Per the liner notes in Contraband: the Best of Men at Work, the group didn't have a name until driving the group van one night, desperate for something to put on the chalk board outside the pub, Greg Ham spied a "Men at Work" construction sign, and decided to use that for the group's name. In 1980, they financed a single ("Keypunch Operator") backed by an early version of "Down Under".

In 1981 Columbia Records signed Men at Work. Their first single, "Who Can It Be Now?", reached Number 1 on the Australian chart in August 1981. A subsequent single (a re-worked version of "Down Under") and their first album (Business as Usual) also went to Number 1. The album also debuted at Number 1 in New Zealand.

[edit] International success

Despite its strong Australian showing, and having an American producer (Peter McIan), Business As Usual was twice rejected by Columbia's parent company in the United States. Thanks to the persistence of the band's management, the album was eventually released in the USA and the UK six months after its Australian release. Men at Work toured the USA to promote the album, supporting the likes of Fleetwood Mac.

In October 1982 "Who Can It Be Now?" hit Number 1 in the USA. Then, in November of that year, Business As Usual began a 12 week run at Number 1 on the US album chart. While "Who Can It Be Now?" was still in the top ten, the second single, "Down Under" was released. It entered the charts at #79; ten weeks later, it was #1. By January 1983, Men at Work had the top album and single in both the USA and the UK - a feat never achieved previously by an Australian act.

Men at Work won a Grammy Award, winning Best New Artist for 1983 ahead of Asia, Jennifer Holliday, Human League and Stray Cats. This was the first for an Australian recording act.

That same year, Canada awarded them a Juno Award for "International LP of the Year."

"Down Under" received renewed attention when it was used as the unofficial anthem for Australia's successful challenge for the 1983 America’s Cup.

The band soon released their second album Cargo. It had been finished in the summer of 1982, but held for release due to the phenomenal success of the band's debut. The new album went to Number 1. The international market, where Business As Usual was still riding high, kept the album at Number 3 on the Billboard chart. The album produced four chart singles in the USA: "Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive" [#28], "High Wire", "It's a Mistake" [#6] and "Overkill" [#3].

In 1984, the band took a long break as members pursued other interests and recovered from the two years of constant touring they'd done in support of both albums. At the end of that period, Jerry Speiser and John Rees were advised by management that they were no longer members of the band. The remaining members (Hay, Ham and Strykert) recorded a third album Two Hearts which peaked at Number 50 on the chart. Although four songs were released as singles to promote the album (lead single "Everything I Need", "Man With Two Hearts", "Maria", and "Hard Luck Story"), only the first song charted in the U.S., and that only at #47.

Men at Work performed three songs for the 1985 Oz for Africa concert (part of the global Live Aid program) - "Maria", "Overkill", "The Longest Night". It was broadcast in Australia (on both Seven Network and Nine Network) and on MTV in the US. Maria" and "Overkill" were also broadcast by American Broadcasting Company (abc) during their Live Aid telecast.[2] Throughout 1985, the remaining members left one by one. By the end of that year the band was defunct.

Hay and Ham reformed Men at Work in 1998, releasing a live hits collection, Brazil.

[edit] Later years

Men at Work had enjoyed strong fan support in South America during their heyday. Original members Hay and Ham reunited to tour that continent in 1996, culminating in the Brazilian release of a live CD Brazil '96 in 1997. The album was subsequently released worldwide in 1998 as 'Brazil' with a bonus studio song "The Longest Night".

Men at Work performed "Down Under" at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Hay maintains a successful solo career. Strykert lives in Montana, continues to play music and is bitter about Men at Work.[3] Speiser, Ham and Rees still work in the music industry.

For updated information on the individual members of the band, see Where Are They Now - Men at Work

[edit] Original band members

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Live albums

[edit] Compilations

[edit] Singles

  • "Keypunch Operator"/"Down Under" (self-produced single) (1979);
Year Title Chart positions Album
US Pop US Rock US AC Australia UK
1982 "Who Can It Be Now?" #1 (1982) #46 (1982) #2 (1981) #45 (1982) Business as Usual
1982 "Down Under" #1 (1983) #1 (1983) #13 (1983) #1 (1981) #1 (1983) Business as Usual
1983 "Be Good Johnny" #3 Business as Usual
1983 "Underground" #20 Business as Usual
1983 "High Wire" #23 Cargo
1983 "Overkill" #3 #3 #6 #21 Cargo
1983 "It's a Mistake" #6 #10 #33 Cargo
1983 "Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive" #28 #12 #31 Cargo
1985 "Everything I Need" #47 Two Hearts
1985 "Maria" Two Hearts
1985 'Two Hearts Two Hearts

[edit] Guest appearances

  • Colin Hay made two guest appearances on Scrubs as 'Troubadour' on "My Overkill"[1], season 2 episode 1, singing "Overkill" and on "My Hard Labor", season 7 episode 2, singing "Down Under".
  • Colin Hay made a guest appearance on "the Larry Sanders Show"
  • Greg Ham sang their hit Helpless Automaton on the Oprah series in 2002

[edit] See also

[edit] References

 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)
  1. ^ Howlspace: Men at Work Retrieved on 9 July 2007
  2. ^ "Oz for Africa". liveaid.free.fr. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  3. ^ MySpace Music: Ron Strykert Retrieved on 22 July 2007

4. Liner notes from Contraband. 5. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hifoxqe5ldfe~T51

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Men at Work
Colin Hay | Ron Strykert | Jerry Speiser | Greg Ham | John Rees
Studio albums
Live albums
Singles
"Keypunch Operator" / "Down Under" | "Who Can It Be Now?" | "Down Under" | "Be Good Johnny" | "Underground" | "High Wire" | "Overkill" | "It's a Mistake" | "Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive" | "Everything I Need" | "Maria" | "Two Hearts"
Compilations
The Works | Puttin' in Overtime | Contraband: The Best of Men at Work | Simply The Best | Definitive Collection | Super Hits | Essential Men at Work