Hay had emigrated to Australia in 1967 from Scotland with his family.
Men at Work were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994. |- | ARIA Music Awards of 1994 | Men at Work | ARIA Hall of Fame | ===Countdown Australian Music Awards=== Countdown is an Australian pop music TV series that aired on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week.
Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under".
After playing as an acoustic duo with Ron Strykert during 1978–79, Hay formed the group with Strykert playing bass guitar and Jerry Speiser on drums.
In 1978, he had formed an acoustic duo with Strykert, which expanded by mid-1979 with the addition of Speiser.
In 2019, Hay revived the Men at Work moniker and began touring with the assistance of a backing band featuring none of the other original members. ==History== ===Origins=== The nucleus of Men at Work formed in Melbourne around June 1979 with Colin Hay on lead vocals and guitar, Ron Strykert on bass guitar, and Jerry Speiser on drums.
Ultimately, he decided to join the band in October 1979.
Men at Work were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994. |- | ARIA Music Awards of 1994 | Men at Work | ARIA Hall of Fame | ===Countdown Australian Music Awards=== Countdown is an Australian pop music TV series that aired on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week.
This line-up achieved national and international success during the early to mid 1980s.
In 1980, the group issued their debut single, "Keypunch Operator" backed by "Down Under", with both tracks co-written by Hay and Strykert.
In January 1983, they were the first Australian artists to have a simultaneous No. 1 album and No. 1 single on the United States Billboard charts: Business as Usual (released on 9 November 1981) and "Down Under" (1981), respectively.
Despite not appearing in the top 100 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, by the end of that year the group had "grown in stature to become the most in-demand and highly paid, unsigned band of the year". ===International success (1981–1983)=== Early in 1981 Men at Work signed with CBS Records, the Australian branch of CBS Records International, (which became Sony Music) on the recommendation of Peter Karpin, the label's A&R person.
The group's first single with CBS Records in Australia "Who Can It Be Now?", was released in June 1981 which reached No. 2 and remained in the chart for 24 weeks.
Thanks to the persistence of Russell Depeller and Karpin, the album was finally released in the US and the United Kingdom in April 1982 – six months after its Australian release.
Their next single, "Be Good Johnny", was issued in Australia in April 1982 and reached No. 8 in Australia, and No. 3 in New Zealand. Men at Work initially broke through to North American audiences in the western provinces of Canada with "Who Can It Be Now?" hitting the top 10 on radio stations in Winnipeg by May 1982.
The lead single, "Overkill", was issued in Australia ahead of the album in October 1982 and reached No. 6, it peaked at No. 3 in the US.
In January 1983, they were the first Australian artists to have a simultaneous No. 1 album and No. 1 single on the United States Billboard charts: Business as Usual (released on 9 November 1981) and "Down Under" (1981), respectively.
Their second album Cargo (2 May 1983) was also No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in New Zealand, No. 3 in the US, and No. 8 in the UK.
Their third album Two Hearts (3 April 1985) reached the top 20 in Australia and top 50 in the US. They won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1983, they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1994, and they have sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
By January 1983 Men at Work had the top album and single in both the US and the UK – never previously achieved by an Australian act.
"Be Good Johnny" received moderate airplay in the US; it reached the top 20 in Canada. "Down Under" gained international media exposure in September 1983 through television coverage of the Australian challenge for the America's Cup yacht trophy in September 1983 when it was adopted as the theme song by the crew of the successful Australia II. The band released their second album, Cargo, in April 1983, which also peaked at No. 1 – for two weeks – on the Australian charts.
Jive" followed in March 1983 made it to No. 5 in Australia, and No. 28 in the US.
The band toured the world extensively in 1983. ===Two Hearts and break-up (1984–1986)=== In 1984, long standing tensions between Hay and Speiser led to a split in the band.
In May 2001, "Down Under" was listed at No. 4 on the APRA Top 30 Australian songs and Business as Usual appeared in the book 100 Best Australian Albums (October 2010). The original band line-up split in two in 1984, with Speiser and Rees being asked to leave the group.
The band toured the world extensively in 1983. ===Two Hearts and break-up (1984–1986)=== In 1984, long standing tensions between Hay and Speiser led to a split in the band.
Their third album Two Hearts (3 April 1985) reached the top 20 in Australia and top 50 in the US. They won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1983, they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1994, and they have sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
Both Rees and Speiser were told they were "not required", as Hay, Ham and Strykert used session musicians to record their third album, Two Hearts (23 April 1985).
Strykert had left during its production. Four tracks were released as singles, "Everything I Need" (May 1985), "Man with Two Hearts", "Maria" (August), and "Hard Luck Story" (October); only the lead single charted in Australia (No. 37) and the US (No. 47).
Australian singers Kate Ceberano and Renée Geyer had also worked on the album and performed live as guest vocalists. On 13 July 1985 Men at Work performed three tracks for the Oz for Africa concert (part of the global Live Aid program)—"Maria", "Overkill", and an unreleased one, "The Longest Night".
The final Men at Work performances during 1985 had jazz saxophonist Paul Williamson (The Black Sorrows), replacing Ham.
By early 1986 the band was defunct and Hay started recording his first solo album, Looking for Jack (January 1987), which had Alsop and Wackerman as session musicians. ===Partial reunion and second break-up (1996–2002)=== By mid-1996, after a ten-year absence, Hay and Ham reformed Men at Work to tour South America.
By early 1986 the band was defunct and Hay started recording his first solo album, Looking for Jack (January 1987), which had Alsop and Wackerman as session musicians. ===Partial reunion and second break-up (1996–2002)=== By mid-1996, after a ten-year absence, Hay and Ham reformed Men at Work to tour South America.
They commenced in 1987.
Men at Work were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994. |- | ARIA Music Awards of 1994 | Men at Work | ARIA Hall of Fame | ===Countdown Australian Music Awards=== Countdown is an Australian pop music TV series that aired on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week.
Their third album Two Hearts (3 April 1985) reached the top 20 in Australia and top 50 in the US. They won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1983, they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1994, and they have sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
Men at Work were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994. |- | ARIA Music Awards of 1994 | Men at Work | ARIA Hall of Fame | ===Countdown Australian Music Awards=== Countdown is an Australian pop music TV series that aired on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week.
Hay and Ham toured the world as Men at Work from 1996 until 2002.
The 1996 line up had Stephen Hadley on bass guitar and backing vocals (ex-The Black Sorrows, Paul Kelly Band); Simon Hosford on guitar and backing vocals (Colin Hay backing band); and John Watson on drums (The Black Sorrows).
The tour culminated in a performance in São Paulo, which was recorded for the Brazilian release of a live album, Brazil '96, in 1997, which was co-produced by Hay and Ham for Sony Records.
It was re-released worldwide in 1998 as Brazil with a bonus track, "The Longest Night", the first new studio track since Two Hearts. In 1997 drummer Tony Floyd replaced Watson but by 1998 the lineup was Hay, Ham, James Ryan (guitar, backing vocals), Rick Grossman (of the Hoodoo Gurus) on bass and Peter Maslen (ex-Boom Crash Opera) on drums.
It was re-released worldwide in 1998 as Brazil with a bonus track, "The Longest Night", the first new studio track since Two Hearts. In 1997 drummer Tony Floyd replaced Watson but by 1998 the lineup was Hay, Ham, James Ryan (guitar, backing vocals), Rick Grossman (of the Hoodoo Gurus) on bass and Peter Maslen (ex-Boom Crash Opera) on drums.
Moses was replaced by Warren Trout in 2001 as Stephen Hadley returned on bass. The band toured Australia, South America, Europe and the US from 1998 to 2000.
In 1999 Ryan, Grossman and Maslen were out and Hosford and Floyd were back in, along with bassist Stuart Speed.
Rodrigo Aravena was brought in on bass in 2000, along with Heta Moses on drums.
Moses was replaced by Warren Trout in 2001 as Stephen Hadley returned on bass. The band toured Australia, South America, Europe and the US from 1998 to 2000.
In May 2001, "Down Under" was listed at No. 4 on the APRA Top 30 Australian songs and Business as Usual appeared in the book 100 Best Australian Albums (October 2010). The original band line-up split in two in 1984, with Speiser and Rees being asked to leave the group.
Moses was replaced by Warren Trout in 2001 as Stephen Hadley returned on bass. The band toured Australia, South America, Europe and the US from 1998 to 2000.
Men at Work have sold over 30 million albums worldwide. On 28 May 2001 "Down Under" was listed at No. 4 on the APRA Top 30 Australian songs.
Hay and Ham toured the world as Men at Work from 1996 until 2002.
In July 2010 a judge ruled that Larrikin should be paid 5% of past (since 2002) and future profits.
Back in early 2009 the Australian music-themed TV quiz, Spicks and Specks, had posed a question which suggested that "Down Under" contained elements of "Kookaburra". Larrikin, then headed by Norman Lurie, filed suit after Larrikin was sold to another company and had demanded between 40% and 60% of the previous six years of earnings from the song.
Strykert relocated to Hobart in 2009 from Los Angeles, and continued to play music and released his first solo album, Paradise, in September that year.
In May 2001, "Down Under" was listed at No. 4 on the APRA Top 30 Australian songs and Business as Usual appeared in the book 100 Best Australian Albums (October 2010). The original band line-up split in two in 1984, with Speiser and Rees being asked to leave the group.
In February 2010 the judge ruled that "Down Under" did contain a flute riff based on "Kookaburra" but stipulated that neither was it necessarily the hook nor a substantial part of the hit song (Hay and Strykert had written the track years before the flute riff was added by Ham).
In July 2010 a judge ruled that Larrikin should be paid 5% of past (since 2002) and future profits.
On 19 April 2012, Ham was found dead at his home from an apparent heart attack.
Ham's body was found in his Carlton North home on April 19, 2012 after he suffered a fatal heart attack at age 58. ===Post 2012=== In June 2019, Hay toured Europe with a group of Los Angeles-based session musicians under the name Men at Work, despite the band featuring no other original members of the band. == Other projects == Hay maintained a solo career and played with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
In 2019, Hay revived the Men at Work moniker and began touring with the assistance of a backing band featuring none of the other original members. ==History== ===Origins=== The nucleus of Men at Work formed in Melbourne around June 1979 with Colin Hay on lead vocals and guitar, Ron Strykert on bass guitar, and Jerry Speiser on drums.
Ham's body was found in his Carlton North home on April 19, 2012 after he suffered a fatal heart attack at age 58. ===Post 2012=== In June 2019, Hay toured Europe with a group of Los Angeles-based session musicians under the name Men at Work, despite the band featuring no other original members of the band. == Other projects == Hay maintained a solo career and played with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
All text is taken from Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License .
Page generated on 2021-08-05