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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZMEN AT WORKAustralian pop group formed in Melbourne '79 by Colin Hay (b 29 June '53 Scotland), rhythm guitar, vocals; Ron Strykert (b 18 Aug. '57 Aus.), guitar; multi- instrumentalist Greg Ham (b 27 Sep. '53 Aus.); John Rees, bass and vocals; Jerry Speiser, drums. Played Melbourne and Sydney pub circuits, signed by Aus. CBS. 'Who Can It Be Now' had Ham's sax trading lines with Hay's high-pitched voice over understated backing, reached no. 2; 'Down Under' (tale of Australians abroad) was no. 1; LP Business As Usual '82 was also no. 1, staying there for ten weeks and beating NZ band Split Enz's record. USA support tour with Fleetwood Mac helped 'Who Can It Be Now' to no. 1 USA '82; 'Down Under' did it again, both from Business As Usual, no. 1 LP USA for 15 weeks, a staggeringly fast conquering of USA; UK capitulated to self- mocking humour of 'Down Under' (and witty video): no. 1 there '83; Business As Usual/'Down Under' topped USA/UK charts simultaneously for the first time since Rod Stewart's 'Maggie May'/Every Picture Tells A Story '72, and beat the Monkees' twelve-week chart-topping feat for a debut LP. But UK popularity faded fast: lesser songs sounded plagiarized to UK listeners due to reggae rhythms, while Hay's vocal resemblance to Sting allowed Police's return to chart to sweep Men away '83. In USA Cargo '83 joined Business in top ten; single hits in USA '83 incl. two in top ten. Founders and main songwriters Hay, Ham and Strykert ditched the others late '84 before release of Two Hearts; Peter McIan, prod. of the hit LPs, had been replaced by Hay/Ham partnership; Strykert left before Hearts released, followed by Ham, leaving Hay the sole man at work and the new LP flopped. Hay became a singer-songwriter, his first solo album was Looking For Jack '87 as Colin James Hay on CBS labels prod. by Robin Miller (Sade), with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter guesting; his albums became harder to find as they got better: the second was Wayfaring Sons '90 as Colin Hay Band on MCA, fifth was stripped-down acoustic Peaks And Valleys '97 on Hypertension Music, with 13 songs, all but one his own. |