Men at Work
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- For the movie Men at Work, see Men at Work (film).
Men at Work were an Australian reggae-influenced rock band of the early 1980s.
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[edit] History
Men At Work's first album, 1982's Business as Usual, set a record for the most weeks for a debut album at No. 1 in the U.S. charts. In addition to "Down Under", the hits "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Be Good Johnny" were made into successful and popular videos during MTV's early years. Both "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under" hit number one in the United States. One of the most successful albums of the early 1980s, Business As Usual has been certified for 6 million sales in the United States, and an estimated 15 million copies worldwide.
Men at Work are best known for their 1982 hit "Down Under", a song many misinterpret as just a joyful, comic song about Australians travelling the world with confidence in the virtues of their country. Said frontman Colin Hay,"The chorus is really about the selling of Australia in many ways, the over-development of the country. It was a song about the loss of spirit in that country. It's really about the plundering of the country by greedy people. It is ultimately about celebrating the country, but not in a nationalistic way and not in a flag-waving sense. It's really more than that." The song was commercially successful in many countries, including the UK, where it reached No. 1 (and became their only Top 20 entry in that country). It was re-released as an unofficial theme song during Australia's successful 1983 America's Cup challenge, and has become an unofficial national anthem.
Men At Work won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards of 1983.
The band's second album, 1983's Cargo, was somewhat less successful, reaching #3 in the US charts and certified with 3 million sales in the United States. Three hit singles emerged from that album: "Overkill" (#3 in the US), "It's a Mistake" (#6 in the US), and "Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive" (#12 in the US).
In the year following the release of Cargo, the band fired bassist John Rees and drummer Jerry Speiser, and they were replaced by session musicians. When their third album, Two Hearts, was released in 1985 to relatively little success ('only' 500,000 copies sold in the United States), guitarist Ron Strykert left the band, and was then followed by keyboardist/saxophonist Greg Ham. The remaining original member, frontman Colin Hay, continued to tour with session musicians until the end of 1985, after which Men At Work broke up. Two Hearts featured only one minor hit, "Everything I Need", which failed to crack the Top 40 in the US charts.
In 1996, original members Colin Hay and Greg Ham reunited, and toured the world again with session musicians. In 1998, they produced a live album Brazil, recorded live from their tour of that country.
[edit] Original band members
- Colin Hay, lead vocals and guitar (1979/1985) - (1996-1998);
- Ron Strykert, guitar, vocals (1979/1985);
- John Rees, bass, vocals (1979/1984);
- Greg Ham, saxophone, flute, keyboards, harmonica, vocals (1979/1985) - (1996-1998);
- Jerry Speiser, drums, vocals (1979/1984).
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Keypunch Operator (1979);
- Business as Usual (1982) #1 U.S., #1 AUS;
- Cargo (1983) #3 U.S., #1 AUS;
- Two Hearts (1985) #50 U.S., #16 AUS;
- Contraband: The Best Of Men At Work (1996);
- Brazil (1998).
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. Mainstream Rock | Australia | UK | |||
| 1982 | "Who Can It Be Now?" | #1 | #46 | #2 (1981) | #45 | Business As Usual |
| 1982 | "Down Under" | #1 | #1 | #1 (1981) | #1 | Business As Usual |
| 1983 | "Be Good Johnny" | - | #3 | #8 (1982) | #78 (1984) | Business As Usual |
| 1983 | "Overkill" | #3 | #3 | #5 | #21 | Cargo |
| 1983 | "It's A Mistake" | #6 | #27 | #34 | #33 | Cargo |
| 1983 | "Dr. Heckyll And Mr. Jive" | #28 | #12 | #6 (1982) | #31 | Cargo |
| 1985 | "Everything I Need" | #47 | #28 | #37 | - | Two Hearts |
