Business as Usual
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| Business as Usual | |||||
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| Studio album by Men at Work | |||||
| Released | December 1981 (AUS), August 24, 1982 (USA) | ||||
| Recorded | October 1981 | ||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||
| Length | 38:11 | ||||
| Label | Columbia | ||||
| Producer | Peter McIan | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Men at Work chronology | |||||
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Business as Usual is the first album by Australian band Men at Work, released in December 1981 in Australia and August 1982 in the US. The Australian release of the album included a black and white cover design, whereas overseas releases had the same design but in yellow and black color scheme.
The album was one of the most successful albums internationally by an Australian group. It spent an unprecedented 15 weeks at #1 in the American album charts from late 1982 to early 1983 and five weeks at #1 in the UK in early 1983. In Australia, it did nine weeks at the top of the Australian album charts from Dec 1981 — Mar 1982.[citation needed]
Business as Usual was one of the most commercially successful albums in the early 80s, with 6 million copies sold in the US alone & 15 million sold wide.[citation needed]
The track "Who Can It Be Now" was first released as a single in Australia in June 1981, prior to the recording of the rest of the album. The single peaked at #2 in the Australian singles charts in August that year.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Who Can It Be Now?" (Hay) – 3:25
- "I Can See It in Your Eyes" (Hay) – 3:32
- "Down Under" (Hay, Strykert) – 3:45
- "Underground" (Hay) – 3:07
- "Helpless Automaton" (Ham) – 3:23
- "People Just Love to Play With Words" (Strykert) – 3:33
- "Be Good Johnny" (Ham, Hay) – 3:39
- "Touching the Untouchables" (Hay, Strykert) – 3:41
- "Catch a Star" (Hay) – 3:31
- "Down by the Sea" (Hay, Strykert, Ham, Speiser) – 6:53
[edit] Re-Mastered Bonus Tracks
- "Crazy (Non LP B-Side)"
- "Underground (Live)"
- "Who Can It Be Now? (Live)"
- "F-19 (Non LP B-Side)"
[edit] Personnel
- Russell Deppeler - telephone, calculator.
- Greg Ham - flute, keyboards, saxophone, background vocals, lead vocals on track 5
- Colin Hay - guitar, lead vocals
- Johnathan Rees - bass, background vocals
- Jerry Speiser - drums, background vocals
- Ron Strykert - guitar, background vocals, lead vocals on track 11
[edit] Production
- Producer: Peter McIan
- Engineers: Jim Barbour, Peter McIan, Paul Ray
- Cover Illustration: Jon "JD" Dickson
[edit] Charts
[edit] Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Billboard 200 | 1 |
| 1983 | Black Albums | 29 |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "Who Can It Be Now?/Down Under" | Club Play Singles | 33 |
| 1982 | "Who Can It Be Now?" | Mainstream Rock | 46 |
| 1982 | "Who Can It Be Now?" | Pop Singles | 1 |
| 1983 | "Be Good Johnny" | Mainstream Rock | 3 |
| 1983 | "Down Under" | Adult Contemporary | 13 |
| 1983 | "Down Under" | Pop Singles | 1 |
| 1983 | "Underground" | Mainstream Rock | 20 |
| 1983 | "Down Under" | Mainstream Rock | 1 |
| Preceded by "Jack and Diane" by John Cougar |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single ("Who Can It Be Now?") October 30, 1982 |
Succeeded by "Up Where We Belong" by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes |
| Preceded by American Fool by John Cougar |
Billboard 200 number-one album November 13, 1982 - February 25, 1983 |
Succeeded by Thriller by Michael Jackson |
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