Men at Work released Two Hearts

Two Hearts Men at Work

Released: April 23, 1985 Peak: 50 US, -- UK, -- CN, 16 AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, 0.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop rock/new wave

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Man with Two Hearts Giving Up Everything I Need (1985, 47, US, 28 AR, 37 AU) Sail to You Children on Parade Maria Stay at Home Hard Luck Story Snakes and Ladders Still Life Total Running Time: 36:34 The Players: Colin Hay (vocals, guitar, various instruments, drum programming) Greg Ham (flute, keyboards, saxophone, vocals, drum programming) Ron Strykert (guitar, vocals)

Rating: 3.142 out of 5.00 (average of 6 ratings)

About the Album: Men at Work took the world by storm in 1982 and 1983 with their monstrously successful Business As Usual album and the #1 singles “Who Can It Be Now?” and “Down Under.” They quickly followed with another album that was a top-five, multi-platinum smash which gave the band two more top-10 hits in the U.S. After they took a break, they reconvened in the fall of 1984 to start work on a third album. Friction led to the dismissal of bassist John Rees and drummer Jerry Speiser before the recording started. They were replaced with session musicians and a stronger emphasis on drum machines and synthesizers. Guitarist Ron Strykert left during sessions, although he is still credited as a member of the group for the Two Hearts album. The band also let producer Ian McIan go, the man who’d produced the first two hugely successful albums. Colin Hay and Greg Ham opted to produce the album themselves. These were all warning signs that Men at Work might be finished as a viable commercial act and might even be done as a band. Sadly, both proved true. That isn’t to say, though, that there isn’t some good music here. Everything I Need was the only song that charted, peaking at #47 in the U.S. and barely making the top 40 in their own native Australia. The song, however, sounded worthy of the top-10 status Men at Work had achieved four times with singles from the first two albums. Man with Two Hearts, Maria, Hard Luck Story, and Still Life were all released as singles, but none charted. The first two certainly weren’t of the same caliber as Men at Work’s biggest hits, but they felt like songs that deserved at least top-40 status. It was an unfortunate ending for a band whose star rose so quickly and, sadly, fell just as fast. While the group will always be best remembered for its fun videos and chart-toppers, they deserve to be recognized for the unfairly overlooked Two Hearts as well.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Men at Work WK Wikipedia First posted 9/19/2020; last updated 8/2/2021.

Men at Work released Cargo

Cargo Men at Work

Released: April 29, 1983 Peak: 3 US, 8UK, 3 CN, 12 AU Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.1 UK, 3.72 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop rock/new wave

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive (10/82, 28 US, 12 AR, 31 UK, 26 CN, 6 AU) Overkill (4/9/83, 3 US, 3 AR, 6 AC, 21 UK, 6 CN, 5 AU) Settle Down My Boy Upstairs in My House No Sign of Yesterday It’s a Mistake (6/83, 6 US, 27 AR, 10 AC, 33 UK, 26 CN, 34 AU) High Wire (1983, 23 AR, 89 AU) Blue for You I Like To No Restrictions Total Running Time: 42:21 The Players: Colin Hay (vocals, guitar) Greg Ham (flute, keyboards, saxophone, vocals) Ron Strykert (guitar, vocals) John Rees (bass, backing vocals) Jerry Speiser (drums, backing vocals)

Rating: 3.823 out of 5.00 (average of 6 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: The Australian new wave band Men at Work debuted in 1981 with Business As Usual. It took a year for it to catch on in the United States, but when it did it exploded. “Who Can It Be Now?” hit #1 in 1982 and “Down Under” ascended to the throne in early 1983. The two songs fueled Business As Usual to the top of Billboard album chart for 15 weeks. Meanwhile, Men at Work already had Cargo waiting in the wings. They’d finished the album in mid-’82, but held off releasing it because of the success of Business As Usual. When Cargo dropped in 1983, the former album was still riding high on the charts. The first single, Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive, was released in Australia in October 1982, although it would be nearly a year later before it saw a U.S. release. The song was accompanied by a video which played to Men at Work’s reputation as an act known for entertaining, humorous videos. Greg Ham played a mad scientist who creates a potion that transforms him into a ladies’ man. In the U.S. the song was preceded by two Men at Work top-10 hits. Overkill was released in April 1983 and showed some more dimension to the band. The song had a more serious tone than the light-hearted pop fare of “Who Can It Be Now?” and “Down Under,” though it dealt with paranoia again, as had “Who Can It Be Now?” It’s a Mistake also tapped into a more serious vibe with lyrics focused on the mindset of military men and the prospects of nuclear war. The video played up the band’s charisma with a story in which each member move from roles in the working world to unexpected roles in the military, suggesting they’d been drafted. The storyline seemed to be somewhat modeled after Dr. Strangelove, a black comedy film from 1964. Rolling Stone’s Christopher Connelly wrote that the album “may lack a track with the body-slamming intensity of ‘Who Can It Be Now?’ and ‘Down Under,’ but song for song, it is a stronger overall effort than Business As Usual.” WK All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine said “Overkill” and “It’s a Mistake” had “more depth than anything on the debut” WK but that the rest of the album was “weighed down by filler.” WK John Mendelssohn of Record had little positive to say about the album, other than “Colin Hay may be the most effortlessly soulful pop singer since Sting.” WK Notes: A 2003 reissue added bonus tracks “Shintaro” and “Till the Money Runs Out,” and live versions of “Upstairs in My House,” “Fallin’ Down,” and “The Longest Night.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Men at Work WK Wikipedia First posted 9/20/2020; last updated 8/2/2021.

Men at Work hit #1 on the Hot 100 with “Down Under”

Down Under Men at Work

Writer(s): Colin Hay, Ron Strykert (see lyrics here) Released: October 23, 1981 Peak: 14 BB, 15 CB, 14 GR, 15 RR, 13 AC, 15 AR, 1 CO, 13 UK, 13 CN, 16 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 1.2 UK, 3.68 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 500.33 video, 788.53 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The first version of this Australian classic was released in 1980 as the B-side to “Keypunch Operator.” After Men at Work signed with Columbia Records, they re-recorded “Down Under” with a different arrangement and tempo. It was released in Australia in late ’81 and reached the top of the charts. It would be another year before it charted in the U.S. After “Who Can It Be Now?” hit #1 in America, “Down Under” was released as the follow-up and hit the Billboard Hot 100 on November 6, 1982. It topped the charts in January 1983 and helped propel the album to the top of the U.S. charts for 15 weeks. The song also reached the pinnacle in the UK, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, and Switzerland. WK The song’s lyrics focus on a man who travels the world meeting people curious about his home country of Australia. Colin Hay was inspired by his own experiences as well as Australian entertainer Barry Humphries, who created a “larger-than-life character” SF who “was a beer-swilling Australian who traveled to England.” SF References include Vegemite sandwich (a popular Australian snack), a “fried-out Kombi” (an overheated Volkswagen), and “head full of zombie” (marijuana use), and “chunder” (Aussie slang for vomit). The song and its quirky video were practically a parody, but Hay said “it is ultimately about celebrating the country, but not in a nationalistic way and not in a flag-waving sense.” SF Hay explained that Ron Strykert created the bass riff with percussion played on bottles filled with varying degrees of water, which would produce different notes. He said “it had a real trance-like quality to it. I used to listen to it in the car all the time. When I was driving along one day..the chords popped out and a couple of days later I wrote the verses.” SF The band were sued in 2009 for copyright infringement. Larrikin Music claimed the flute solo in the song was based on the 1932 song “Kookaburra” written by Marion Sinclair. In 2010, it was ruled that Larrikin would receive 5% of royalties from 2002, WK which ended up being about $100,000. However, legal fees added up to about $4.5 million. SF In 2001, the Australian Performing Rights Association named “Down Under” the fourth best Australian song in history. RC Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Men at Work RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Pages 303-4. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/20/2020; last updated 9/25/2022.

Men at Work’s Business As Usual hit #1 for 1st of 15 weeks

Business As Usual Men at Work

Released: November 9, 1981 Peak: 115 US, 15 UK, 110 CN, 19 AU Sales (in millions): 6.0 US, 0.3 UK, 15.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop rock/new wave

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Who Can It Be Now? (6/6/81, 1 US, 46 AR, 45 UK, 2 AU, 8 CN) I Can See It in Your Eyes Down Under (10/23/81, 1 US, 1 AR, 13 AC, 1 UK, 1 CN, 1 AU, sales: 1.6 million, airplay: 2 million) Underground (3/5/83, 20 AR) Helpless Automation People Just Love to Play with Words Be Good Johnny (4/82, 3 AR, 78 UK, 19 CN, 8 AU) Touching the Untouchables Catch a Star Down by the Sea Total Running Time: 38:11 The Players: Colin Hay (vocals, guitar) Greg Ham (flute, keyboards, saxophone, vocals) Ron Strykert (guitar, vocals) John Rees (bass, backing vocals) Jerry Speiser (drums, backing vocals)

Rating: 3.994 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Business as Usual was the debut album for the Australian new wave band Men at Work. It was released in their home country in November 1981 and saw U.S. release five months later in April 1982. They became “the most unlikely success story of 1982,” AZ spending 15 weeks atop the Billboard album chart and winning the Grammy for Best New Artist. Their success came primarily on the basis of “two excellent singles that merged straight-ahead pop/rock hooks with a quirky new wave production and an offbeat sense of humor. Colin Hay’s keening vocals uncannily recall Sting, and the band’s rhythmic pulse and phased guitars also bring to mind a bar band version of the Police.” AMG “Like Sting, Colin Hay’s vocal inflections were more suited to reggae than to white guitar-pop; the band, meanwhile, seemed to aim for much the same kind of earnest, slightly arch tone as early XTC.” AZ The lead single, Who Can It Be Now?, was released in Australia in June 1981, where it became a #1 hit. More than a year later, it made its U.S. chart debut, eventually soaring to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. While that song played up paranoia in its video, the follow-up hit, Down Under, showcased Men at Work’s goofier side. The almost-novelty song celebrated their native country with a campy and popular video. The song was an even bigger hit on the U.S. charts. “For a time, Australians abroad seemed destined to have ‘Down Under’ sung at them – often by whole groups of strangers – as if it were a sunny gesture of greeting or camaraderie, instead of what it actually was: a tacit reinforcement of cultural stereotypes.” AZ “For the record: to ‘chunder’ means to vomit. And a Vegemite sandwich is nothing you’d want to eat.” AZ The song met with more controversy in 2010 when it was determined it had been plagiarized from a 1934 Australian song “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree,” written by Marion Sinclair. The band were ordered to pay a portion of royalties to the company holding the copyright on “Kookaburra.” “There’s a fair amount of filler on the record, but Be Good Johnny, I Can See It in Your Eyes, and Down by the Sea are all fine new wave pop songs, making Business as Usual one of the more enjoyable mainstream-oriented efforts of the era.” AMG Notes: A 2003 rerelease adds non-LP B-side, “Crazy,” the non-U.S. single track, “F-19,” and live versions of “Who Can It Be Now?” and “Underground.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Men at Work AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine AZ Amazon.co.uk review by Andrew McGuire WK Wikipedia First posted 4/19/2012; updated 8/2/2021.

Men at Work released Business As Usual in the U.S.

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