Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", "Be Good Johnny", "Overkill", and "It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is Colin Hay, who performs on lead vocals and guitar. After playing as an acoustic duo with Ron Strykert during 1978–1979, Hay formed the group with Strykert playing bass guitar and Jerry Speiser on drums. They were soon joined by Greg Ham on flute, saxophone and keyboards, and John Rees on bass guitar, with Strykert switching back to lead guitar. The group was managed by Russell Depeller, a friend of Hay, whom he met at La Trobe University. This line-up achieved national and international success during the early to mid-1980s.
Air Supply is a soft rock duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975, consisting of Englishman Graham Russell and Australian Russell Hitchcock (vocals). With record sales of 100 million worldwide, they had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-five hits on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Lost in Love" (1979), "All Out of Love", "Every Woman in the World", "The One That You Love", "Here I Am", "Sweet Dreams", "Even the Nights Are Better" and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" (1983). In Australia, they had four top ten placements with "Love and Other Bruises" (1976), "All Out of Love", "Every Woman in the World" and "The One That You Love". Their highest charting studio album, The One That You Love (1981) reached number ten in both Australia and the US. The group, which relocated to Los Angeles in the late 1970s, has included many members, with Hitchcock and Russell at the core. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) inducted Air Supply into their Hall of Fame on 1 December 2013, at the annual ARIA Awards.
Moving Pictures are an Australian rock music band formed in 1980. Their debut album, Days of Innocence, was issued in October 1981 and eventually peaked at No. 1 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart in February the following year. In January 1982, they released their single, "What About Me", which reached No. 1 on the Kent Singles Chart. Later that year, Elektra Records issued Days of Innocence and "What About Me" in North America. The single reached No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and appeared on the associated year-end Hot 100 list for 1983. A proposed series of United States performances supporting REO Speedwagon, Tom Petty, and Hall & Oates fell through when Elektra was substantially reorganised.
Colin James Hay is a Scottish-Australian musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of the band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist. Hay's music has been used frequently by actor and director Zach Braff in his work, which helped a career rebirth in the mid-2000s. Hay has also been a member of Ringo Starr's Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
Business as Usual is the debut studio album by Australian new wave band Men at Work, which was released in November 1981 in Australia, and April 1982 in the United States. It spent nine weeks at the top of the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart from December 1981 through to March 1982. The Australian version had a black and white cover design; overseas releases had a similar design, but in a black and yellow colour scheme. Business as Usual was one of the most successful albums internationally by an Australian group. It spent an unprecedented 15 weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 from late 1982 to early 1983; and five weeks at No. 1 in the United Kingdom Albums Chart in early 1983. Business as Usual was also one of the highest selling Australian albums in the early 1980s, with 6 million copies shipped in the US.
Cargo is the second studio album by the Australian pop rock band Men at Work, which was released in April 1983. It peaked at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart, No. 2 in New Zealand, No. 3 on the United States Billboard 200, and No. 8 on the United Kingdom Albums Chart. Four singles were released from the album, with "Overkill" being an international top 10 hit in Canada, Ireland, Norway, and US Billboard Hot 100. This was the final Men at Work album to feature the original lineup.
"Physical" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for her 1981 eleventh studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's lead single on 28 September 1981. The song was produced by John Farrar and written by Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick, who had originally intended to offer it to Rod Stewart. The song had also been offered to Tina Turner by her manager Roger Davies, but when Turner declined, Davies gave the song to Newton-John, another of his clients.
"Down Under" is a song recorded by Australian rock band Men at Work. It was originally released in 1980 as the B-side to their first local single, "Keypunch Operator", released before the band signed with Columbia Records. Both early songs were written by the group's co-founders, Colin Hay and Ron Strykert. The early version of "Down Under" has a slightly different tempo and arrangement from the later Columbia release. The best-known version was then released on Columbia in 1981 as the second single from Men at Work's debut album Business as Usual (1981).
Queen of Hearts is a country-pop song written by Hank DeVito, the pedal steel guitarist in Emmylou Harris's backing group The Hot Band. It was first recorded by Dave Edmunds on his 1979 album Repeat When Necessary. Edmunds' version was released as a single and reached number 11 in the UK and number 12 in Ireland that year, but failed to chart substantially elsewhere in the world. The most successful version of the song was recorded by Juice Newton in 1981 – her version reached number two in the United States and South Africa. Newton's version also reached the top 10 in Canada, Australia, Denmark, Switzerland and New Zealand.
"Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" is a song by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, first released as a single on Stiff Records in the UK on 23 November 1978 and credited to "Ian & the Blockheads". Written by Dury and the Blockheads' multi-instrumentalist Chaz Jankel, it is the group's most successful single, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart in January 1979 as well as reaching the top three in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and it was also a top 20 hit in several European countries.
"Centerfold" is a song by the J. Geils Band, released in September 1981 as the lead single from their tenth album Freeze Frame. The most successful single of the group's career, it reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1982 and held that spot for six consecutive weeks.
"Waiting for a Girl Like You" is a 1981 power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner released as the second single from the album 4 (1981) and was co-written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. The opening motif was written by Ian McDonald and the distinctive synthesizer theme was performed by the then-little-known Thomas Dolby.
"Be Good Johnny" is a song recorded by the Australian band Men at Work, released in April 1982 as the third and final single from their debut album, Business as Usual.
Ronald Graham Strykert is an Australian musician. He is best known for playing lead guitar, co-founding and composing songs with the 1980s band Men at Work.
"Overkill" is a song by Australian pop rock band Men at Work. It was released in March 1983 as the second single from their second studio album Cargo. Written by lead singer Colin Hay, it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100; No. 5 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart; and top 10 in Canada, Ireland, and Norway. The song was a departure from the group's style of reggae-influenced pop rock, featuring a melancholic feel musically and lyrically.
"The One Thing" is a song by Australian rock group INXS, released in July 1982 as the first single ahead of their third studio album, Shabooh Shoobah, which appeared in October that year.
"Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive" is a song by the Australian musical group Men at Work. The song was written by Men at Work singer/guitarist Colin Hay, and the recording was produced by Peter McIan. It was released in October 1982 in Australia as the lead single from their second album Cargo; in the United States it was the band's third single from that album.
"It's a Mistake" is a song by the Australian band Men at Work. The song was written by lead singer and guitarist Colin Hay and the recording was produced by Peter McIan. It was released in June 1983, as the third single from their album Cargo and peaked at #34 in Australia. In the US, it entered the charts at #42 on July 2, 1983, and peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1983 becoming the band's fourth and final top 10 hit. It was performed live on Saturday Night Live on 22 October 1983.
"High Wire" is a song by the Australian group Men at Work. The song was written by Men at Work singer/guitarist Colin Hay and the recording was produced by Peter McIan. It was released in November 1983 as the fourth and final single from their album Cargo.
"Wired for Sound" is a song recorded by English singer Cliff Richard, released in 1981 as the lead single for his album of the same name. The song reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart and was certified silver by the BPI for sales over 250,000. The song reached number 2 in Australia and South Africa, and was a hit in a number of European countries. The song was written by Alan Tarney and B.A. Robertson.
