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.
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 is a member of the band 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 last Men at Work album to feature the original lineup.
Two Hearts is the third and final studio album by Australian rock group Men at Work, released on 23 April 1985. Drummer Jerry Speiser and bassist John Rees had left the band prior to the album's production, while guitarist Ron Strykert left the band during recording sessions. Touring behind the album saw sole remaining members Colin Hay and Greg Ham joined by guest musicians. It peaked at No. 16 in Australia, and No. 50 on the US chart.
"Before Too Long" is a song by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, released as the first single from their debut double album, Gossip. It was released in June 1986 on the original White Label Records, a subsidiary of Mushroom Records. It reached No. 15 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, remaining for 19 weeks. The track was a surprise hit for Kelly at a time when chart success had eluded him and provided increased interest for the release of Gossip, which would become his biggest mainstream success to that date.
"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.
"Summer Love" is a song by Australian pop group, Sherbet and was released in March 1975. It became their first number-one hit on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. The song was promoted on the newly aired ABC TV pop series, Countdown, which gave it wide exposure. From early 1975 the group made more appearances on the show than any other band in the programme's history. In October, at the King of Pop Awards, "Summer Love" won the Most Popular Australian Single, the band won Most Popular Australian Group and their lead singer, Daryl Braithwaite, won the King of Pop award.
"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.
Man of Colours is the fifth studio album by Australian rock/synthpop band Icehouse, released locally on 21 September 1987 on Regular Records / Chrysalis Records.
"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.
This Island is the second studio album by Australian pop band Eurogliders, released on 7 May 1984 by CBS Records.
Absolutely is the third studio album by Australian pop band Eurogliders, released on October 11, 1985 by CBS Records. It peaked at No. 7 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart and remained in the charts for 47 weeks; it spawned three Top 20 hit singles, "We Will Together" in April, "The City of Soul" in September and "Can't Wait to See You" in November. Two further singles, "Absolutely" and "So Tough" appeared in 1986.
"Can't Help Myself" is the first single released by the Australian synthpop/rock band Flowers, later known as Icehouse. It was released in May 1980 as a 7" vinyl single on independent label, Regular Records, five months ahead of debut album Icehouse. A 10" vinyl single was released in July and had a cover depicting individual images of band members diagonally across the band's name and the single's title. It peaked at #10 on the Australian Singles Charts.
Out of Mind, Out of Sight is the fourth studio album by Australian new wave rock band Models, it was their most successful album and peaked at No. 3 on the Australian albums chart. It was released in September 1985 by Mushroom Records with Nick Launay, Reggie Lucas and Mark Opitz producing.
Kiss My Art is the second studio album released by Australian rock band, Painters and Dockers, which peaked in the top 30 of the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) albums charts in September 1988. The album spawned four singles, "Nude School", "Die Yuppie Die", "Love on Your Breath" and "Safe Sex", and the first two achieved top 50 chart success. The album was produced by hard rocker Lobby Loyde, except for "Nude School" which was produced by Francois Taviaux aka Franswah.
Fundamental or Fundamental As Anything is the fifth studio album released by Australian rock/pop group, Mental As Anything. The album was produced by Richard Gottehrer and was released on Regular Records in March 1985. It peaked at No. 3 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums charts.
Streetlife is the debut album by Australian rock group, Geeza. It was released in mid-1977 by Laser Records / RCA Records and was produced by Mario Millo. The first single, 'Run 'n' Hide', peaked at number 56 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, while the second single, 'Song to Warilla', failed to chart.
"Stay Young" is a song by Australian rock band INXS. It was released as the first single from the band's second album Underneath the Colours, in September 1981. "Stay Young" peaked at number 21 on the Australian Singles Charts in November.
