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.
Ian Richard Moss is an Australian rock musician from Alice Springs. He is the founding mainstay guitarist and occasional singer of Cold Chisel. In that group's initial eleven year phase from 1973 to 1984, Moss was recorded on all five studio albums, three of which reached number one on the national Kent Music Report Albums Chart. In August 1989 he released his debut solo album, Matchbook, which peaked at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart. It was preceded by his debut single, "Tucker's Daughter", which reached number two on the related ARIA Singles Chart in March. The track was co-written by Moss with Don Walker, also from Cold Chisel. Moss had another top ten hit with "Telephone Booth" in June 1989.
The Living End is an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney, Scott Owen, and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 1997 after the release of their EP Second Solution / Prisoner of Society, which peaked at No. 4 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. They have released eight studio albums, two of which reached the No. 1 spot on the ARIA Albums Chart: The Living End and State of Emergency. They have also achieved chart success in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
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.
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.
Boom Crash Opera are an Australian pop rock band formed in late 1984. Initially based around the songwriting partnership of Richard Pleasance and Peter Farnan, the band was later joined by Dale Ryder (vocals), Peter ‘Maz’ Maslen (drums) and Greg O’Connor (keyboards). Pleasance developed tinnitus from constant exposure to loud live music and left in 1992 to pursue a solo career as an artist and producer. O’Connor departed in 1994.
Todd Stuart Hunter is a New Zealand musician and composer known for his involvement in the band Dragon. Their best known songs are "April Sun in Cuba", "Are You Old Enough?", "Still in Love With You", and "Rain". Hunter also composed John Farnham's hit song "Age of Reason" with Johanna Pigott and music for film Daydream Believer (1991) and TV series Heartbreak High (1994–1999).
John Martin Armiger was an Australian musician, record producer and composer. He was one of the singer-songwriters and guitarists with Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from August 1978 to late 1981, which had Top 30 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart with, "Don't Throw Stones" (1979), "Strangers on a Train" (1980) and "How Come" (1981); and Top 20 albums with Don't Throw Stones, Suddenly and Sondra (1981).
"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.
Whispering Jack is the twelfth studio album by Australian adult contemporary pop singer John Farnham. It was produced by Ross Fraser and released on 29 September 1986, peaking at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart. Whispering Jack became the second-best-selling album in Australia, behind only Meat Loaf's album Bat Out of Hell, and the highest-selling album in Australia by an Australian artist―24× platinum, indicating over 1.68 million copies sold; it remains the third-best-selling album of all time in Australia, as Shania Twain's Come On Over eventually eclipsed it. It spent 25 weeks at the No. 1 spot on the albums chart during 1986–1987, it was awarded the 1987 ARIA Award for Album of the Year, and it was the best-charting album for the decade of the 1980s in Australia. It was the first Australian-made album to be released on compact disc within Australia. One of Farnham's biggest hits, "You're the Voice", was issued as the lead single from the album and peaked at No. 1 on the Kent Music Report singles chart.
"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.
David Hirschfelder is an Australian musician, film score composer and performer. As a musician he has been a member of Little River Band and John Farnham Band. He has composed film scores for many films, including Strictly Ballroom, Australia, The Railway Man, The Water Diviner and The Dressmaker. He was nominated for Academy Awards for his scores for Shine and Elizabeth.
"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.
Vanda & Young were an Australian songwriting and producing duo composed of Harry Vanda and George Young. They performed as members of 1960s Australian rock group the Easybeats where Vanda was their lead guitarist and backing singer and Young was their rhythm guitarist and backing singer. Vanda & Young co-wrote most of the Easybeats' later hits including their international hit "Friday on My Mind" and they were the record producers for the group from 1967. Young was the older brother of Malcolm and Angus Young of the hard rock band AC/DC and also the record producer behind several of the band's biggest albums.
Richard Arnold Pleasance is an Australian rock musician and producer. He was a founding member of Boom Crash Opera on guitar, bass guitar, vocals and as a songwriter in 1985; they released three albums before Pleasance left in 1992. Their hit Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) singles, "Great Wall" and "Onion Skin" were co-written by Pleasance, who also co-produced their second album, These Here Are Crazy Times. His debut solo release, Galleon received four nominations at the ARIA Music Awards for 1992. Pleasance composed the theme music for Australian television series, SeaChange (1998–2001), for 2006 feature film Kenny and more recently he composed the theme music for the prison drama series Wentworth. Pleasance is married to Michelle and, as from May 2009, he was living in Hepburn Springs, Victoria where he has a recording studio.
Gerald Richard "Gerry" Hale is an English-born, Australian-based multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. He has worked as a session musician for the Soft Boys (1978–80) and was a band member of Bouncing Czecks before relocating to Australia in 1987. He has provided violin and mandolin for Colin Hay Band and Broderick Smith Band. Hale formed a bluegrass group, Uncle Bill, in 1996 which has had a variable line up. The group worked with Paul Kelly and together they released an album, Smoke, which peaked at No. 36 on the ARIA Albums Chart. On that album, Hale provided guitar, mandolin, fiddle, dobro, lap steel, vocals and he co-produced it with Kelly.
Contraband: The Best of Men at Work is the third compilation album by Australian pop rock band Men at Work. It was released in 1996. The album includes 16 tracks from the band's three studio albums. The album reached number 36 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.
