MEN AT WORK...THINGS CAN GET DISMAL DOWN UNDER.

by Rev. Cecil B. Demented Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:45 pm

AUSTRALIAN HIT MACHINE, MEN AT WORK, FORMED IN 1979, WHEN LEAD SINGER COLIN HAY AND GUITARIST RON STRYKERT STARTED A GROUP TOGETHER. AFTER A FEW OTHER MEMBERS JOINED, ESPECIALLY SAX AND FLUTE PLAYER GREG HAM, THEY OFFICIALLY BECAME MEN AT WORK IN 1980. OVER THE YEARS, THE BAND HAVE SOLD M ORE THAN 30 MILLION ALBUMS WORLDWIDE. THEY ALSO CARRY THE SPECIAL DISTINCTION OF BEING THE ONLY AUSTRALIAN BAND TO HAVE A #1 ALBUM, (1981'S " BUSINESS AS USUAL ".) AND A NUMBER 1 SINGLE ("DOWN UNDER") AT THE SAME TIME,IN THE U.S. AND IN THE U.K., AS WELL AS THEIR NATIVE AUSTRALIA. NO OTHER BAND HAS ACHIEVED THAT. MEN AT WORK WERE SIGNED TO COLUMBIA RECORDS IN 1981. THEIR SECOND SINGLE," WHO CAN IT BE NOW" WENT TO #1 IN AUSTRALIA IN JUNE OF '81.,ALONG WITH THE ALBUM. STRANGELY ENOUGH, THE ALBUM WAS REJECTED TWICE BY COLUMBIA FOR NORTH AMERICAN RELEASE.HOWEVER,SIX MONTHS AFTER ITS AUSSIE RELEASE, THE ALBUM CAME OUT IN THE U.S AND CANADA. MEN AT WORK TOURED CANADA, SUPPORTING FLEETWOOD MAC. ONCE THE ALBUM WAS RELEASED IN THE U.S.,IT SPENT AN ASTONISHING 15 WEEKS AT #1. THEN THE SINGLE 'DOWN UNDER" DID THE SAME. IN 1983, THE BAND WON A GRAMMY AWARD FOR BEST NEW ARTIST. THEIR NEXT LP,"CARGO", WENT TO THE #1 SPOT IN THE U.S AS WELL, WITH THREE HIT SINGLES, "OVERKILL" (#3), "iT'S A MISTAKE" (#6) AND "DR JECKELL AND MR. JIVE" (#28). THEY TOURED THE WORLD IN 1982. AFTER A LINE-UP CHANGE, THE BAND RELEASED THEIR "TWO HEARTS' LP,WHICH WHEN COMPARED TO THE SALES OF THEIR FIRST TWO OUTINGS, WAS DISSAPOINTING TO SAY THE LEAST. THE BAND THEN DISSOLVED. AFTER 10 YEARS, THE BAND HELD A REUNION IN 1996YET, IN FEBRUARY 2010, THE BAND WERE SUED BY LARKIN MUSIC PUBLISHING, OVER THE FLUTE LINE IN THE SONG "DOWN UNDER", SAYING IT WAS STOLED FROM AN OLD AUSTRALIAN FOLK SONG CALLED 'KOOKABERRA", WHICH HAD BEEN COPYRIGHTED IN THE 1930'S. THE JUDGE FOUND THAT, EVEN THOUGH THE FLUTE LINE WAS INDEED STOLEN FROM THE OLD FOLK TUNE,IT WAS NOT A MAJOR PART OF THE MELODY OR STRUCTURE OF THE SONG,WHICH HAD BEEN ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY COLIN HAY SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE GREG HAM, FLUTIST, JOINED THE BAND, AND ADDED THE FLUTE TO THE SONG. HOWEVER, THE BAND ULTIMATELY LOST THE SUIT, AND WAS MADE TO PAY AN AWARD OF 5% OF THE PROFITS OF THE SONG FROM 2002 ON. HOWEVER, GREG HAM DIED IN APRIL,2012. COLIN HAY HAS GONE ON TO SOLO PROJECTS, AND HAS TOURED WITH RINGO STARR AND HIS ALL-STAR BAND, AS WELL AS SOLO TOUR, ONE WHERE HAY OPENED BRIEFLY FOR THE OUTFIELD. RUMOR HAS IT HE WAS THROWN OFF THE TOUR FOR REFERRING TO THE OUTFIELD AS " THE OUTHOUSE" AND OTHER SLURS. farao

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