Podunkian Music Club

Men at Work-Down Under

We make a change of continents and decades tonight on the Music club, as we backtrack towards the 1980’s and one of the most recognizable Australian exports of the time.

Men at Work, blasted out onto the music scene as the 1980’s ushered in the video era, and in those early days the two seemed made for each other.

It was a visual forum that allowed artists to expand on their musical themes, which the Australians utilized to its best potential. Lead singer Colin Hay, who seemed to give off a Mad Max kind of aura in those early days was the front man for the band and is probably the most recognizable member from the era.

The debut recording from 1982 Business as Usual spawned three worldwide hits, Who can it be now, Be good Johnny and tonight’s selection Down Under. From the opening flute riffs through to the Vegemite sandwich lines, it was an audio tour of Australia’s musical scene at the time. The eighties proved to be a rather productive period in music from the land down under, from INXS to Men at Work, everything with an Australian accent seemed a sure fire way to a top ten hit.

The run for Men at Work only lasted two albums however, Cargo came out one year later, created a bit of buzz, provided a few middling hits, but never came close to the excitement of the debut, which was a fresh new sound at the time. With little to explore in the second recording, the band would soon fade from the charts and radios of the world.

The Men at Work era was a brief but intense ride for less than a year, one that had everyone waiting for the next wave of Australian rock and roll to arrive on North American shores.

By 1985 however, any waves from Australia would not be carrying the pioneers of the video revolution from there.

Much like the Police, The Buggles The Cars, Duran Duran and Bon Jovi, MTV drove much of the success of the sound for Men at Work, their slightly off the norm videos quickly becoming a network favourite.

When the band called it quits by 1985 Colin Hay went his own way, releasing a few solo albums and moving on to acting as career path. He reformed the band in 1998 but they’ve never really managed to recreate that buzz and success of those very early days.

Artist-Men at Work
Recording-Business as Usual