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Colin Hay is a busy man.
His former band: Men at Work was an Australian reggae-influenced rock band which achieved international success in the 1980s. They are best known for their 1982 hit "Down Under", a fun song about Australians travelling the world with confidence in the virtues of their country. The song has become an unofficial national anthem for many Aussies.
The band was one of the more surprising success stories of the new wave era, rocketing out of Australia in 1982 to become the most successful artist of the year. With its Police-styled rhythms, catchy guitar hooks, wailing saxophones, and off-kilter sense of humor, the band's debut album Business as Usual became an international blockbuster, breaking the American record for the most weeks a debut spent at the top of the charts.

Barrigar Brothers

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By January 1983, Men at Work had the top album and top single in both the USA and the UK - a feat never achieved previously by an Australian act. Currently, as of 2008, only five artists have achieved this:
· The Beatles (1960s, 1970s, 2000s) · Simon and Garfunkel (1970s) · Rod Stewart (1971) · Men at Work (1983) · Beyoncé (2003)
In addition to "Down Under," the hits "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Be Good Johnny" were made into successful and popular videos during MTV's early years.
One of the most successful albums of the early 1980s, Business As Usual has been certified for 6 million sales in the United States, and an estimated 30 million albums copies worldwide. In 1983 Men At Work won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, a first for an Australian recording act, beating out Asia, Jennifer Holliday, Human League, and Stray Cats. That same year, Canada awarded them a Juno Award for "International LP of the Year." Also in 1983, the song "Down Under" was re-released as an unofficial theme song of the Australian Team's successful 1983 America's Cup challenge.
The band soon released their second album Cargo. It had been finished in the summer of 1982, but held for release due to the phenomenal success of the band's debut. The new album went to Number 1. The international market, where Business As Usual was still riding high, kept the album at Number 3 on the Billboard chart. The album produced four chart singles in the USA: "Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive" [#28], "High Wire", "It's a Mistake" [#6] and "Overkill" [#3].
Former Men At Work Hit The Unemployment Line
In 1984, the band took a long break as members pursued other interests and recovered from the two years of constant touring they'd done in support of both albums. At the end of that period, Jerry Speiser and John Rees were advised by management that they were no longer members of the band. The remaining members (Hay, Ham and Strykert) recorded a third album Two Hearts which peaked at Number 50 on the chart. Although four songs were released as singles to promote the album (lead single "Everything I Need", "Man With Two Hearts", "Maria", and "Hard Luck Story"), only the first song charted in the U.S., and that only at #47.
In 1985, Men at Work performed three songs - "Maria", "Overkill", and "The Longest Night" - for the Oz for Africa concert; part of the global Live Aid program. It was broadcast in Australia and on MTV in the US. "Maria" and "Overkill" were also broadcast by American Broadcasting Company (ABC) during their Live Aid telecast.
Throughout 1985, the remaining members left one by one. By the end of that year the band was defunct.
Brazil & Beyond
Men at Work had always enjoyed strong fan support in South America during their heyday. Original members Hay and Ham reunited to tour that continent in 1996, culminating in the Brazilian release of a live CD Brazil '96 in 1997. The album was subsequently released worldwide in 1998 as 'Brazil' with a bonus studio song "The Longest Night".
In the year 2000, Men at Work reformed once again and performed "Down Under" at the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia and then once again went their own ways.
Strykert lives in Montana, continues to play music, and is bitter about Men at Work. Greg Ham sang their hit "Helpless Automaton" on the Oprah series in 2002. Speiser and Rees still work in the music industry.

Frontman Colin Hay maintains a successful solo career.
"Are You Lookin' at Me?" is Colin Hay's first studio album of new material in over five years. A tuneful, insightful meditation on life, love, sobriety, maturity and perseverance, the album finds Hay at the absolute peak of his craft. As a writer and vocalist, he has never been more masterful: finding intriguing new angles on instantly relatable scenarios, skewering and savoring in equal measure.
His less acclaimed, but no less formidable, skills as arranger, engineer, and bandleader insure that each song is supported by evocative musical backdrops ranging from electronic textures to plaintive acoustic balladry to classic guitar-driven pop.
"Are You Lookin' at Me?" is unified by Hay's immediately identifiable voice, relentless curiosity, wonder and a decidedly uncluttered sound which has its roots in Hay's consistently busy tour schedule.
Few have endured and survived the way Hay has, from an unimaginable pinnacle of success to forging new roads as a working artist and songsmith. Avoiding the pitfalls that have claimed so many of his peers (drugs, depression, delusion), he continues to ply his craft. The rewards, he knows now, are greater than something as fleeting as fame and notoriety. "Are You Lookin' at Me?" is the next chapter in a story that is still unfolding - on his terms.
In addition to the release of his solo material, Hay performs with Ringo Starr's All-Star Band.

Hay has also made guest appearances on the popular TV shows. He has appeared on "The Larry Sanders Show" and on two episodes of "Scrubs" as 'Troubadour' on the episode titled "My Overkill" (season 2 episode 1) singing "Overkill" and the episode titled "My Hard Labor" (season 7 episode 2) singing "Down Under".
The Show Review
Local duet The Barrigar Brothers (www.barrigarbrothers.com) opened the show with a beautiful set. The audience thoroughly enjoyed it. Brothers Kevin and Loren are both extremely talented musicians and have played with some of the best in the business.
Hay's appearance at The Palace Theatre in Syracuse was much like an episode of VH1's Storytellers. The stark stage was well lit. Iit was just Colin and an accoustic guitar for the entire night.

Hay's performance included a mix of his early Men At Work songs, which sounded great as accoustic numbers, and his solo material, which by the way is AWESOME! He even threw in a cover of The Beatles' classic 'Norwegian Wood', which he will no doubt be performing with Ringo and Friends.
He cracked up the audience with his irreverant wit, excessive use of the "F" word, and his stories about his past. Hay told the crowd about being mistaken for Al Bundy, and also joked about looking forward to playing over the summer with Ringo Starr's All-Star Band, where he would get flown around from gig to gig in a private jet rather than just him and his tour manager in a van. (And really, who wouldn't prefer that? LOL)
When the set was finished, Colin Hay came out to the front of the Palace Theatre and mingled with fans. He signed CD's and records, posed for photos, and was an all-around nice guy.
I had him autograph my copy of Business As Usual, an album I listen to in its entirety weekly.

To See Photos From The Show Click Here

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