Men At Work - Biography
By Jeff Hunt
The seven deadly sins: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride. A band converges, blokes and mates from humble origins; trials and tribulations ensue; gobsmacked, they get their big break; superstardom arrives; awash in wealth and fame they immediately start plowing their way through all seven of the above sins, and then some; egos fully engaged, they quarrel incessantly, then stop speaking to each other; members get kicked out; the band refuses to notice when the zeitgeist starts to fade; the perceived leader insists on a deviation in an ill-conceived direction (this is usually either a concept album designed for critical acclaim, or a sad stab at emulating the latest musical fad, e.g., recall that, at the end, Kiss did make a disco record); several records flop; the band breaks up; their wealth squandered, the band members return to their humble origins. And once they hit the far side of middle age, a few of the former members attempt a grossly incomplete “reunion” and a comeback. Of course there are all sorts of deviations, but generally speaking, it happens again and again and again.
Melbourne, Australia, 1978. Colin Hay has been in bands since high school; after college, while working on a stage musical, he meets guitarist Ron Strykert. They form a folk duo, and eventually get a gig playing at a hotel. Hay brings in college buddy Jerry Speiser to play drums. They come up with the name. Multi-instrumentalist Greg Ham is brought in to play sax, keys, flute and more; John Rees joins on bass. The band grinds through a year of Thursday night gigs at the hotel.
Men at Work start playing shows around Melbourne; eventually they become a popular local act. In 1980, they finance and self-release their first single, “Keypunch Operator” b/w “Down Under” (1980 M.A.W.). It catches the ear of an A&R guy. He’s hard working and diligent and eventually gets the group a shot at a single on Columbia Records. “Who Can It Be Now” (1981 Columbia) is a catchy pop song, with reasonably witty lyrics about paranoia. As a vocalist, Hay sounds more than a little like Sting, and there are touches of new wave, with prominent, jazzy saxophone flourishes. To everyone’s amazement, it catches on, and goes all the way to the top of the Australian charts. Convinced, Columbia funds a full-length LP.
Business as Usual (1981 Columbia) is a huge success. It goes straight to the top of the Australian charts. It’s got all sorts of instrumentation like flute and woodwinds; at points there are touches of reggae; much of it could be called jazzy. There’s a mild Police influence, and it plays up its Australian origins, especially with the first single, “Down Under,” which also goes to #1. Then Business as Usual becomes the first Australian LP to go to #1 in New Zealand.
However, Columbia's parent company in America, CBS Records Group, rejects it for release in the US, twice. The band persists, and CBS finally relents. They get the band an opening slot with Fleetwood Mac, and while Men at Work tour incessantly, Columbia releases the US version of Business as Usual in 1982. It eventually goes to #1, and stays there for 14 weeks. And do you know what it takes to finally knock it from #1? Thriller. They are still touring, but now they’re headlining arenas. The LP goes to #1 in the UK. In the US, “Who Can It Be Now” and “Down Under” go to #1; “Be Good Johnny” goes to #3. The corresponding videos are in constant rotation on MTV. Men at Work are the second-highest grossing live act of the year. The band completes their second LP, but has to delay its release – after a year, the debut is still on the charts. It sells 15 million copies.
The follow up, Cargo (Columbia, 1982), goes to #1 in Australia and #3 in the US. The singles aren’t as strong, but in the US, “Overkill” goes to #3 and “It’s a Mistake” to #6. It gets excellent reviews; Rolling Stone declares it’s even stronger than the first, and calls out the performances of Speiser and Rees for praise. The band wins a Grammy award for Best New Artist. However, the non-stop touring and rock ‘n’ roll excess are taking their toll, and egos are starting to flare. The band decides to take a year off. Hay goes to Europe on honeymoon; the rest of the band flies home to Australia.
Speiser and Rees start writing material for the next album, until Hays calls management and has them fired; and Hays cites the classic, clichéd excuse of “creative differences”; and the band makes the third record as a three piece with session guys; and the result is terrible and unimaginative; and the eventual release, Two Hearts (Columbia, 1985), is critically panned and it bombs commercially; and the band that had filled arenas now has to cancel its US tour because ticket sales are so poor; and then Strykert leaves the band; and not too long after that, Greg Ham splits; and Colin Hay tries to continue it by himself; and that doesn’t work; and then there’s no more band; and that’s how you kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
And now Jerry Speiser is a schoolteacher. John Rees works in a café, but sometimes he plays the local coffeehouses. Ron Strykert is a member of the Church Universal and Triumphant, a new age operation in Montana that worships Jesus, the Buddha, and the Earth mother. He’s made a new age record, but can’t afford to self-release it. Greg Ham was found dead April 12, 2012. No cause of deathwas determined, though some speculate he was recently depressed over a lawsuit which saw his flute solo in their "Down Under" questioned, citing a 1934 song called "Kookaburra" s it's inspiration, claiming some copyright infringment. Hay lives in LA and plays solo shows.
And that’s the end of that. Actually, Men at Work got off relatively easy. Most of the time, when bands go into the Death Spiral, there’s a ton of heroin and coke involved, and an OD or two. At least they avoided that.
