portrait of this blog's author - by Stephen Blackman 2008

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Great pop song and hook that works so well I really enjoyed Colin Hay's writing and still do but this classic funny pop song smashed the charts here against all expectations somehow
On this day in music history: January 15, 1983 - “Down Under” by Men At Work hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 4 weeks (non-consecutive). Written by Colin Hay and Ron Strykert, it is the second consecutive chart topping single for the pop/rock band from Melbourne, Australia. the song is about an Aussie native travelling the world and his encounters with people he meets along the way, with its chorus being a rebuke of greedy Australian land developers plundering the natural beauty of the continent by over development. Issued as the follow up to their US breakthrough hit “Who Can It Be Now?”, it quickly follows its predecessor to the top. Entering the Hot 100 at #79 on November 6, 1982, it climbs to the top of the chart ten weeks later. It tops the chart for three consecutive weeks at the top, before being temporarily bumped from the number one spot by Toto’s “Africa” on February 5, 1983. “Down Under” then rebounds and takes the top spot for one more week on February 12, 1983. The single is Men At Work’s biggest hit on a worldwide basis, topping the charts in seven other countries including Australia. “Down Under” is also the subject of a lawsuit in 2009 when Larrikin Music, the copyright owners of the Aussie children’s song “Kookaburra” claim that the band plagiarized part of the song on “Down Under”. In spite of Hay and Strykert claiming in court that no plagiarism was intended, the court rules in favor of Larrikin Music receiving 5% of the publishing royalties for “Down Under” generated from 2002 to the present. “Down Under” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.


He later cropped up in all sorts of fun places . . . . . . . 


Hay that is . . . . . . . . . 


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