Men at Work - Down Under II

 For some reason loads of people are posting versions of this and finding weird and even weirder film clips! Here’s an early video maybe the original! Either way they are YOUNG!

Still the lip sync is miles off! 

We love it!

Original vid

Men At Work - Down Under (1981) feat.Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr Band with Men At Work ‘Down Under’ maybe not quite the audio from the live set but it’ll do to cheer us up eh?

So as so many objected to the dubbed version!

Men At Work ft. Ringo Star Band - Down Under

Men At Work

A bit of a one hit wonder in the UK ('Down Under 1981) but Colin Hay their mainstay and singer songwriter deserved more attention and this song explains why I reckon . . . . . 

On this day in music history: April 18, 1983 - “Cargo”, the second studio album by Men at Work is released. Produced by Peter McIan, it is recorded at AAV Studios and Paradise Studios in Melbourne, Australia in Mid - Late 1982. Just as their debut album “Business As Usual”, is beginning to make its belated breakthrough in the US, after its international success, Men At Work return to the studio to record their sophomore effort. Less than a month after the band win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, the public gets their first taste of the album with the single “Overkill” (#3 Pop) in late March of 1983. An immediate radio smash, Columbia Records in the US hypes the upcoming release of “Cargo” by issuing a special double vinyl promo LP to Top 40 pop and Album Rock radio stations, the weekend before its arrival in record stores. The four sided radio discs previewed cuts the songs interspersed with interviews of the band discussing the recording of the album. Though it is well received upon its release, it only sells roughly half of what the previous album sold in the US. Much of this is blamed on CBS in the US issuing it while the first album is still selling strongly, and that the band has reached the saturation point in terms of radio play and media exposure. The album is also criticized as in spite of containing strong singles, that it is weighted down by excess filler material. It spins off three singles including “It’s A Mistake” (#6 Pop) and “Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive” (#28 Pop). Following its release and the tour in support of it, Men At Work take an extended hiatus, before re-emerging nearly two years later with the album “Two Hearts”. Originally released on CD in tandem with the LP and cassette, it is remastered and reissued in 2003. The remastered CD contains the original ten song album, plus the two non LP B-sides “Til’ The Money Runs Out” (B-side of “Overkill”) and “Shintaro” (B-side of “It’s A Mistake”), and three live tracks. Out of print on vinyl since the late 80’s, it is remastered and reissued by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in 2013, as part of their “Silver Label Vinyl Reissue Series”. Another limited edition pressing of the album is issued by MFSL in 2014 (Europe only), containing the UK only “Still Life” three track 12" EP. The “Still Life” EP is pressed on blue, black and white splatter vinyl, is numbered and limited to only 250 copies. “Cargo” peaks at number three on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 3x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

Help support the Behind The Grooves music blog with a donation by clicking on the link at: PayPal.Me/jharris1228 

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 . . . . . . . . . 

Quite like this one!

again a single bought when it came out and since then it enjoyed a resurgence of fame for songwriter Colin Hay who has done this live and starred frequently in 'Scrubs' covered a killer version of 'Overkill' which we enjoyed immensely too! Quite what he was doing in that is beyond me but it made me laugh (see below)

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, 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.

(Alt Vers. = alternate version . . . .  oh don't do THAT - ED