Men at Work - 1982-10-10 - Akron, OH | Floppy Boot Stomp

Men at Work - 1982-10-10 - Akron, OH Westwood One

 FM broadcast

It’s an Xray Special

01 - announcer introduction :45    

02 - no restrictions 3:54     

03 - I can see it in your eyes 3:51                

04 - people just love to play with words 3:41    

05 - overkill 4:40    

06 - touching the untouchables 3:58

07 - catch a star 3:50    

08 - F-19 3:48    

09 - Shintaro 2:54    

10 - high wire 3:20   

11 - down under 5:53

12 - underground 2:50   

13 - helpless automaton 3:36   

14 - who can it be now? 5:23   

15 - Mr. Entertainer 9:33   

16 - it's a mistake 4:59   

17 - I like to 4:34   

18 - be good, Johnny 5:29                       

19 - announcer closing credits :26

Westwood One FM broadcast (pre-recorded)

Colin Hay: vocals and guitar, 

Ron Steykart: vocals and guitar, 

Greg Ham: sax, flute, keyboards and vocals, 

John Rees: bass and vocals, 

Jerry Speiser: drums and vocals

Scot Colin Hay is a fine writer and songwriter the brains behind the Aussie Men At Work, he left and went solo across to the USA and featured on American TV for a while but the band were always worth a listen despite one hit wonder ( 'Down Under’ ) in the UK charts one of the funniest songs ever written IMHO!

This is for the boys back at HQ with their Floppy Boots . . . . . . .  

Colin Hay performs "Down Under" (Men At Work) at the Santa Cruz Guitar 40th Anniversary Concert; ten minutes of chat and song from the ‘man who wrote it’ and because we feature guitars here this is great fun to listen to Colin first but if you just want the song it starts about 5.00 in!

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 . . . . . . . . . 

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