Men at Work was an Australian rock band formed in 1979….who were best known for their 1981 hit “Down Under”…..as seen in this video herewith….as their founding mainstay was Colin Hay on lead vocals….as he formed the group with Jerry Speiser on drums and Ron Strykert on lead guitar….then they were joined by Greg Ham on flute, saxophone, and keyboards and John Rees on bass guitar….when this line-up achieved national and international success in the early 1980’s….whereby in January 1983….they were the first Australian musicians to have a simultaneous # 1 album and # 1 single on the United States Billboard charts…when Business as Usual released on November 9th….with “Down Under” (1981), respectively. With the same works, they achieved the distinction of a simultaneous # 1 album and # 1 single on the Australian, New Zealand, and United Kingdom charts too. Their second album Cargo (May 2, 1983) was also # 1 in Australia….# 2 in New Zealand….# 3 in the US and # 8 in the UK….while their 3rd album Two Hearts (April 3, 1985) reached the top 20 in Australia and top 50 in the US.
Men at Work won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1983….they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1994…..and they have sold over 30 million albums worldwide…..as In May 2001, “Down Under” was listed as # 4 on the APRA Top 30 Australian songs….while Business as Usual appeared in the book 100 Best Australian Albums (October 2010).
