Men at Work Songs of the 1980s

The best, “Men at Work” songs of the 1980s is a complex question. Men at Work the 80s pop rock band that defined a society and time of uncertainty for the music business. This band consisted of the following musicians, Ron Strykert, drummer Jerry Speiser, rock keyboard player, Greg Hamm, and Bassist John Rees. An Australian band for the 1980 era of our time, this band had some fantastic music, and to this day represent some of the best 80s music heard through our ears. The first band to go up into the charts in the USA with the number one album and single. The name of the album respectively, (Business as Usual) and top single called, “Down Under”. This was good clean, crisp feeling that made one feel good and happy. This was in the years of defining a new sound and this band had it in their favor. The 1983 Grammy for Best New Artist was handed out to this musical phenomenon. Rightfully deserved, and selling well over 30 million records around the globe.

This band made MTV videos and were entertaining to view. The lead singer always with a smile or quirky look to his face as he voiced his songs. Entertaining and fun was observed when this band was onstage at the several concerts that sold out. They were in a heat of coopetition during the 80s, when bands like Van Halen were climbing the Billboard charts as with several other bands that are still maintaining their ratings in their respective categories. There was no comparison when it came to these blokes from Australia. They were one of a kind in their own genre. One could not help but think of their songs in your head when mentioning this band. The labels that took control over this instrumental group was Columbia and Sony. There were changes in band members, which was natural during this period of fame. The changes did not change the arrangement of any of their music, it stayed solid until their end of recording in 1986. However, a comeback was in play in 1996 to the present time.

Colin Hay was the main mouthpiece for “Men at Work” and continues to provide exciting music. Mr. Hay has played solo acts and with other musicians recently. The other co-founder of this group was Strykert, he continues to rock with an album called, “Paradise” in 2009. There were upsets between Colin Hay and Strykert concerning royalties over, “Men at Work”, and this lead to an unstable relationship with each. The other members also went on to produce their own material over this period of breakup. There were lawsuits brought up against the group for infringing on others rights. However, this happens all the time when a band makes it to the top of the charts as, “Men at Work” did in the 1980s.

In 2012 band member, Greg Hamm was found dead in Melbourne, Australia from an apparent unexplained circumstance says law enforcement. That could mean many things, yet he was 58 at the time of death and played the flute for “Men at Work” and was the main topic of a lawsuit involving a part he played for the band as a copyrighted piece. This disturbed him to the point of obsessing about it for many years. He imagined he could never make it big again due to his lawsuit against him.

That is rock and roll and, unfortunately, lives are gone too quickly for our old friends from great bands of the 80s. Drugs were prominent then as they are now. Cocaine was at the height of the rich and famous and was lined up by many during this period of time. Drugs were recreational, so to speak. It was not unusual to hear of a drug overdose from Coke and drinking binges by bands in the late 70s and 80s. This appeared to be a time of celebration for America during the 1980s, no wars were happening, and politics were scandalous at times. Comparing the times we live in 2013 to the 80s is quite alarming to most citizens who lived during these years of changes. There were exceptional songs from this band being played even now by cover bands. Nothing beats listening to these Aussies singing and playing.

The most popular songs during the, “Men at Work “years were numerous. One that stands out is “Who Can It Be now”, a fantastic rock song that you could sing all the words to if you lived in the 80s. Another hit, which, went to Number one in the USA was,” Down Under”, electrifying and playful tune to dance to and have fun listening to the lyrics. “I can See It in Your Eyes “was a new wave tune that spliced the group into several musical pieces and came together perfectly. The album “Business As Usual” in that the songwriter was smooth on the lyrics and very instrumental with the times of being the unusual sounds for this time period. The ever famous, ”Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive” was a bouncy tune that made you thump your fingers on the table while it played keeping rhythm of this famous song.” Overkill”, another hit right after the previous ones that just put smiles on,”Men at Work” fans across the world. Their music was so entertaining and progressive that one could not sit still for too long. These songs you want to have a party and invite your entire neighborhood over for a few kegs and a smoke. There was no hostility to this group’s music. The songs were free spirited and amusing. No rap, or bass drum that would pound in your brain for days. This was quality recordings from a super group. There was electricity in the atmosphere when attending a concert by this band. There was joy and revelation to love one another. The 60s it was not, but the music did move a person to a positive attitude and was good to listen to before going to something dreadful.

Positive influence in music is needed more now than ever. When listening to groups music from the 1980s, you have to include, “Men at Work” as one of those top ten bands, that were good for children to sing with. Innocents and sweetness to their own right this song came to us. The music was on cassette tapes, and Compact Disk was the new medium for retaining music toward the 90s. It seems like vinyl records and eight track tapes stored some of the best music of our time, including in today's music. With MP3 being the best priority to storage of our past musical experiences. It would do one justice to go get a few tunes of,”Man at Work” and see what you missed if you were not born around this time period. The music will still be performed and bought as memories were made by their sounds. In their short career, “Men at Work” made an impression on any living soul that liked music.