For a stretch of 1982 and 1983, the sound of the Australian accent conquered American radio. A quirky riff, a flute line you could whistle, and a chorus about a vegemite sandwich, and suddenly a band from Melbourne was the biggest thing on the dial. Men at Work felt like a novelty and turned out to be a juggernaut, right up until a nursery rhyme came back to haunt them decades later.
Men at Work were an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1979, led by singer and guitarist Colin Hay. Their first two singles, "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under," both reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, and their debut album Business as Usual topped the charts in both the US and the UK. They won the Grammy for Best New Artist, marking the peak of Australia's early-80s radio invasion.
Two number ones out of the gate
Most bands would trade everything for one number one. Men at Work had two before most Americans could place their accent. "Who Can It Be Now?" with its instantly recognizable saxophone hook went to number one, and then "Down Under," with Greg Ham's flute riff and its imagery of Australia, did the same. Both came from the same debut album, Business as Usual, which was released in the US and UK in April 1982, months after its Australian debut, and went to number one on both sides of the Atlantic.
That kind of instant, total success got them the Grammy for Best New Artist. For a moment they were not a curiosity from far away. They were simply the most popular new band in the world.
More than a two-hit act
They are often filed away as a fluke, but the catalog runs deeper. Beyond the two chart-toppers, they landed radio staples like "Be Good Johnny," "Overkill," and "It's a Mistake," songs that still turn up on 80s stations. Colin Hay's writing had a wry, restless quality that kept the band from being pure bubblegum. The mania did not last, and their second album could not match the debut, but for a couple of years they were a genuine hit machine, not a one-off.
The flute that came back around
The strangest chapter came decades later. In June 2009, nearly 28 years after the record, a company called Larrikin Music sued the band, claiming the flute riff in "Down Under" was lifted from "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree," a well-known Australian children's song. In February 2010 a judge ruled the riff did draw on "Kookaburra," and later that year ordered that the rights holder receive five percent of the song's royalties from 2002 onward.
It was a bitter coda to a joyful song. Colin Hay has said the stress of the case weighed heavily on the band, and he has linked it to the deaths of his father in 2010 and of flute player Greg Ham in 2012. A children's tune buried inside a global hit turned a celebration of Australia into a long courtroom fight.
The honest bottom line
Time has not been entirely kind to Men at Work. The novelty-accent framing stuck, the lawsuit tangled their signature song in sadness, and they never came close to that first blast of fame again. All of that is real. But two number ones, a chart-topping album on two continents, and a Best New Artist Grammy is a bigger footprint than most bands ever leave, and "Down Under" remains an unofficial anthem that fills a room the second that flute starts. They were more than the joke history sometimes makes them, and the songs still hold up. Their peak overlapped with another unlikely number one, Soft Cell's Tainted Love from the opposite hemisphere, and together the two acts prove that 1982 belonged to accents American radio had never heard before.
FAQ
Who was the lead singer of Men at Work? Colin Hay, who sang lead vocals and played guitar. He formed the Australian band in Melbourne in 1979 and wrote their biggest songs.
What were Men at Work's biggest hits? "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under," both of which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. They also had hits with "Be Good Johnny," "Overkill," and "It's a Mistake."
Did Men at Work win a Grammy? Yes. They won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, reflecting how quickly and completely they broke through with their debut album Business as Usual.
Why was "Down Under" involved in a lawsuit? In 2009 the rights holder of the Australian children's song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree" sued, claiming the flute riff in "Down Under" was copied from it. A court agreed in 2010 and awarded a share of the song's profits.
Are Men at Work a one-hit wonder? No. They had two US number ones and several other charting songs, so they were a genuine hit act rather than a one-hit wonder, even though "Down Under" overshadows the rest.
Where were Men at Work from? They were from Melbourne, Australia, formed in 1979, and were part of a wave of Australian acts that broke through on American and British radio in the early 1980s.
More from the 80s Radio guide. See also A Flock of Seagulls.
Land down under, told from inside the bubble.