Colin Hay remembers the ‘end’ of Men At Work in the face of a tour that focuses on South America: ‘It was just me’ [ENTREVISTA]

Colin Hay stole his wife’s old band, Cecilia Noëlto revive the men at work for two weeks. The singer pursued a solo career after the other musicians gradually left the Australian group. Repeat the case of Beatles — which lasted a decade, but seem to be more successful every day — is difficult: the men at work did not survive the 1980s.

From the release of the first album, Business As Usual (1981), until the band’s dissolution in 1985, there was time to create hits like “Down Under” and “Who Can It Be Now?” and guarantee a Grammy. “It was one of those bands that emerged like a big storm that then simply subsided”, he exemplified Hay in an interview with Rolling Stone Brazil. “It just kind of all disappeared. Some of the band members were fired, but in hindsight, the way it happened wasn’t good.”

The artist also blamed the “limited communication skills” of the band’s members. men at work and cited Ron Strykert: “I think that Ronthe other guitarist, didn’t really like being in the Men at Work. He left in the middle of the third album. When the third album didn’t work out very well, he simply got tired. It was just me. So, there was no more band to leave, you know?”

The band experienced another breath of fresh air at the end of the 1990s, when Greg Ham met with Colin for a world tour alongside hired musicians. In 1996, the duo even produced Brazil (1998), a live album recorded in the country. “We were close friends,” he recalled. Hay about the death of Hamwhich took place in 2012. “It’s very sad that he’s gone.”

The appreciation of Colin for Brazil remains evident, as he decided to take the men at work for just a few South American countries, including Chile, Peru and Colombia. Here, the group will perform on the 17th, 20th and 21st of February, in Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and São Paulo, respectively. Hay He was unable to justify the decision, but revealed that he likes Brazil’s hot climate and the liveliness of Brazilians.

Despite having more than a dozen solo albums, there is nothing to expect from the show. men at work in addition to men at work, assured the vocalist. Your last album, Now And The Evermorereleased in 2022, featured the participation of Ringo Starr on the drums of the title track. “He’s the best!” he exclaimed. Colin when remembering the partnership.

The album was composed during the pandemic: “I think it’s a very emotional album. It’s about not really knowing what would happen with the future. We didn’t know if there would be a vaccine, how many people would die… Composing songs during this period was extremely effective to keep the ones I love close.”

The show’s setlist should include “Overkill”, the band’s favorite song. men at work in Hay. “When I wrote ‘Overkill,’ I remember thinking, ‘This song has a level of sophistication that I like,'” the singer said.