Anyone with even a slender link to Australia in 1981 had the task of telling the rest of the world about Vegemite sandwiches and what 'chunder' meant.
Before we go any further, this is my Australian album, the cover was black and white. The rest of the world got the more familiar black and yellow version.
Business As Usual was Men at Work's debut studio album released in November 1981 to build on the success of their two singles earlier in the year, 'Who Can It Be Now' and 'Down Under'.
'Down Under' was originally a B-side on their first single 'Keypunch Operator' in 1980 and was re-recorded with a slightly different tempo and arrangement for the 1981 single. It took a while for the record to cover the world, but eventually it became a #1 hit in 7 countries and charted in 14. It reached #1 in the US over a year after it's release.
Founder member Colin Hay got the group together in 1979 in Melbourne and by the time they were using the 'Men at Work' name and started their recording career they were a 5-piece band. Colin was the main songwriter of the group, writing 5 of their best known songs. 'Who Can It Be Now', 'Overkill' and 'It's A Mistake' were solo efforts and he co-wrote 'Down Under' and 'Be Good Johnny' as well as the bulk of the album tracks.
In addition to putting Australia on the musical map, 'Down Under' was an introduction to quite a bit of Australian slang. As well as the brand name Vegemite and the aforementioned 'chunder' there was also the opening two lines ..
"Traveling in a fried-out Kombi" - a broken down Volkswagen Kombivan - and ..
"On a hippie trail, head full of zombie" - a route from Europe to South-East Asia and a type of marijuana.
IMHO the opening riff of this song ranks way up there as being one of the most instantly recognisable in modern music. Originally it was played on bass with the percussion provided by bottles filled with varying amounts of water.
Years later, in 2009 on an Australian music quiz show, 'Spicks and Specks' the question was asked .. "What children's song is contained in the song 'Down Under'?" The answer was "Kookaburra". Maybe nobody had noticed before, but it prompted Larrakin Music who owned the rights to 'Kookaburra' to take action against Colin Hay and Ron Strykert, the co-writers. Larrakin claimed the flute riff was from their song and in 2010 they were subsequently awarded 5% royalties backdated from 2002.
Greg Ham was devastated with the decision - he was the flute player - and was worried he would only ever be remembered as the person who copied someone else's song. After the verdict was handed down he suffered from depression and anxiety and in 2012 he had a fatal heart attack at the age of 58.
There is still a version of Men at Work performing today but Colin Hay is the only member from all past configurations.
Colin himself had a successful solo career after the original band broke up in 1985. Apart from 13 studio albums he also contributed to the movie 'Garden State' and the TV series 'Scrubs' where he made appearances and sang.
Apart from the Men at Work standards, there's a couple of Colin's solo songs worthy of mention here. 'Beautiful World' is odd and fun and slightly irreverant and 'Waiting For My Real Life To Begin' is heart-wrenching.
"When I awoke today, suddenly nothing happened
But in my dreams, I slew the dragon
And down this beaten path, up this cobbled lane
I'm walking in my old footsteps, once again"
So, Men at Work. Only 3 studio albums, a short-lived reign over the world charts, but a massive, lasting impact and a part now of Australian culture and symbolism.
Play a tune on half-filled bottles of water and enjoy a Vegemite sandwich .. but be careful not to chunder !!
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