April 2012 I think. He was found dead. He was said to be devastated after being accused of plagiarism with the Down Under flute riff sounding like Kookaburra Sits in The Old Gum Tree. Think he had been taking hard drugs and suffering with depression from what I heard. RIP Greg x
So fked up what happened to Greg, is just another reason I hate humans. You can tell they regretted breaking up. The story is that initially Colin and the drummer had issues and the manager was Colin's buddy and made him fire him and told the bass player to go too because they were buddies. Then the guitarist quit while they were recording the 3rd album because he said Colin's ego was out of control and he said the spark was missing without the original drummer and bass player. Then Greg quit on the tour for the 3rd album, so it was pretty obvious that Colin pushed everybody away. Just wish they could've worked things out but like the guy said many bands were destroyed by quick rises to fame that they just couldn't handle for one reason or another. Men at Work got super HUGE basically overnight, so I'm sure that was a lot to deal with for the most solid and grounded person.
This was before the lawsuit, Colin singing kookaburra sits in the old gum tree merry merry king of the Bush was he! I wonder if this clip came up in court, its pretty damning!!!😁🖖
Ik John personally he actually teaches me drums Here are some facts I learnt from him Cherry rupee have turnips He is missing an eye from a miss fired bow And he loves Turkish delights
I loved this band for so many years. Played their albums constantly. Even just got my wife hooked on them recently. The other day I drove her car and Down Under was on loop lol Timeless ! :)
@6:19 Quiite interesting because Eric Burdon, the singer of Animals, best known for their hit "House of the rising Sun"", said exactly the same: Reporter: "So what is your advice to young musicians?" Eric: "Don't start with a big hit. " I thought it was a joke, but apparently it wasn't!
The interviews of the band members in this video are from 1995. This episode was later updated with new information about the band though in early 2000s, but the actual interviews with the members are from 1995.
So basically if you have some claim to any of the publishing royalties you could relax, enjoy your home studio and not worry to much even if the band were never heard from again. If you didn't, then you had to get a new day job.
Hi. :) I was 7 when they came out. It was at a time where every month some new band would come out with a good album. The radio was the most interesting place to be. I thought Men At Work had been around for a long time before they did their first album. The idea that they had only been around for 2 (TWO!!!) years before hitting the absolute top is astounding. What it says though is that Colin Hay is a musical genius of a song writer. He had a bunch of songs that he had written in his life. He met Ron Strykert (himself a very uniquely voiced musician) and they did the acoustic open mic thing while looking for other musicians to make a proper band with. Upon meeting the rest, they began to get their set together and TIGHT. (This means playing it to the precision of a second hand on a clock). They were so good and lucky that they were put into a place to be able to record an album with a producer with an ear for hits. The album was magically good and they absolutely blew up. An incredibly rare and brilliant feat to be certain. The whirlwind of attention, success, and EXTREMELY BUSY schedules to follow meant that after Cargo was recorded, it was time to write the THIRD ALBUM. The THIRD ALBUM is usually when a band needs to write new material. When you run out of your first batch of songs (written in your life when you have time to live, experience, grow, and nurture them) and are under the most immense pressure imaginable to follow up and keep the machine going, it takes the strongest of wills, the greatest of focus, and tightest of bonds to keep things together. These guys had only collectively known each other for 5 years. 3 of those years had been spent on roller coaster of life. Constant adulation, pressing demands on personal time, drugs, ego, immaturity, and differing personalities that had not had the time to adjust to normal human growth got in the way of the machine that had been created and they broke up. Hay, Strykert, and Ham tried to finish their 3rd album with studio musicians but all it takes is a few seconds to hear that Jerry Speiser was not on the drums and it *felt* different. The magic was gone. Colin Hay remains an incredibly authentic and sincere songwriting genius. He continued with an acoustic solo career that I did not find out about until I was working at a music store in 2005. Check out one of his albums "Going Somewhere". I bet you will like it. I bet you will *feel* it. :D
The early 80's was an awesome time for pop music. I remember being in 5th grade and my sister was a few years older. We would listen to the top 40 countdown. The songs were really dynamic and could fit any mood you had. There is a some good pop music these days but I just don't think it's as inspiring(IMO).
Best.Band.Ever.I wish they could have stayed together longer and put out a bunch more great albums...but I still treasure the ones they did make,and I have all of them!
There was a time , my son, when squadrons of musicians roamed the Gold Coast taking no prisoners, and Aussie Rock ruled the world. Well. my world, anyway!
Ac/Dc is amazing, but you guys put out a lot of really good bands. Buffalo and Billy Thorpe who no one remembers and later less hard groups like Men. Canada has a similar reality. We had men without hats one hit wonder Safety Dance and a lot of quality rock that no one knows about. Tragically Hip, 54-40, Tea Party and the zanny Barenaked Ladies. Also BTO and Guess Who from the 70's and of course Rush-the Canadian AcDc (the band that made it huge)
If only that band could have known that the light at the end of the tunnel was actually a freight train , maybe they could have stepped off the track and let it go by and then continued on their journey .
And the Blind Melon song from the early 90s during the Jerry Speiser clip. Guessing VH1 paid for the rights to use particular songs x number of times and would use those songs whether they were appropriate or not. Still weird.
Was a HUGE fan of MAW back in the 80's, later also was a huge fan of "Scrubs" and enjoyed having Colin Hayes in a memorable episode- which prompted me to buy the cd "Man at Work," Colin's more recent work!
Interesting that Colin integrates the "Kookaburra" song into "Down Under" at the end of this clip. In fact he regularly sang the "Kookaburra" lines as part of live solo performances of "Down Under" since at least the mid-90s. Probably didn't help his case in court.
they should have been able to quietly settle that whole thing. I am just learning about that whole mess now since I am learning the song (and live in the USA where the lawsuit did not get much news). it is very obvious that they had borrowed a few notes from kookaburra - in the original video, the flute player is sitting in a gum tree while playing the riff (I mean, come on!!!). An even sadder fact is that the band imploded after just a few years and 2 super albums.
Actually it was a mangrove tree.Regardless of whether the "borrowing"was intentional or not,the whole court case was just ridiculous and driven by greed.Poor Greg took it very hard and it is ,y belief that he died of a broken heart.Literally and figuratively.
+Larry Dockery Greg Ham died in 2012 - the flautist etc - Colin Hay still tour regularly, he just finished a UK tour with Barenaked Ladies, and he's going on a US tour really soon!
There was a big story about it as both he and Colin Hay (singer) dad died in 2010 when there was the lawsuit over Land Down Under (a company said they copied an old Australian song) and the extra stress were a factor in the deaths, Greg Ham played the flute part that they were suing over :( - Colin Hay lost the law suit and spent $4.5 million in legal fees, and the whole fight and the deaths were over $100,000 :(
I came back here to check if this wasn’t a dream or not, such odd and interesting career paths they all chose, business physics sure sounds interesting.
son una de mis bandas favoritas y me pone tan triste que hayan durado tan poco tiempo,como me encantaría que tuvieran decenas de discos y poder ir a verlos en vivo :,(
hanamichi sakuragi Digo lo mismo,tengo 12 años y me gustaría haber nacido antes,se que estaría vieja pero me encantaría haber tenido una infancia y adolescencia grandiosa con esta música.. 😔
q.dificiles reunitlos es el orgullo y el resentimiento enetre ellos de les olvidaron sus sueños cuando se juntan expmota el odio y tesentimiento yflorece el amor y amistad animoo gupos. son como familia
I'm actually from Missoula Montana and I remember when I watched this biography when it was new and being surprised that Ron Strykert the guitarist had moved to Montana in 2000. I actually heard from some girl that I briefly spoke to at a gas station I used to work at that Ron got kicked out of Hamilton Montana which is just on the outskirts of Missoula for supposedly trying to drink rain water from a large outdoor umbrella where some people were seated and trying to eat. I guess he must have been bothering them. Another interesting fact: Ron Strykert and comedian Denis Leary were both born on August 18 1957! Denis Leary was born in Ireland and Ron Strykert was born in Australia. ~Dutch
***** Oh. I didn't realize that. I guess sometimes people have this thing about making up stories. As a born native of Missoula Montana, I've come to realize there are lots of people who are dishonest around here. I know because I've been lied to and taken advantage of by many of the Missoula residents. Have Colin Hay and Ron Strykert resolved their differences since then? ~Dutch
***** I would love to read your Article. I am a huge fan. Its a shame what has happen to these guys and then to loose Greg in the midst of the bull that went down over the song Down Under. Just hard to believe hes gone. I used to chat with Greg a lot.
Band Down Under Tribute To Men At Work Yeah, it was so sad. Greg was wonderful. The whole band incredible. Very underrated and incredible set of musicians. At least we got two legendary albums out of them and a decent third effort with "Two Hearts" (but sorely missing Jerry and John). So much potential with that band and they were legendary in my eyes. The music stands the test of time!!!
***** wow man I didn't know that u sure really got alot of information thanks I really like this group I was hoping they would get back together I think 1 of the members has passed away if I'm correct
the promise man Colin has been making great albums since the break up of Men at Work, tours all the time and has a good following. He fills up small venues and grows his audience each year. The guy is still amazing in concert, one the best I've ever seen.