Photo: John Begalke from Green Bay, USA / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
Our Top 10 Men At Works songs list takes a look at a band that hit number one with their debut album that included two number one singles. When many rock fans discuss the best or most successful debut albums in classic rock history, they often mention debut albums by Boston, Heart, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and so on. Rarely mentioned is Men At Work’s debut. However, the mere fact that the band’s debut album went all the way to number one on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Charts and delivered two number one singles, while the band also earned a Grammy Award for best new artist probably should include them in the conversation for most successful debut albums of all time.
Men A Work were a band formed on the Australian Continent. The group was formed by Colin Hay, Ron Strykert and Jerry Speiser. After first forming as a trio, the group added two more members including Greg Ham and John Rees. At the start, the group released some independent music and soon became extremely popular in their native home of Australia. Their popularity eventually led to a recording contract with CBS Records. Neither the band or their record company could have predicted just how successful the group’s debut album Business as Usual would become.
Men At Work celebrated their success and followed up their debut album with the record titled Cargo in 1983. Once again, Men At Work enjoyed the fruits of another very successful record as the album went all the way to number two on the Billboard Top 200 and generated another top 10 single. And that’s pretty much all she wrote. The band’s next album entitled Two Hearts did not sell well. It would be the band’s final album as the group spilt up in 1986 after the release of Two Hearts and never released another studio album under the name Men At Work again.
# 10 – Everything I Need
We start out our Top 10 Men At Work songs list with a track from their very last studio album Two Hearts. The song “Everything I Need,” was the first single released from the album. It would become the last single released by the band to make the Billboard Top 100 as the song peaked at number 47 on the Hot 100 in the United States. The song was written by Colin Haye.
# 9 – Man With Two Hearts
We continue our top 10 Men At Work songs list with one more track from their final LP. The song “Man With Two Hearts ,”was released as the last single from the LP. The song features an fantastic driving beat carried away with a great bass line, a strong drum groove with a snare high in the mix and a great Colin Hay vocal. We love the great guitar work in the middle of the tune.
# 8 – Catch A Star
Continuing with our Top 10 Men At Work songs we turn to the band’s debut album Business as Usual. The song “Catch A Star,” was never released as a single but has remained a fan favorite. The songs’ groove seems to pay homage to The Police who were huge at that time.
# 7 – Underground
Continuing with the Business as Usual album, we present the final single released from the album entitled “Underground.” The song failed to chart in most countries making it the least successful single released from an album that spawned two number ones. Still, a pretty great song.
# 6 – Be Good Johnny
“Be Good Johnny,” was the third single released from the Business as Usual album. However it was not released as a single worldwide. It was never released in the U.S. and so it failed to chart in America. However, its one of our favorite songs on the album.
# 5 – Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive
As we enter the second half our top 10 Men At Work songs list we takes a look at the band’s second album for the first time. The follow up to Business as Usual was an album entitled Cargo. Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive, was the first single released from the album. The song broke the top 40 in the U.S. peaking at number 28.
# 4 – It’s a Mistake
Men at Work released a handful of singles from the Cargo album. “It’s A Mistake,” was the third single released from the record. The song became very popular in the United States during the summer of 83. It broke the Billboard Top 10 peaking at number six. It was the band’s fourth top 10 single in just two years.
# 3 – Overkill
Overkill was the second single released from the Cargo album. It was the record’s most successful single. The song reached all the way up to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983. The song had a killer verse and an even better pre-chorus verse that led to the hook line. Just a great feel good song that fans fell in love with.
# 2 – Who Can It Be Now
The top two songs on this Men At Work songs list are pretty interchangeable as far as commercial success. They both hit number one in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as hitting number one in many other countries. “Who Can It Be Now,” was released as single in the band’s native county of Australia before the album was released.
# 1 – Down Under
Men At Work’s “Down Under,” was the band’s most successful single of their career. Besides hitting number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the song also went Platinum in sales making it a Gold Record times 10. It also became one of the biggest selling singles of the 1980s. The song was released on the great Business as Usual album. It was the album’s second single release. The song was written by Colin Haye. The band did owe some of their success to MTV who put both of their lead singles Who Can It Be Now and Down Under from Business as Usual into heavy rotation as both the band and the channel pretty much arrived on the scene at the same time,
