Men At Work 'Down Under'

Chart peak: 1 (3 weeks)

YouTube

"Very good at sending themselves up, the Australians," said my mum when we saw this video on the telly. And that, whatever else you might say about this record, is certainly beyond dispute. Perhaps this is why they were able to produce a parody of their own stereotypes that not only conquered the world, but was embraced by their compatriots too; it seems to have become something of an anthem to the Aussies in Britain.
To my four-year-old self, there wasn't a lot here except a bunch of Australian guys doing a silly dance and singing about coming from "Down Under" - I suppose it shows how broad the humour is that I could get it even at that age - and I don't think I really understood any of the words in the verses, or even noticed that there were any (Colin Hay does seem to run out and just start bellowing over the fade-out). I didn't decipher until we went there years later what a Kombi was (a VW camper van, in case anyone hasn't caught up yet) and not until later still why he'd have a "head full of zombie". Listening back now, it's pretty much a shaggy dog story as the protagonist travels around the world (including Belgium, for some reason) and is constantly greeted with the same images from everyone he meets. By all accounts, this turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy for many a year thereafter, because Australian tourists and ex-pats got this sung back at them. Of course, the very idea that they're wandering around the world without any obvious intent is itself another stereotype.
As a child, I don't think I had any idea what Australian music would sound like, but with hindsight there isn't much local colour beyond the lyrics. There are hints of reggae in the rhythms and in Hay's vocal, but with no pretence at any sort of authenticity - it's almost a good-time version of The Police. The most notable feature of all is that infectious flute riff that would surely have made this song a single even had it not had such instantly marketable subject matter. It also distracts Greg Ham from the sax he seems to have ladled over every other track on the Business As Usual album.

Of course, the trouble with having this kind of novelty hit is that the only way is down, because people who bought this wouldn't all appreciate the (slightly) more serious tone of their other material: and if they had tried to persist with this direction buyers would have got tired of it anyway. Thus Men At Work won't trouble us again here, although whilst few people remember it they did notch up a couple more Top 40 singles in Britain. Strangely enough, their other US Number One, 'Who Can It Be Now?' is not among them.

Funny thing is, Colin Hay's actually Scottish...


Available on: Business As Usual