Colin Hay Discusses Males at Work, His Solo Profession, and the Music Biz [Part Two]

Hay spoke to AllMusic shortly after the discharge of his newest solo launch, Man @ Work: Quantity 2, which like its profitable predecessor, incorporates “re-imagined favorites from throughout Hay’s wealthy catalog, together with Males at Work classics, solo album highlights, and new materials.”

So with out additional ado, right here is the second a part of AllMusic’s prolonged interview with Hay.

What do you recall in regards to the precise recording of the Males at Work albums from the ’80s, Enterprise as Typical, Cargo, and Two Hearts?

“Properly, Enterprise as Typical was very fast and it was nice, as a result of we had a ten day pre-production with the producer, Peter McIan, who sadly handed away fairly not too long ago. Very unhappy to listen to that information. He was a terrific document producer. He was excellent for us, actually. And we had a means of pre-production the place in a means, he ‘pop-ified’ the music. We had simplified sure elements, and turned perhaps a six-minute track right into a three-and-a-half minute track – whereas retaining the integrity and what was necessary to the track.”

“And once we really received into the studio, it was a really small studio known as Richmond Recorders [in Melbourne]. And it took about ten days to document – 5 days for the rhythm tracks and 5 days for overdubs. So, it was very fast. We labored fairly rapidly and it was a really cheap document to make. However he was actually the important thing in bringing that album collectively – Peter McIan.”

“Cargo took us just a little bit longer. We finally launched that album too rapidly. I believe we should always have waited, however water below the bridge now. However yeah, Cargo took just a little bit longer. I nonetheless assume we had some good songs on that document. Maybe we might have spent just a little bit extra time on that – we’d have had a greater document, who is aware of? However we had been just a little bit extra skilled and we nonetheless had McIan engaged on that document, in order that was good.”

“By the point Two Hearts got here round, the band was finished. We did not understand it on the time, however the band was over. And certainly, it was solely three of us left. John and Jerry had been sacked. So, it was Ron and Greg and I, and Russell [Deppeler] the supervisor, and we made the Two Hearts document.

“But it surely was actually the dying throes of the band. Ron left midway by, and on the finish of it, Greg mentioned, ‘I’ve had sufficient,’ and he simply went dwelling – and the band was finished. I believe there’s some attention-grabbing songs on it, however the first two you might say had been the actual Males at Work albums, in a means, due to the truth that these information contained the basic line-up of the band.”

Enterprise as Typical topped the US charts for an unprecedented 15 weeks from late 1982 to early 1983. How overwhelming was the band’s success?

“Properly you do not understand it is overwhelming. You assume that you will deal with every little thing effectively. It is like lots of people, once you’re younger…I imply, I might spend most likely 15-20 years dreaming of getting a profitable recording profession and touring the world. And impulsively, once you get that, it is sort of like, ‘Oh, okay, effectively, your goals grew to become realized.’ After which how do you deal with that? Once you’re younger, effectively, actually, when I was younger, I assumed I knew every little thing. And it turned out that I knew virtually nothing. So, your schooling about life and in regards to the enterprise you are in, and creativity and interpersonal relationships and all these sorts of issues usually occur after you have had success. And that is what occurred to us.”

“We had unbelievable, phenomenal success…after which all of it imploded. And we did not have the communication abilities to avert what, in essence, ended that profession, which was the demise of the band. When that occurred, I’ve to say that I wasn’t sad about the truth that Males at Work broke up. I used to be fairly pleased to be alone. I might spent 15 years alone, and I used to be fairly pleased to be alone once more, and begin once more, and experiment and play music and hold transferring ahead.”

“However the influence of the band, I believe, has continued over a protracted time frame. We solely made three albums, however two that had been profitable commercially. And but, there’s a terrific love for these songs by hundreds of thousands and hundreds of thousands of individuals. For which, I am eternally grateful.”

What do you recall in regards to the excursions within the ’80s, when Males at Work was on the peak of their success? As a result of lots of people level to the ’80s as a time of extra and partying. Is it truthful to say that was the identical for Males at Work?

“Yeah. I imply, most likely not as a lot as plenty of bands. However we did our fair proportion of that. I imply, alcohol was my Achilles’ heel. And I noticed that I had an issue with that fairly early on. And I spent about most likely six years attempting to surrender alcohol. And I ultimately did in 1991. It wasn’t that necessary to us. I imply, we had been extra sort of cups of tea, have a little bit of weed or one thing after the present. It wasn’t a lot the opposite factor – of going loopy.”

What track is the underrated gem of the Males at Work catalog?

“I do not know. I imply, I do not learn about this entire ‘underrated’ factor. I imply, underrated by whom? Who’s doing the ranking? I do not know. I discover the entire thing about whether or not one thing’s underrated as being bizarre. I believe there’s plenty of songs on the information which are which are nice, and I believe that they’re appreciated by [fans]. Y’know, it doesn’t matter what track I play at a live performance, for instance, there’s at all times any person within the viewers who loves that track, and I believe, ‘Properly, it is not underrated by them‘.”

I personally assume the track “Blue for You” off Cargo was underrated, and would have been an excellent single.

“It is a single now, off the brand new album. I do not know [why it wasn’t a single off Cargo]. I am unable to even keep in mind whether or not it was talked about. I believe that the folks determined that ‘Overkill,’ ‘It is a Mistake,’ and “Dr Heckyl and Mr. Jive’…I by no means actually cared for ‘Dr Heckyl and Mr. Jive’ that a lot as a track. I by no means cared for it then and I nonetheless do not take care of it that a lot. However on the time, it appeared to work, and folks appreciated it.”

What was your tackle the comparisons on the time between Males at Work and the Police? Had been they legitimate or invalid?

“Yeah, I believe they had been fairly legitimate in some ways. It isn’t like we went out of our solution to copy the Police. It wasn’t like I began singing simply after the Police got here to the scene. However I keep in mind driving alongside and listening to the Police for the primary time, and I simply needed to pull over and assume, ‘Oh my God. There is a man that appears like me.’ After which, in fact, they grew to become profitable earlier than we did. And so, clearly the comparisons had are available in primarily I believe, due to the sound of my voice. And likewise, perhaps the add9 chords that we used, that Andy Summers used, as effectively. However I do not actually care. Should you’re gonna evaluate us to the Police, effectively, I will take that. They had been a implausible band.”

And what was your tackle the lawsuit in 2007 regarding “Down Beneath’ and “Kookaburra” [the latter of which was written in 1932 by Marion Sinclair]? Do you’re feeling that declare was based or unfounded?

“Properly, clearly I did not assume it was. It was a critical declare, as a result of we went to court docket for six years defending it. So, it is a sophisticated topic, however there was a lawsuit which we needed to defend in the long run, as a result of there’s two bars of ‘Kookaburra Sits within the Outdated Gum Tree’ and ‘Down Beneath,’ which had been added to the track – innocuously and unconsciously – though folks discover that arduous to imagine. However that is the reality of it.”

“And after 28 years [since ‘Down Under’ was first released], there was a lawsuit, and we misplaced. However I believe that they [Larrikin Music] misplaced, as effectively, actually. I imply, they obtained a really small share – not of the copyright of the track. So, the co-writer of the track continues to be because it was. I believe that it was a declare which ought to have by no means gotten to court docket. It ought to have been settled earlier than it went by the court docket system.”

“However they needed 60% of ‘Down Beneath,’ which was a really cynical factor for them to say. They’d greed and greenback indicators of their eyes, they usually went for it. And so, we needed to defend it. EMI, that was, and I used to be sued, as effectively. I do not lose sleep over it. But it surely was one thing that I will always remember – or forgive – for that matter.”

How was it touring once more as Males at Work with Greg within the late ’90s and early twenty first century, and did his dying in 2012 come as a shock?

“Properly, I beloved Greg. I at all times beloved Greg, and I nonetheless love Greg. So, I beloved touring with him from ’96 till 2002 [which spawned a live album, 1998’s Brazil]. However he was struggling a bit throughout that point. However we had some nice reveals, we had some nice excursions. And I believe when he handed away, it was a shock, however I knew that he was in bother earlier than that. I might go and see him, and Greg was by no means a drinker when he was youthful, however he developed an alcohol factor later in his life. And he appeared sad.”

“And the lawsuit had affected him enormously. He wasn’t sued for it, however he was the one who performed the road [on the flute], so he felt a accountability or a guilt for that, and thought that he’d be remembered for that. And it was horrible. It was simply horrible when he died, as a result of he was a terrific pal of mine and somebody who I actually revered, and he was so sensible and intellectually succesful. And he was somebody that I at all times imagined that I might develop outdated with and snicker at ridiculous issues till we might snicker now not. So, it’s extremely unhappy that he is gone, and I nonetheless get upset about it after I give it some thought.”

Are you continue to in contact with the opposite surviving former band members of Males at Work?

“No.”

How do you assume the music of Males at Work holds up immediately once you hear it, or from the followers’ response once you play it?

“Properly, I believe it is actually robust. If I take heed to the information we made, it is nonetheless sonically very robust, and I believe all of the elements nonetheless work. I believe it is music that shall be round for lots longer than I am round.”

How would you evaluate enjoying with the present Males at Work line-up to the basic line-up?

“Properly, I like the band that I’ve now. It is only a completely different band. You possibly can’t actually evaluate them, as a result of it is a completely different dynamic. It is a completely different construction. I imply, Males at Work was a band again then, who had been having an try at having a democratic band, and making choices collectively, and all these issues.”

“It is a band now the place I am using folks. So, it is an entire completely different factor. It isn’t even actually one thing you’ll be able to evaluate. However I like enjoying with this band. I like these musicians that I play with, as a result of they’re all glorious musicians, and we have now a good time touring collectively. So, it is implausible.”

Are there any solo songs on the Man at Work 2 album that once you play them, you’re feeling might have labored as Males at Work songs?

“There’s plenty of overlaps. However I’ve made like, 15 albums since Males at Work. So, it is plenty of materials to attract from. The songs that I recorded with Males at Work had been particular to that band. As a result of if I had a track and I might take a track to the band, the track contained everybody’s musicality and everybody’s enter. So, these Males at Work songs appeared like that band, as a result of we had been those who had been enjoying it.”

“Now once we play the songs, it has a special taste to it due to the musicians who’re enjoying the songs. However you continue to need to have respect for the unique recordings and the unique elements and the unique preparations – as a result of that is what was profitable, and that is what folks wish to hear. So, I’ve no drawback enjoying these songs.”

“However I’ve solely been actually touring as Males at Work – aside from the excursions that Greg and I did from ’96 till 2002. I have not actually finished any Males at Work excursions – solely since like, 2019. So, it is only a tour right here and there. It is not likely an enormous a part of my life, is what I am saying. Y’know, what you probably did 45 years in the past is nice, and I like it. But it surely’s not like I get up day by day fascinated about Males at Work.”

You simply talked about that in 2019 you started touring once more as Males at Work. Did you at all times personal the title ‘Males at Work,’ or did you get the rights to it again? How did that work out, that you simply had been in a position to tour as ‘Males at Work’?

“Properly, it is a nebulous factor, actually. Greg and I toured as ‘Males at Work’ – the title was like a model, which was sort of floating round there, like a rudderless ship. So, there’s an inner-dynamic that occurs, the place I can go on the market and play as Males at Work. That is simply the best way that it is occurred. I believe if anybody has a proper to exit on tour as Males at Work, it is me. So, that is what I am doing.”

How would you evaluate touring immediately to again within the outdated days?

“On stage, it is nice. I imply, technically, it is nice. All of the sound methods are a lot better, and the best way you’ll be able to hear on stage is nice. I am going out on tour solo, simply myself, and so I additionally exit with the band – the identical band that I’ve now, that’s below the moniker of Males at Work. I like touring with them slightly below my very own title, as a result of we will play much more materials from all of the completely different intervals of various albums. And plus, we at all times play the Males at Work songs, anyway. It isn’t like we by no means play them. We at all times play just a few of these within the set. So, it is not like we do not play Males at Work once we play the solo reveals.”

“After which after I play as Males at Work, I believe there’s one track we try this’s not a Males at Work track – however the remainder are all Males at Work songs. After which if I play solo, that is a special sort of touring altogether – it is simply me and a guitar and an viewers. And I believe that is most likely the dearest factor to me, as a result of after I received dropped by MCA Information, I simply began touring alone, and folks began to return. Not very many individuals, however they began off 40-50 folks, and now it is nonetheless not enormous stadiums or something – I play to perhaps 1,000 or 1,500 folks an evening after I play in theaters. And that is developed during the last 30 years.”

“And that is most likely my favourite factor to do, as a result of it’s extremely private, and it simply entails myself and the viewers. The viewers who know what their very own struggles are like, they know what it is wish to stand up on stage and play music. And there is an understanding which occurs between myself and the viewers, which does not occur anyplace else. It does not occur with the music trade, so to talk, and even doing what I am doing with you. Y’know, you write about it, and folks will examine it, and that is nice. And I am pleased to speak to you and so forth.”

“However there’s nothing just like the expertise that you may have with an viewers, the place they arrive and see you, they usually need one thing from you. And so hopefully, you give them that. And everyone seems to be richer for it. I actually know that I’m. So, that is actually what’s necessary to me now, greater than the rest – is that feeling of being helpful, and part of folks’s lives that has some resonance and which means immediately. Which, is affected by what you probably did 40/45 years in the past – nevertheless it’s not outlined by it.”

I might think about additionally enjoying with Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band has introduced plenty of consideration in direction of you as a solo artist and together with your previous work, proper?

“Not likely. The solo factor sits outdoors that in a means, and enjoying with Ringo is unbelievable – as a result of he is Ringo, and he was in the Beatles. However that is a selected factor, I believe. Y’know, folks come alongside they usually wish to hear these outdated songs, they usually wish to hear ‘Down Beneath’ and ‘Who Can It Be Now?’ And that is sort of roughly what that’s – it is a ‘hit fest,’ and you are a sideman for everybody else. And it is a terrific factor to be a part of. However enjoying solo – particularly enjoying for the final three a long time – is one thing which has simply developed over time, which is its personal factor.”

“There are overlaps with every little thing – there’s overlaps with Males at Work, there’s overlaps with Ringo, there’s overlaps with the solo factor. However the solo factor is simply sort of, as I mentioned earlier than, expensive to me due to the truth that it simply entails myself and the viewers. Which, it has its personal life. It isn’t depending on huge success or something. It is simply relying on you are going to flip up and they will flip up and see you. And there is one thing nice about that.”

You simply talked about the Beatles. How a lot of an affect had been the Beatles on you as a major affect early on? And had been there different artists?

“There have been different artists, however in actuality there was the Beatles, after which there was everyone else. My brother turned me on to black music. He turned me on to Otis Redding and Booker T & the MG’s. And plenty of plenty of music that I used to be unaware of till he made me conscious of it. After which I grew to become conscious of the truth that the Beatles had been conscious of it, so I assumed, ‘Oh, that is the place all of it comes from.’ I used to be unaware of it earlier than that.”

“However numerous folks had been influences as I grew to become just a little bit older, like Randy Newman is a big affect. And I like Joni Mitchell, and naturally Bob Dylan was nice. And James Taylor. Once I began enjoying acoustic, James Taylor and folks like that had been an enormous affect by way of the best way they performed the guitar and the best way they structured songs and so forth.”

Do you could have some other upcoming initiatives along with Man at Work 2 or excursions you want to debate?

“I am going out on the highway doing a solo tour. Properly, I am going again out with Ringo after this tour [on a bill with Toto and Christopher Cross], after which I do a solo tour within the fall of the US and the UK and Australia. So, that takes me by to December. So, I am not considering an excessive amount of past that, besides that after that, like subsequent yr, I wish to spend a bit extra time at dwelling and within the studio, the place I can hopefully do some attention-grabbing issues downstairs with some attention-grabbing folks. So, that is what I am trying ahead to, simply being extra at dwelling. Who is aware of if that’ll occur, however that is my plan.”

Lastly, my buddies had a debate not that way back: a few of them named ‘Overkill’ as the best track of the ’80s, and a few of them took exception to that. Would you wish to settle this argument for them?

“I might by no means ever declare that myself. However I am very, very pleased for different folks to make that declare.” [Laughs]