A song that deals almost entirely with things that are foreign to every person far away from Australia became one of the most successful songs of the 80s – worldwide. But it still took some time after the first radio use on November 2, 1981 in Australia. And MTV also played an important role. Ten facts about the eternal radio classic “Down Under”.
Already created in the 70s
“Down Under” was basically created in 1978, when the band Men at Work didn’t even exist yet. Colin Hay and Ron Strykert had written it together at university before they founded the group in Melbourne in 1979 together with Greg Ham (1953–2012), John Rees and Jerryspeiser, which would become one of the country’s most successful exports. Men at Work worked on the piece until the last moment before it appeared on their debut album “Business As Usual” in October 1981 and was released shortly afterwards as a (second) single. Initially with modest success.
But before that came another hit…
Before “Down Under” could even be thought of as a hit, Men at Work released “Who Can It Be Now.” It is the band’s other world-famous song, which even reached number one in the singles charts in the USA in 1982.
“Down Under” and its success story
“Down Under” was number one in the US singles charts for four incredible weeks in 1982 and was number one in the UK for three weeks. The song also topped the charts in Poland, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland and Switzerland. In Germany, where “Down Under” was only heard in 1982, it was at least enough for ninth place.
Unofficial anthem of Australia
When the 2000 Olympic Games took place in Sydney, the organizers also invited Men at Work to sing their big Australian hit at the closing ceremony. The piece is now considered the unofficial national anthem by many people on the other side of the globe. Numerous companies also used the popularity of “Down Under” to vouch for their Australian identity, such as the airline Qantas Airways, which used the song in advertising campaigns until the 2000s.
And what does this have to do with MTV?
The success of “Down Under” may well have something to do with the music video playing on a continuous loop on MTV. However, there were quite mundane reasons for this. After the founding of the music channel, which in a few years became… game changer The music industry simply needed a lot of fresh clips to fill the program. So Men at Work came into play. And also the sharp self-irony that can be admired in the anarchic mini-film.
Australians on a world tour
This is about identity! The title already hints at the not so easy confrontation with Australia that occurs in other parts of the world when it comes to the land of kangaroos and strange customs. The text, which was written at the end of the 70s, describes the pilgrimage of an Australian who travels the hippie trail, i.e. hikes with a backpack from Europe to Asia, in order, above all, to get to know himself. At the moment he seems to be in Brussels. He reflects on the peculiarities of his homeland. Of course, this also includes excessive beer consumption followed by equally excessive vomiting.
Apparently, people haven’t heard much about emancipation in “Down Under” (at least at the time the song was written), as one can gather from the lyrics “Do you come from a land down under/Where women glow and men plunder” (which means something like: Where men grope and women are not stingy with charms). No wonder it is also said: “Head full of zombie”, i.e. completely stoned after a marijuana session. An Australian culinary specialty also plays a role: the Vegemite sandwich. Vegemite is brown, very concentrated yeast extract that is smeared on bread, toast and crackers. It is also referred to as the “Taste of Australia” because of the unusual taste that cannot be compared with anything else. By the way, it tastes salty and bitter and is slightly reminiscent of malt products.
With reggae to success
A role in the success of “Down Under” that should not be underestimated is that it is itself a cultural hybrid. Because like many of Men at Work’s songs, it purred in a ska and reggae rhythm. A special feature is of course the four-bar flute part, played by Greg Ham (who was found dead in his apartment in 2012 and was the only member of the band to die so far).
Funny – but also with a message?
For many years, “Down Under” was interpreted as a parody of the Australian way of life. Quite a misunderstanding for songwriter Colin Hay. He repeatedly made it clear that his song was also about selling out Australia’s identity, which, as a country of the British Empire, had to mediate between the rich culture of the indigenous population and the exported lifestyle of the old continent. The song laments the essentially soulless overdevelopment of the country and the chronic exploitation by foreign hands.
What are Men at Work actually doing today?
Not too much anymore. After the second album “Cargo” (1983), which at least contained another hit “Overkill”, the band fell apart. Already the third record with a smaller cast was a failure. The musicians then gave it up in 1985. There was a small comeback in 1996 when Colin Hay and Greg Ham teamed up again. Until 2012, the year Ham died, they toured the world to present their songs. Apart from the live album “Brazil ’96” (1997), no new material was added. But there is an unmanageable number of hit compilations.
There was something about the royalties…?
As always, when it comes to big hits that even ensure a handsome living for the musicians’ grandchildren, there was also a legal dispute down under. What was it about? Supposedly part of the flute arrangement was taken from a song called “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree”, a song from 1934, for which licensing rights were applied for in 1975. Negotiations took place in 2008. The language was in the proceedings of two out of four flute bars, which in “Down Under” represented a copyright infringement, so to speak. The lawyers representing Men at Work argued that the song was in a minor key, but the one supposedly entrusted to it was recorded in a major key. The argument goes that anyone who knows little about music would not even recognize a bond; the agreement is simply too low.
But a federal court in Sydney saw it differently. In 2010, the ruling was made that, starting in May 2002, five percent of all royalties earned “Down Under” would retroactively be transferred to the music publisher Larrikin, which holds the rights to the Boy Scout song from the 1930s. By the way, they originally demanded 60 percent of all income.
Interesting fact on the side: The amount of damages that was legally determined and covers the years 2002-2012 was just over 600,000 euros. Extrapolated to the percentage estimated by the court, this means that Men at Work, or all those who hold rights to the band’s work, earned just over 13 million euros in a decade just from this one hit. If you now extrapolate that “Down Under”, now 40 years old, is still just as popular and is always played on the radio, then around 50 million euros in revenue has probably been collected to date.