Colin Hay

Singer/songwriter Colin Hay launched his career as a member of Men at Work, fronting the chart-topping pop band throughout the first half of the 1980s before remolding himself into a critically-acclaimed solo artist. He was born in Kilwinning, Scotland, on June 29, 1953, and moved to Australia in 1967. A dozen years later, he formed Men at Work with bassist Ron Strykert and drummer Jerry Speiser, molding the band's unique sound from a combination of New Wave influences, reggae rhythms, and pop/rock melodies. The band scored back-to-back Number One hits on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under," the latter of which went platinum in both America and the UK. Both were included on Men at Work's 1982 debut, Business as Usual, which went six-times platinum in the US. 1983's Cargo was also successful, earning triple-platinum sales in Canada and America. That same year, Men at Work received a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The band broke up after releasing Two Hearts in 1985, although they reunited periodically throughout the years that followed. Meanwhile, Hay launched a prolific solo career with 1987's Looking for Jack. By the late 2010s, he had released more than dozen solo records, trading the commercial success of his Men at Work days for critical accolades and a small (but fiercely loyal) following. He also made appearances on Scrubs and other TV shows, where he often played songs like "Overkill" and "Beautiful World" onscreen. Following 2017's Fierce Mercy, Hay also starred in an episode of the American TV series The Resident, performing the new composition "You Saved Me from Myself."