Men at Work’s “Down Under” is Australia’s unofficial anthem, a classic tune played at sporting events, pubs, and celebrations around the world whenever Aussies gather. It’s not, however, a siren’s call for the far right.
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That’s the word according to Colin Hay, the Scotland-born frontman and songwriter with Men at Work, which had a global hit with “Down Under” in the early ‘80s.
Hay has drawn a virtual line in the sand, telling “March For Australia” organizers to find another song to play at their rallies.
“Let me say that I most strenuously disapprove of any unauthorized, unlicensed use of Down Under, for any ‘March For Australia’ events,” he writes. “’Down Under,’ a song I co-wrote, does not belong to those who attempt to sow xenophobia within the fabric of our great land, our great people,” he continues.
“’Down Under’ is ultimately a song of celebration. It’s for pluralism and inclusion; unity, not division. Go write your own song, leave mine alone.”
He signs off his message, “Colin Hay (immigrant).”
Men at Work enjoyed a dream breakthrough with their debut album Business As Usual, and its standout single “Down Under,” which reigned for four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, and has sold more than two million copies in the United States.
With Business As Usual and “Down Under,” the band had the unusual distinction of simultaneously topping the singles and albums charts in the United States and the United Kingdom.
It’s not the first time Hay has had to fight for his signature song. Hay and his Men at Work co-songwriter Ron Strykert were involved in a bruising court battle, which began in 2009 and centered on the flute riff and whether it was lifted from the children’s campfire song “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.” To settle the case, a court ordered Men at Work to pay just 5% of royalties in the song.
Hay told Billboard in 2023 that “Down Under” is “very dear to me. When I wrote the song, I had a lot of fear and trepidation about Australia becoming overdeveloped, like you know, Florida or something, and on the other side of the coin, there was this beautiful uniqueness and incredible — a kind of awesomeness — of the country which I thought, ‘we don’t want to lose that’. We have to nurture, it’s a precious thing we have.”
“Down Under” has passed more than one billion streams across all platforms, and enjoyed a second life when it was reworked as a drum ‘n’ bass cut by Australian producer Luude, over Hay’s vocals. The new version crashed the top 10 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, peaking at No. 5 in 2021.
Men at Work was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1994, and Hay received the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music at the 2023 APRA Music Awards.
