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Business as Usual (Men at Work album)

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Business as Usual
Original Australian cover artwork. International versions feature the same artwork tinted yellow.
Studio album by
Released9 November 1981 (1981-11-09)
April 1982 (U.S.)
RecordedMarch–September 1981
StudioRichmond Recorders (Melbourne, Australia)[1]
Genre
Length38:00
LabelColumbia
ProducerPeter McIan
Men at Work chronology
Business as Usual
(1981)
Cargo
(1983)
Singles from Business as Usual
  1. "Who Can It Be Now?"
    Released: June 1981
  2. "Down Under"
    Released: 2 November 1981
  3. "Be Good Johnny"
    Released: April 1982

Business as Usual is the debut studio album by Australian new wave band Men at Work, which was released in November 1981 in Australia, and April 1982 in the United States. It spent nine weeks at the top of the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart from December 1981 through to March 1982. The Australian version had a black and white cover design; overseas releases had a similar design, but in a black and yellow colour scheme. Business as Usual was one of the most successful albums internationally by an Australian group. It spent an unprecedented 15 weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 from late 1982 to early 1983; and five weeks at No. 1 in the United Kingdom Albums Chart in early 1983. Business as Usual was also one of the highest selling Australian albums in the early 1980s, with 6 million copies shipped in the US.

In February 2010, a Federal Court judge in Sydney found that the flute riff from "Down Under" had been plagiarised from the Australian song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree", written in 1932 by Marion Sinclair. The Federal Court determined that the copyright was still current (Sinclair died in 1988) and had been assigned to Larrikin Music. The judge found that "a substantial amount of the original song" had been reproduced in "Down Under". Larrikin Music had suggested 60% of the royalties would be appropriate compensation, but the court decreed they shall receive only 5%, and only on mechanical rights for the song since 2002, and on future profits.

In October 2010, Business as Usual was listed in the book 100 Best Australian Albums.[2]

Background

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By early 1981, Australian new wave group Men at Work consisted of Greg Ham on flute, saxophone, keyboards and vocals; Colin Hay on vocals and guitar; John Rees on bass guitar; Jerry Speiser on drums and backing vocals; and Ron Strykert on lead guitar and vocals.[3][4][5] Hay was the group's main songwriter both on his own, with Strykert, or with other bandmates.[3][4] The group signed with the Australian branch of Columbia Records, which issued their second single, "Who Can It Be Now?", in June that year.[3][4] As record producer they used United States-born Peter McIan (Franne Golde, Serious Young Insects).[3][4][5] The track was one written by Hay alone,[6] and, in August, it peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.[7][8]

The group had already returned to the studio to continue working with McIan, who produced their debut album, Business as Usual, which included the earlier single.[3][4][5] The second single from the album, "Down Under", was released in November and was a reworked version of the B-side to their debut single, "Keypunch Operator", from the previous year.[3] "Down Under" was co-written by Hay and Strykert,[9] and became the group's first number-one hit in December – which stayed at the top for six weeks.[7][8] The album was released on 9 November 1981, it entered the top 50 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart in December peaking at No. 1 for nine weeks and appearing in the top 50 for 118 weeks.[7][10]

The non-album B-side, the jam-oriented instrumental "Anyone for Tennis", was omitted from the 2003 remaster of Business as Usual (which contained both the other non-album B-sides from this era). It appears only on the B-side to "Who Can it Be Now?".

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[12]
Rolling Stone[13]

Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane described Business as Usual: "Aside from the strength of the music, part of the [its] appeal was its economy. The production sound was low-key, but clean and uncluttered. Indeed, the songs stood by themselves with little embellishment save for a bright, melodic, singalong quality".[3] Gerry Raffaele for The Canberra Times felt "[it] generally stays at a high level, tight and jerky, although I still favour the tracks which have appeared as singles ... There is a delicacy about this music – and that is not a thing you can say about too many rock groups".[14]

Accolades

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Countdown Music and Video Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
1981[15][16] Business as Usual Best Debut Album Won
"Who Can It Be Now?" Best Debut Single Won
Men at Work Best New Talent Won
1982[16][17] Men at Work Most Outstanding Achievement Won

Grammy Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
1983 Men at Work (performer) Best New Artist[18] Won

Brit Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
1984 Men at Work (performer) Best International Artist[19] Nominated

Track listing

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Business as Usual – Standard edition – Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Who Can It Be Now?"Colin Hay[6]3:21
2."I Can See It in Your Eyes"Hay3:29
3."Down Under"Hay, Ron Strykert[9]3:42
4."Underground"Hay3:03
5."Helpless Automaton"Greg Ham3:21
Business as Usual – Standard edition – Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."People Just Love to Play with Words"Strykert3:29
7."Be Good Johnny"Hay, Ham3:35
8."Touching the Untouchables"Hay, Strykert3:39
9."Catch a Star"Hay3:28
10."Down by the Sea"Hay, Strykert, Ham, Jerry Speiser6:53
Total length:38:00
Business as Usual – 2003 remaster bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Crazy"Strykert2:37
12."Underground" (live)Hay3:49
13."Who Can It Be Now?" (live)Hay3:58
14."F-19"Hay, Speiser3:52
Total length:52:16
Notes
  • "Crazy" is a B-side of the "Down Under" single in Australia and North America.
  • The live versions of "Underground" and "Who Can It Be Now?" were recorded at a concert at Olympia in São Paulo, Brazil on May 6, 1996[20] and are also from the 1998 live album Brazil.
  • "F-19" is a B-side of the "Be Good Johnny" single in Australia.

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of the 2003 remaster of Business as Usual.

Musicians

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Technical

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  • Peter McIan – production, engineering
  • Jim Barbour – engineering
  • Paul Ray – additional engineering

Artwork

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  • John Dickson – front cover illustration

Singles

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  • "Who Can It Be Now?" was the first single released from the album. It was released as a single in Australia in June 1981 and in the U.S. in May 1982. It reached #2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart in August 1981.
  • "Down Under" was the second single released from the album. It was released as a single on 2 November 1981. The single peaked at #1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart for six weeks.
  • "Be Good Johnny" was the third single and final single released from the album. It was released in April 1982 and reached #8 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.

Charts

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Decade-end charts

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Chart (1980–89) Position
Australian Albums Chart[citation needed] 9

Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[42] 4× Platinum 200,000[43]
Canada (Music Canada)[44] 5× Platinum 500,000^
Germany (BVMI)[45] Gold 250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[46] Gold 10,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[47] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[48] Platinum 15,000^
Japan (Oricon Charts) 266,000[25]
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[50] 6× Platinum 6,000,000^
Yugoslavia 22,513[51]
Zimbabwe 2,000[52]
Summaries
Worldwide 10,000,000[53]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Men at Work – Business as Usual (1981, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1981.
  2. ^ O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (October 2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 978-1-74066-955-9.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g McFarlane, 'Men at Work' entry. Archived from the original on 13 May 2003. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Nimmervoll, Ed. "Men at Work". Howlspace – The Living History of Our Music (Ed Nimmervoll). White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c Holmgren, Magnus; Warnqvist, Stefan. "Men at Work". passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "'Who Can It Be Now' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 24 July 2014. Note: User may have to click 'Search again' and provide details at 'Enter a title:' e.g Who Can It Be Now; or at 'Performer:' Men at Work
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Ryan (bulion), Gary (16 July 2008). "Chart Positions Pre 1989 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "'Down Under' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 24 July 2014. Note: User may have to click 'Search again' and provide details at 'Enter a title:' e.g Down Under; or at 'Performer:' Men at Work
  10. ^ Ryan (bulion), Gary (11 January 2009). "Albums Pre 1989 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  11. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Business as Usual – Men at Work". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  12. ^ Christgau, Robert (1990). "Men at Work: Business as Usual". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  13. ^ Fricke, David (22 July 1982). "Men at Work: Business As Usual". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  14. ^ Raffaele, Gerry (25 January 1982). "Rock Music: Perceptive". The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). National Library of Australia. p. 10. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Countdown Show no.:539 Date: 18/4/1982". Countdown Archives. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b Angus Cameron, ed. (1985). The Australian Almanac. North Ryde, NSW: Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0-207-15108-3.
  17. ^ "Countdown Date: 19/4/1983". Countdown Archives. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  18. ^ "Past Winners Search". grammy.com. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  19. ^ "The BRITs 1984". brits.co.uk. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  20. ^ "Men at Work Setlist at Olympia, São Paulo". setlist.fm.
  21. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Archived 21 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 9 May 2012
  22. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Men at Work – Business as Usual" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  23. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2012.Note: user must select 'MEN AT WORK' from drop-down
  24. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Men At Work".
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  26. ^ "charts.nz Men at Work – Business as Usual" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  27. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Men at Work – Business as Usual" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  28. ^ "swedishcharts.com Men at Work – Business as Usual" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  29. ^ "The Official Charts Company: Men at Work – Business as Usual" (PHP). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  30. ^ "allmusic ((( Business as Usual > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  31. ^ "Album Search: Men at Work – Business as Usual" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 9 May 2012.[dead link]
  32. ^ "Top 100 Albums '82". RPM. 25 December 1982. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  33. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1982. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  34. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1982 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  35. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1983". RPM. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  36. ^ "Les Albums (CD) de 1983 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  37. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1983. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  38. ^ "Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1983" [1983年アルバム年間ヒットチャート] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  39. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1983 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  40. ^ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  41. ^ "Top Pop Albums of 1983". billboard.biz. 31 December 1983. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  42. ^ "Men at Work" (PDF). Cash Box. 7 August 1982. p. 8. Retrieved 5 December 2021 – via World Radio History.
  43. ^ Baker, Glen A. (28 May 1983). "Australia - Explosive Talent Gains Temper Year of playing Dangerously" (PDF). Billboard. p. A-3. Retrieved 31 October 2020 – via World Radio History.
  44. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Men at Work – Business as Usual". Music Canada. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  45. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Men at Work; 'Business as Usual')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  46. ^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1985". IFPI Hong Kong.
  47. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Men at Work – Business as Usual" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 31 December 2018. Enter Business as Usual in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1990 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  48. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Men at Work – Business as Usual". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  49. ^ "British album certifications – Men at Work – Business as Usual". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  50. ^ "American album certifications – Men at Work – Business as Usual". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  51. ^ Hudelist, Darko (1 October 1984). "Rang-lista licencnih izdanja". Yugopapir. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  52. ^ Baker, Glenn A. (19 December 1987). "Record Industry Resists Piracy in Zimbabwe" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 51. p. 57. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  53. ^ Darnall, Steve (12 August 2003). "Decision to go solo has paid off for Men at Work's Colin Hay". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 October 2020.

Further reading

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