Colin Hay performs "Down Under" (Men At Work) at the Santa Cruz Guitar 40th Anniversary Concert
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- Enjoy this very special performance Colin gave of "Down Under" at “The First Forty” 40th anniversary celebration for Santa Cruz Guitar Company. As you would expect, Colin shares an entertaining backstory about his introduction to Santa Cruz Guitars & also features a spot-on Ed Sullivan impersonation! This video comes to you first exclusively on Colin’s Newsletter! Song begins after Colin's opening comments at 5:00
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![Men At Work • “Who Can It Be Now/Overkill/Down Under” • LIVE 1983 [Reelin' In The Years Archive]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HaMEzljVtA4/mqdefault.jpg)
"Traveling in a fried out Combi" When this song came out my brother, who had just gotten his degree in Philosophy from Berkley, bought a VW van and lived in it. He worked for the forest service during the fire season and lived in his camper the rest of the year. This song makes me think of him in those simpler days.
Replying two years later but man that is cool!
And now she is touring “Down Under “ Woman at Work
Singers normally find it difficult to reach high notes as they get older. But 40 years after the song was first released and he completely nails it. Colin Hay is amazingly talented.
That's usually if we develop nodes in our lungs from sreaming too much. The voice will normally last many many years... But it is a like a muscle and it can decline.
@@martinkuliza Bm is a hard key to sing in, i am by no means a singer but i play guitar and i sing when i play just to keep a flow and help me remember the song. i always struggle with this song and hotel california
@@martinkuliza oh i guess what made me think to comment was because i was thinking that B is usually considered a high register to sing (i know hes not singing in a high pitch here) but when im playing a song and its Bm chord like this song and hotel cal. it seems like i have to sing higher to be in key. thats pretty much it i was just making a general comment. i do a reggae version of this song just for fun. i only been playing regular guitar for like 1 year but i been playing bass guitar for 30 years, and i can play some piano too. i never sang while playing bass, except just backup on the chorus. but im not in a band right now or anything. thanks for your offer but i dont take the singing seirous and im too busy working on my guitar playing. unless you can make me sound like ronnie james dio overnight, but i smoke so that'll never happen lol. but hey thanks you seem like a cool cat and yea i didnt have any questions i was just commenting
@@martinkuliza stfu. Jeez!
@@martinkuliza? I'm 14 I cant hit that note it's pretty high
One of Scotland's greatest musicians.
Thanks Australia.
for sure!
David Byrne as well .
@@Bricameron yuck
Bon Scott the original Vocalist of Australian band AC/DC was Scottish. Brian who took over is also Scottish
@@1pixman Brian is English. He's from Newcastle
This, ladies and gentlemen, is a world class entertainer!
Agreed
And if yr an Aussie you already new that. Legendary band back in the Good ole days.
So true!
Crazy difficult to do.
@@stevejackson8781 us Americans damn sure knew about them brother...and love them still!
He sure is
Beautiful rendition of the Australian National anthem.
😂😂 hear hear!
Written by a Scot! lol (I don't say that disparagingly btw - I think we should celebrate the close ties between Australia and the UK)
Colin Hay is not just a singer but also a comedian,a Happyman.
Stumbled in here by accident, and I've never been more pleased in my stumbling. This was fantastic!
Same here - the man is bloody wonderful ❤❤
Me too. Total accident. Great to see a man still at work!
Stumbled in and just bought a ticket for his upcoming show.
SAME HERE. ! Absolutely fucking brilliant !
You were given a treat my friend. Relish this and all colin gives. Sweet man.
Believe it or not. I'm the youngster that was at the wedding with Colin Hay. I sat at the table with him and Aubrey and a few other people. Thanks Colin. I'm a fan for life. It was the Maria and Gary wedding.
Great story....thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing . I am a new Sierra Ferrell fan and love the origin story . So glad she made it . Cheers
That’s pretty cool. Loved them since they came out with business as usual. Such a good record. He actually seem so laid back and the kind of guy that could be your next door neighbor and just chill and have a cool chat.
All I can say, is Men at Work, and several other bands were my mental health and my soul while I was growing up in Northern Ontario. I can not be more serious. I used to listen to their first album in n repeat it reverberated with my need for identity, right up there with Pink Floyd, Sabbath, and Zeppelin. Here I am in my 50's and working in the Middle East, and I am tearing up remembering my youth. How fickle life is, that we always harken back to our youth. Thank you Colin Hay, thank you Men at Work! much love ❤️🙏🏽
🙏
It overkill... Day after day...
I hear you, respect from Ireland ☘
I am with you, man
Wow what a deep comment brother.
Even in the 70's, music was almost a central theme in my life. For me, it was a refuge in some pretty stormy times.
I'm 55 and your list (a fraction in sure) reads like my vinal/cassette collection in the 80's. All the ones you mentioned, plus 3 Beatles, couple Elton John, Deep Purple, every AC⚡ DC, several Ozzy/Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac, on and on!
Lost them all in fire, but what the hey, now I can hear'm anytime. I do plan to replace all I can.
I still "live in the past" when it comes to music, but that's ok.
Rock on!
Listened to this song 1000 times before I eventually heard it.
My mind is now utterly blown here. I thought he was Australian. I'm also Scottish and I love Australia and Australians, but I never knew he was a fellow Scot. Down Under is one of my all time favourite songs. I'm guessing he lived in Australia for a long time
He moved to Australia when he was about 12 I think
Quite a few of our best musicians/singers came to Australia as children with their families. Jimmy Barnes is another Scot, John Farnham was from London, Johnny Diesel from the USA. There was a fantastic pub rock scene here from the 1970s and 1980s and these guys plus some others like The Easybeats (also with mostly former child migrants) learnt a lot about the craft of music and performing from those days. They’ve all mentioned it in interviews. My grandparents were from Ayrshire, same as Colin Hay.
Same DNA. Australians also trace their ancestry to the UK.
Don’t forget the Young’s came from Glasgow ie. Malcolm & Angus, (AC/DC) and George (Easybeats & Vanda and Young)👍
Hes both. And aren't we all blessed for him. Love Sia's uncle Colin ❤️ 💙 💕
This man hasn't lost his touch or his voice even a single bit
I don't usually think that a later version is better than the original one, but in this case, that is most definitely the case...
........or his Scottish sense of humour, proud to be a fellow countryman.
In 9 out of 10 cases I'd be annoyed to listen through 5 minutes of talking until the song starts - but that 1 out of 10 exception is Colin Hay. Great songwriter, great singer and great entertainer!
It was the same way with Peter Frampton
Neil Young....I once heard him tell a story bout his youth. An older kid in the neighborhood told him if he chewed road tar long enough, it would turn into chocolate....good stuff.
I honestly thought he was standup comedian. I’m not sure what to think disappointed he’s not a comedian or delighted to hear one of my fav songs? Wait so did he just cover diarStraight’s or the other way around ........ hum I just can’t wrap my head around this Southern Hemisphere thing , everything’s backwards
True!!
I know.. wtf!
This song just never ages. A classic.
Hello how are you doing my friend?
Hello dear,how are you doing today?
Thanx Colin..
I'm leaving earth soon.... Pancreas cancer...
And I just want You to know how much you mean to me❤️🌺
All the best to you!
God bless you
Lifting you in prayer. Peace be with you. Tell Teddy I still love him after all these years.
best wishes
Cannabis oil, rectally. As much as you can get in you. Good luck!
"I said to the man are you trying to tempt me" - best line in music ever written and most beautifully sung. Evolutionary, revolutionary, universal and most of all: humorous. The Beauty, the sadness and the humour have rarely been so perfectly linked together.
The guitar has such a beautiful tone.
I just passed 80 years old yesterday, and live in Largs just a few miles up the coast from Saltcoats where Colin was brought up. I know this song well from 1983, when it was the song of Australia 2 which won the America's Cup that year. How can I have been completely unaware of Colin for all these years, what a guy and what a song.
Indeed. The first time anyone had taken the cup from the yanks after 124 years. I was at South Stradbroke Oz Gold Coast sailing a Hobbie 16. Drunk as skunks. The waterways were packed and Down Under blaring. What an incredible week of celebrations that was. I’m 59 now. Was in my last year of high school.
That guitar has such a warm sound.
What a humble, loving, human being!! I'm so lucky to be alive in the universe at the same time as Colin!!!
A song from my youth, I liked it then, but this is amazing 👏🏻
Another Scottish Legend, moved from our shores but never let his Scottish accent die xx
Yeah.Unlike the Young brothers.
I didn't know that. I always thought he was from Australia but often wondered about the accent because I thought it sounded more UK than Australian.
we are a country full of immigrants! We're UK built
My Uncle left for the States in same year he did Australia. No trace of his accent now, Hay is Scottish to the core. Love it
Maybe so, but hes singing about Aussies.
My God what did I stumble upon?? Just BEAUTIFUL. Always loved Colin, but man, just wow.
Don't you just love UA-cam?
I too stumbled into AMAZING !
I was the drummer in a band called Tickled Pink on the south east coast of Australia in the early 80’s. Our band supported Men at Work 9:38 at the Tathra pub and I will never forget how good they were to us, they treated us like equals. Colin had a place close to where I grew up and I’ve been told it’s where he wrote the song featured in this clip. Talented, successful but always down to earth and humble.
My Dad had this record. I wore it out. I was 6 and the music room was my refuge. When I was 8 I saved enough money to buy my first cassette tape. It was Cargo. I wore that cassette out too. I’ve since listened to Colin’s work on pretty much every medium of music available. Rock on Mr. Hay. I’ll be listening.
Such an underrated legend. Great songs, great music and performer.
Spot on !
And a great story teller 🙌🏻
I'd say forgotten. Back in the 80's Men at Work were top everywhere you went !!!
Love Colin's demeanor, his musicianship, his humor, sometimes self-deprecating, and his exquisite gift. Even after all these years. Hope he never stops
First time seeing Colin perform by himself, he's very Sting like, and that's a compliment...his voice is still fantastic !
That was incredible. 😮
I feel like I just heard it for the first time. Bravo!!
Right?
One of best gigs Ive been to -Colin at the Edinburgh Fes abouy 5 yrs ago - sublime
My father used to weep when he heard this, and I do too.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is a world class entertainer!
So damn good, I first heard this song when living in KL in 1983. Australia had just won the Americas Cup and Alan Bond was was signalling for Australia II to be lifted out of the water so the world could see Ben Lexcen’s winged keel. Down Under was pumping through the speakers on the TV and it was going off as we say. Mum bought me my first Men at Work album that year and I have loved the band ever since, I was 10 years old. Colin you probably won’t remember but I followed you into a record store off Chapel Street in Melbourne at least 20 years ago and asked you if you were the lead singer of Men at Work. You said yes with a big smile and who are you? I said no one special but I just had to stop you and thank for the music over the years. I know you appreciated the gesture. You are a great bloke and an icon of Australian music. Men at Work will always be high on my list of favourite bands of all time. Look after yourself Pal 👍
Just saw Colin in the Natti last week. One man with a guitar. Great show! Great stories and great singing!
I usually don't get goosebumps for a song but this did it. Very powerful, clean, smooth vocals!
Nothing like hearing a songwriter perform is own work ... especially when the love comes shining through.
Colin , you are just an angel. Such a beautiful human. Your music personifies it all and enhances our lives.
Colin is a master of his craft.
I am so happy and grateful I had him in my lifetime. ❤️
Much love to you Mr. Hay.
One the best songs ever written and I'm not even Australian.
I am and I agree - this is just brilliant
whit? neithers colin ,intae them for years n never even knew he wiz 1 o us scots😅,.
Wonderfully sublime..or sublimely wonderul...
Holy Sh*t, that was freakin awesome! That voice. What??
Whats really great about his performance is that he's hitting the notes in a full voice and not a spoken/mixed way which most pop/rock singers tend use when heading up to C5.
Nothing can be taken away from your talent.
The best version I ever heard. And from the man himself....brilliant ...
I like it best when a song feels like an experience....Colin makes this song feel like you embark on a journey from the first note to the last chord.....dim the lights, turn up the volume and get ready for the ride!....
bravo good man
Best and most distinctive voices ever - Colin Hay and Bon Scott. Both Scots who drifted to Oz!
He is just as good a storyteller as he is a singer.
Totally right. Natural storyteller and performer.
American Patriot ń
Agreed. the version we heard is the rec. label execs. version.
In my experiences Australians can spin a tale quite well.
@@Allagi22 He's from SCOTLAND you dope
Colin Hay doing Ed Sullivan. Who knew?! Freaking brilliant! ❤🔥
1K 'thumbs down'? Come on people, what the hell is wrong with you? Aside from this being a classic and world-wide recognised, this also happens to be a wonderful version. Mr. Hay's skill just seems to grow and become more sublime.
P.S. The reason why I have come to listen to this on the 28th of August is because it is my daughter's 21st birthday, and one of her all-time happiest music experiences was going to see Mr Hay perform. I get great joy hearing her create her own versions of Mr Hay's songs on the piano. So if a whole new generation of music lovers now adores Mr Hay's work, I have to again say a big 'stuff you' to the 1K of tone-deaf, spiteful people pushing the 'thumbs down' for no fathomable reason..
I don't do the thumbs-down thing but I suspect the many on this video are from people finding out not only that Colin is not Australian, but also that he's Scottish! I mean, it's surprisingly disappointing to many. I must admit I thought he was an Aussie.
My wife and I saw Colin Hay tonight in Colorado. We were so fond of Men At Work. Hard to believe how long ago we first discovered them! Truly an amazing show. Very enjoyable evening. Loved his stories, his guitar playing, and amazed at his voice! It was great to spend two hours being entertained and forgetting about all the crap going on these days.
Yes music is my escape from all that has gone to shit here in Cali. Used the be parade here in Trinity, now we watch it burn and the Forest Service never gets it right. God have mercy
Still a living legend!
This song is one of my top 3 that brings me back to my childhood
He had Sullivan dead on!!! Love him and MAW!!!! I also want to thank the Aussies for Men at Work, Midnight Oil, The Church and INXS!!!!!🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
This man deserves far more credit and respect than he has received. If you doubt me, take a long hard listen to Gordon Sumner’s aka “Sting” singing over the past 40yrs. Personally, I think he got all those glorious notes from Colin...
I hear men at work since i was a kid.This version is from another world.Cheers from Portugal.
No matter how many times i listen to this….wow what a. Video
Truly magical. One of the tracks of our lives . Left Scotland as a teenager, but you would never know it.
Yes. I'm a Liverpudlian and though I left years ago, part of my heart remains in the north. The happiest part of my life was growing up surrounded by the laughter and humour of Merseyside.😍
A man who's glistening into old age.
I cried when I herd this some people just don't understand the true meaning to this awesome song I love when he took it back to the roots
Saw Colin with Men at Work and again with Ringo’s All Star Band. He is the definition of musician.
This voice needs to be heard !!!!
absolutely an amazing man and artist.. thankyou Colin.. for everything
I thought he'd not got the range anymore until he suddenly went there... top stuff Colin, brilliant song and great rendition.
Incredible voice paired with impeccable musicianship. Some people just keep getting better.
love that killer voice mr colin. we love covering this classic tune at our gigs !!!
Like many here im sure, this song is from a glorious time of our lives. This song puts me in the roller rink, don't recall why we were there that time but a specific moment in time. He's a gifted musician and we are all lucky he's still out sharing his gems with us! Thank you Mr Colin Hay
I’m British almost 60 lived through the 80s in my prime and never knew Colin was Scottish wow what an amazing voice still and his voice is so comparable with sting.bless you brother
A good guy from my neck of the woods, Ayrshire in Scotland 🏴🏴
The guy is mesmerising, both when singing and talking
Have you seen Colin live? It is worth the effort, especially in a small venue. By chance, I met him on the street once. He wanted to talk, but I was too blown away to be normal. Alas. But I was thinking, I wonder how a Hay-Sting performance collaboration would fly. Sting did the gig with Paul Simon. I think Colin Hay and Sting together would be excellent.
@@jakeornot6306 sadly no, would love to though...and I think I'd be the same as you, just turn into a middle aged fanboi 😂
Lee W , Colin is going out on tour later this month (February) starting on the west coast. I have my ticket for next month in Portland, excited, second time seeing him. He puts on a great live solo gig.
@@Bluesbabesrv So much for that idea....damn bats....*sigh*
Little known fact: Colin Hay is 6 foot 4 and full of muscle.
😂😂
He eats Vegemite every day.
He chunders regularly
He owns a fried-out kombi.
But does he speak-a my language?
Ahhh... Those days in the 80s, warm memories and growing up carefree. Thank you Colin. Merci merci merci
I love him! I love his music, his stories, his sense of humor, his voice, his decency ... great man.
This song just makes me long for the 80's
This song will bring you a tear if your homesick while traveling. It did me. Thanks Col.
Beautiful and haunting. The song is truly special, as it was when I first heard it as a teenager in 1983. Thank you Colin!
Man i started getting a lil emotional halfway through the song thats how great and beautiful this acoustic version is.
The great lyrics and simple guitar made this song exceptionally well done. Colin Hay is very talented!!
Awesome!
Colin on Scrubs singing Overkill, blew me away.
I love that version too!
Yeah...that was a powerful rendition of that song. Loved it.
I looked for him singing the song on scrubs for ages and I never knew it was overkill. So happy to have found it!
Singing Overkill with Choir Choir Choir tops everything.......simply brilliant from the man from Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland.
ua-cam.com/video/kCZKAxDoUwE/v-deo.html
MAGNIFICENT VOICE. STILL HAS IT.
Absolutely awesome. First heard Men at Work in 1981 courtesy of my fellow apprentice and good friend Fon Williams. Hearing this 40+ years on brings back so many memories and reminds us all that Colin Hay is a very talented musician and a class act.
Colin’s voice has haunted me for decades ...lovely
You're an idiot
@@MrJuliesguy I'm guessing there's nothing "iron" about you. Dr. Kevorkian will see you now....
@@Scottie_S I have actually had dinner with Dr. K
@@MrJuliesguy wow who tf cares?
@@MrJuliesguy so that's why you're brain-dead 😉
What a talent , God Bless these Aussies and what they have been through in the last few years .
Wow! I don't know how I landed on this page but that was fantastic! I used to love Men At Work and especially this song.
Easy chords, I can reach the vocals, I like this acoustic take on it! Thanks Colin! Here's to the 80's and you today going strong!
Colin is funny
I love going to Colin Hay shows!! They are great. He is an amazing story teller and artist.
David Kroll he is Mr fantastic!!!!
What a superb rendition, .. electrifying vocals thank you so much Colin
Philip D hi, this is really awesome, as good as the original. Does he ever tour the UK?
Colin, have loved you since I was young. Brings so many times to mind. Good times!
Men at work was one of my favorite bands when I was a kid and still is to this day
Truly one of the great and most memorable songs of the 80s. And I love it when artists connect with their audience.
Music isn't the same these days, for sure. I love this song but I think Mistake is their best!
@@Oceanleighside Yes, they had great and memorable songs. Every generation has their own music but I do wonder if today's music will be as timless as those songs are.
WOW just truly brilliant version on this beautiful song 👌👌
My God! I just looked it up, I didn't realize that Colin Hay was also Scottish! Awesome!
His voice!!! Amazing
Amazing so glad we can export our talent from Scotland to Australia colin hay and Jimmy Barnes and thanks for giving them to the world
He has got an unmistakable voice. Love it.
Unbelievable, Colin you're like a fine wine my friend, you get better as we watch the years pull us as they do amigo.
U just starting Colin. The muse is still calling to you. I had a great unkle name of Colin. He was a McDaniel on my mother's side. COLIN McDaniel. Great song by the way, great.
I like to think this is the way the song was intended to be performed. A folk/love song for his homeland.
smh@homeland
He is as much Australian as he is a Scot, Groover.
We love him
This is brilliant!
I first heard this song in 1981 and for 39 years I had no idea he was Scottish, always assumed he was an Aussie.
Very embarrassing as I'm Scottish as well!
Me too... a few generations removed from Scotland itself, born in America. Makes me very proud of that homeland.
born in Scotland matured in australia, great combination.
katherandefy Your never removed from Scotland its in your blood always will be
I realized it as soon as I heard him speak. I grew up with his band, and never even knew. So, at least two ( among many other) good things came out of Alba....Drambuie and Colin Hay. Love it.
Love Colin Hay! Great to see him live in concert.
Well isn’t that bloody marvellous. Love you man
What a gift for storytelling Colin has. It is almost as fun to hear him tell a tale, as it is to hear him play a tune. This is definitely a treat for the ears.
I’m so used to hearing the radio version. It’s refreshing to hear this acoustic version. It’s beautiful
The original version, which is a lot more laid back than the more common version, is worth a listen as well.
Wow what a cool and unique voice! I always liked this song but probably took the talent behind it for granted!
Omggggg !
WOW ! .. Impeccable Storyteller .. Impeccable Timing .. Impeccable Rhythm .. Unmistakable Voice ..
simply REMARKABLE ... EPIC THUMBS UP .. Thank You Colin
😇❤