Sorry Mr. B, I sometimes miss the obvious.
Of course I know the Men at Work song!
I bought the "Business As Usual" LP for "Down Under" and "Who Can It Be Now", which were HUGE hits in the US. And then later I remember "Underground" and "Be Good Johnny" getting a fair amount of radio air play, at least in the bayou (Louisiana) where I'm from. My favorite song on that release is "Down By The Sea", which I don't rememeber ever hearing on the radio.
"Business As Usual" (1981) was soon followed up by "Cargo" (1982) which included mega-hits "It's A Mistake" and "Overkill", with "High Wire" and "Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive" getting some air play in my neck of the woods. Of course I bought this one too.
These guys were all over MTV in the early years! The "It's A Mistake" video was hilarious. At the end of the video, a General is nervously twitching his hand and, without noticing, accidentally flips open the safety cover on the red button. Then when he goes to put out his cigar, he misses the ashtray and of course hits the button! Oops! LOL!
I bought "Contraband" only to hear the "hits" from their third and final release, "Two Hearts" (1984). I didn't know that they even made a third album.
The songs aren't bad at all IMO, and I'm surprised that none of them received any air play here. The problem is that half of the band left after the second release, and that was really the end.
From the Contraband liner notes:
"I never even thought, 'Well, we're going to be huge in America,'" says Colin Hay. "I never realized until now that when Americans do get onto something, they don't let go."
But wait a minute! Why are we even talking about MAW? You guys gave us AC/DC!!!
Listening to "Back in Black" over and over on headphones as a teen is probably the main reason I have tinnitus (ringing) in my left ear today!
--
Mark
