Business As Usual - Men At Work

Business as Usual is the debut album by Australian new wave band Men at Work, released in November 1981 in Australia and April 1982 in the United States on Columbia Records. Produced by Peter McIan, the album features vocalist and guitarist Colin Hay, multi-instrumentalist Greg Ham on flute, saxophone, and keyboards, lead guitarist Ron Strykert, bassist John Rees, and drummer Jerry Speiser. The ten-track set blends pop songcraft with elements of ska, new wave, and post-punk, anchored by two singles that became global hits: "Who Can It Be Now?," a paranoia-laced track driven by Ham's saxophone riff, and "Down Under," which reached number one in multiple countries and became an unofficial Australian anthem. CBS Records initially rejected the album twice before its release. Despite its accessible, singalong surface, the songwriting addresses themes of alienation, technological anxiety, and environmental exploitation. The album spent fifteen weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 — an extraordinary run for a debut — and also topped charts in Australia and the United Kingdom, selling approximately fifteen million copies worldwide. In 2010 it was included in the book 100 Best Australian Albums.