🇦🇺 Down Under — Men At Work's Colin Hay — Live In SF — 2023

Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band play Men At Work's 80's hit "Down Under" live in concert at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco, California on June 11, 2023. Down Under was written by Colin Hay and Ron Strykert and was first released in 1980 as the B-side to Men At Work's "Keypunch Operator" single. A new version later appeared on Men At Work's debut studio album, Business As Usual (1981). The song reached Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band consists of Ringo Starr (vocals / drums), Steve Lukather (guitar / bass / vocals), Colin Hay (guitar / vocals), Edgar Winter (keyboards / saxophone / vocals), Warren Ham (saxophone / flute / keyboards), Hamish Stuart (guitar / bass / vocals), and Gregg Bissonette (drums).

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Colin Hay official bio:

Born in Scotland, Colin Hay moved with his family as a teenager to Australia, where he first came to international fame with seminal ’80s hitmakers Men At Work. While the band would reach the heights of stardom—they took home a Grammy Award for Best New Artist and sold more than 30 million records worldwide on the strength of #1 singles like “Who Can It Be Now?” and “Down Under”—by 1985, they’d called it quits and gone their separate ways. Hay released his solo debut the following year and, over the course of the next three-and-a-half decades, went on to record twelve more critically acclaimed studio albums that would help establish him as one of his generation’s most hardworking and reliable craftsmen. Rolling Stone praised his “witty, hooky pop” tunes, while NPR’s World Café lauded his “distinctive voice,” and late night hosts from David Letterman and Craig Ferguson to Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel have all welcomed him for performances.

Over the course of his remarkable solo career, Hay developed a reputation as a gifted raconteur with serious comedy chops, and his frequent appearances at LA’s Largo club helped garner him a legion of fans in the entertainment world. Among them was actor/director Zach Braff, who called Hay’s mix of heartfelt songwriting and hilarious storytelling “one of the most amazing things I had ever seen.” Braff would go on to feature Hay’s music prominently in the Grammy-winning soundtrack for Garden State and invite him to appear as himself on the hit series Scrubs, which helped introduce his music to a whole new generation of listeners.

On top of his rigorous schedule as a solo artist, Hay has also managed to tour the world several times over with Ringo Starr & His All–Star Band, release an audiobook of Aesop’s Fables, star in the award-winning documentary Waiting For My Real Life, and even provide the voice for Fergus Flamingo in Disney’s The Wild.

“When the pandemic hit, I was forced to stay put for the first time in years,” Hay recalls. “It was horrendous every day to watch the news and see so many people struggling, but even so, musical ideas were creeping into my head, so I followed where they led and embraced the freedom that came with sitting still for a change.”

With no tour dates on the horizon, Hay allowed himself to slow things down and work at a different pace than he was used to. For the first time in his career, he had several uninterrupted months to work continuously with his longtime friend and collaborator Michael Georgiades, and the two began penning a series of gorgeous, thoughtful tracks that would eventually form the framework of Now And The Evermore.

“I’m approaching 70 now,” he explains, “and it’s clear to me that I’m in the home stretch. I don’t feel any fear or a resignation about it, though, just an urgency to say the things I need to say and do the things I need to do.”

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Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band live tour dates (2023):

June 2 - Eugene, OR @ Cuthbert Amphitheater
June 3 - Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater
June 4 - Woodinville, WA @ Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery
June 6 - Denver, CO @ Bellco Theatre
June 7 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Pikes Peak Center
June 9 - Lincoln, CA @ Thunder Valley Casino
June 10 - Jacksonville, OR @ Britt Festival
June 11 - San Francisco, CA @ Masonic Auditorium
June 13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Eccles Theater
June 15 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
June 16 - Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre
June 17 - San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic
Sept. 17 - Ontario, CA @ Toyota Arena
Sept. 19 - Tucson, AZ @ Linda Rondstadt Theater
Sept. 20 - Albuquerque, NM @ Rio Rancho Center
Sept. 22 - Kansas City, MO @ The Uptown
Sept. 23 - St Louis, MO @ The Fox
Sept. 24 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
Sept. 26 - Clearwater, FL @ Coachmen Park
Sept. 27 - Atlanta, GA @ The Fox
Sept. 29 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Murat Theatre
Sept. 30 - Milwaukee, WI @ Miller High Life Theatre
Oct. 1 - Minneapolis, MN @ Mystic Lake
Oct. 3 - Grand Rapids, MI @ DeVos Performance Hall
Oct. 5 - Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
Oct. 6 - New Buffalo, MI @ Four Winds Casino
Oct. 7 - Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple

#menatwork #downunder #80s

[dominysynclair]

Holy shit, his voice is still perfect.

[ceasedcare]

'Who can it be now?' My favourite

[troyw]

I've always said Colin Hay is one of the most underrated vocalists ever.

[Underdog]

Still has that recognizable voice. Keep on singing Colin!

[oliverortiz]

His voice never fails him. Never get tired of Men at Work music.

[camannwordsmith]

My Gods. To be able to still hit those notes 40 years later...this man is not HUMAN

[roddyboethius]

Glad to see him still at it. He brought so much joy to us in the 80s

[robhaskins]

Amazing that he still has the range he had in the 80s. Usually the singers after to transpose the music down. Not Colin Hay! Such pleasure he gives to this day.

[jimmckinnon]

I miss Greg Ham. I still hear the flute he played. RIP brother.

[daviru]

lol this guy has a great sense of humor and a great voice still!

[setsumikokonoe]

I'm visiting Australia for the first time in 2 weeks from now and I've been listening to Down Under constantly lately.

[NuryIbanez-ns]

Thank you for the concert in Rosemont, today was AMAZING! LIKE ALWAYS ❤ LONG LIVE THE 80'S ❤

[WaZZaKZZ]

"Goats appear and fade away" ❤

[KeithWilliamMacHendry]

Colin Hay is just a braw Sots lad. We Scots love oor heroes in all skills & levels, like all nations, Colin is a Scottish hero. Braw lad!

[fuierago]

Just having fun with it, big smile here

[pedromq]

I was showing his high singing to my wife's brothers today

[AVR]

Down by the Sea… love that song!! So beautiful.

[treythompson]

And he still sounds flipping fantastic!

[Littlehighwayhomestead]

YES YOU ARE!! ❤❤😂
You brought (bring) so much joy to life with your talent! Thank you, sir!

[ursafan]

Saw Mr Hay solo acoustic 4-5 years ago. Fantastic set.