Category: Men At Work

Men At Work – Down Under (Extended Mix) (Australia 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1986

NEW 2023 Transfer
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration

Originally posted January 23, 2013

AN 80s AUDITORY ICON

“Down Under” is a song recorded by Australian rock band Men at Work. It was originally released in 1980 as the B-side to their first local single, “Keypunch Operator”, released before the band signed with Columbia Records. Both early songs were written by the group’s co-founders, Colin Hay and Ron Strykert. The early version of “Down Under” has a slightly different tempo and arrangement from the later Columbia release. The best-known version was then released on Columbia in 1981 as the second single from their debut album Business as Usual (1981).

The hit song went to number one in their home country Australia in December 1981, and then topped the New Zealand charts in February 1982. The song topped the Canadian charts in October 1982. In the United States, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on 6 November 1982 at No. 79, and reached No. 1 in January 1983. Topping the US Billboard chart for four non-consecutive weeks, it eventually sold over two million copies in the US alone. Billboard ranked it at No. 4 for 1983. In the UK, the song topped the charts in January and February 1983: the only Men at Work song to make the UK top 20. The song also went to No. 1 in Denmark, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland, and was a top 10 hit in many other countries.

“Down Under” is perceived as a patriotic song in Australia; it remains popular and is often played at sporting events. In January 2018, as part of Triple M’s “Ozzest 100”, the ‘most Australian’ songs of all time so far, “Down Under” was ranked number 2 behind Cold Chisel’s “Khe Sanh”.

Colin Hay told Songfacts: “The chorus is really about the selling of Australia in many ways, the over-development of the country. It was a song about the loss of spirit in that country. It’s really about the plundering of the country by greedy people. It is ultimately about celebrating the country, but not in a nationalistic way and not in a flag-waving sense. It’s really more than that.

This 12″ was released in Australia to promote the band’s first Greatest Hits package, “81-85, ” issued in November 1986.

SIDE A:
Down Under (Extended Mix) 5:29
Engineer – Ian MacKenzie*
Mixed By – Greg Ham
Music By – Strykert*
Words By, Music By – Hay*

SIDE B:
Sail To You (Extended Mix) 5:50
Mixed By – François Kevorkian
Producer – Colin HayGreg Ham
Written-By – C. HayG. HamR. Strykert*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1982 Down Under U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #1
1982 Down Under U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks #13
1982 Down Under U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play #33
1982 Down Under U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks #1

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: CBS – BA 12229
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Australia
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: New wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:

NOTES:
Limited Edition

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus:  Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp:
Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning
: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans
: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!


Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.



Men At Work – Everything I Need (US 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi”

Originally posted February 24, 2011

“Everything I Need” was a single released in 1985 by the Australian group Men at Work. The song was written by Men at Work singer/guitarist Colin Hay and the recording was produced by Hay with keyboardist Greg Ham. The song appeared on the group’s album Two Hearts.

The tune has a bouncy, midtempo pop/rock feel, and is marked by a loud, thwacking drum rhythm and a prominent slide guitar solo.

“Everything I Need” was not a major hit. It peaked at #47 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was in fact to be the last Men at Work single to make the U.S. charts.

SIDE A:
Everything I Need (Extended Version) 4:33
Remix – Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero

SIDE B:
Everything I Need (Single Version) 3:33

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1985 Everything I Need U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #47
1985 Everything I Need U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks #28

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia ‎– 44 05216
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Artwork By – John Dickson
Mixed By – Bob Clearmountain , Colin Hay , Greg Ham
Producer – Colin Hay , Greg Ham
Written-By – C. Hay*

NOTES:
From the Men At Work album “TWO HEARTS”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
Phono Pre-amp:
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube:
Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard:
ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi