Colin Hay Comes From Down Under to Visit Monmouth

He may come from “The Land Down Under,” but Colin Hay, lead singer of the popular 80’s pop group Men at Work, will be bringing his singing talents to Monmouth University, as he will be giving a performance at the Pollak Theatre on Saturday, April 16 at 8 p.m.

The Scottish born singer founded Men at Work in 1978, and the group crafted the hit song, “Down Under,” which in 1981 hit Number 1 on the United States, England and Australian charts. This song talks about a love of Australia, referencing several Australian favorite sayings and meals, like “vegemite sandwich.”

Later on, Men at Work released several other popular singles, including the hits, “Be Good Johnny,” and “Who Could it Be Now?” The group eventually broke up in 1985, and Hay focused on a solo career.

Recently, Hay has experienced a career renaissance of sorts. His music was routinely featured as the soundtrack to the television show, “Scrubs,” with Hay actually making three appearances on the show over the course of nine seasons. One episode during the second season of the show, “My Overkill,” was named after Hay’s single, “Overkill,” and the show featured Hay singing the song with an acoustic guitar all throughout the hospital featured in “Scrubs.” 

Also, when Zach Braff made his directorial debut with the movie, “Garden State,” in 2004, Hay helped out the Scrubs star by letting Braff put one of his most popular songs on the soundtrack, that song being, “I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You.”

While many artists from the 1980’s may be content to play their greatest hits on tour and stop releasing new music, Hay has been putting out album after album during the last decade or so. In 2007, he released the album “Are You Lookin’ At Me?,” and in 2009, he released the disc, “American Sunshine.”

Later this year, Hay will be releasing the album, “Gathering Mercury.” To listen to some of Hay’s music, or see some of the music videos or Scrubs appearances he has made over the years, visit his website at www.colinhay.com. 

One interesting part about this performance is that Hay will not only be playing his hits at 8 p.m., but he will also be participating in a question and answer session at 6 p.m., also at the Pollak Theatre. To reserve seats for this informative session, please call 732-571-3512.

Tickets for the performance cost $33 for both orchestra seats and loge. For more information or to order tickets, please call the Central Box Office at 732-263-6889, or visit Monmouth University Arts online at www.monmouth.edu/arts