Colin James Hay
[1] [2] (born 29 June 1953) is a Scottish-Australian musician, who made his mark during the 1980s as lead vocalist of the Australian band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist. Hay is married to singer Cecilia Noël, [3] who often provides backup vocals at Hay's shows.
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Early life and Men at Work
Hay was born in
Kilwinning,
North Ayrshire,
[4] Scotland, but moved to
Australia at the age of fourteen with his family.
In 1978, Hay met
Ron Strykert and the men began playing
acoustic music as a
duo. Hay and Strykert formed the band
Men at Work, adding
Jerry Speiser (
drums),
John Rees (
bassist) and
Greg Ham (flautist/saxophonist). The group released their debut
album Business as Usual
in 1981.
Later career
Following the breakup of
Men at Work in 1985, Hay released several major
label solo albums, including
Looking for Jack
(
Columbia) and
Wayfaring Sons
(
MCA), to some commercial success. In 2002 Hay appeared as the Troubadour in the Scrubs episode, "My Overkill", and in 2004 he contributed to the
Garden State
soundtrack with his solo song, "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You".
In addition to recording, Hay also established his own recording label,
Lazy Eye Records,
[5] named for his own
strabismus (lazy eye) condition, and has made appearances in cult movies and television shows, such as
The Larry Sanders Show
,
JAG
, and
The Mick Molloy Show
. Hay also appeared on television in the
ABC show
Scrubs
, which along with episodes of
ABC's
What About Brian
,
NBC's
The Black Donnellys
,
CBS's
Cane
, and the
BBC hospital drama,
Casualty
, have included performances of some of his previous songs.
In December 2005, Hay and
Heather Mills digitally re-released "My Brilliant Feat" as a charity single as a tribute to the late footballer
George Best, who died on 25 November of that year. Proceeds were forwarded to the
Donor Family Network, supporting
organ donor families and promoting organ and tissue donation. The single is available on
iTunes with a bonus
music video tribute to Best.
[6] [7]
In 2006 he provided his voice for one of the characters in animated movie
The Wild
. Hay has also been a member of
Ringo Starr's Eighth and Tenth All Starr Band. He continues to perform regularly, including playing some folk venues.
On 13 February 2009, former
Men At Work band member,
Ron Strykert, was arrested for allegedly making death threats against Hay.
[8] [9]
On 6 May 2009, Colin Hay made a cameo in the
season 8 finale of
Scrubs
, in a non-speaking role as J.D. walks out of the hospital for the last time, seeing faces of those he's been with at the hospital over the years. Hay contributed music to the series, in the course of a number of episodes, including on-camera performances in "
My Overkill" and "
My Hard Labor".
Hay released his 10th album "
American Sunshine" in August 18th 2009 by
Compass Records.
Solo discography
Albums
- Looking for Jack
(1987)
- Wayfaring Sons
(1990)
- Peaks & Valleys
(1992)
- Topanga
(1994) (Reissued in 2009 by Compass Records)
- Transcendental Highway
(1998) (Reissued in 2009 by Compass Records)
- Going Somewhere
(2000) (Reissued in 2005 by Compass Records)
- Company of Strangers
(2002)
- Man @ Work
(2003)
- Are You Lookin' at Me?
(2007)
- American Sunshine
(2009)
References
- Hay, Colin James
- Colin Hay
- Cecilia Noël website
- Colin Hay
- http://rodeo.cincinnati.com/getlocal/gpstory.aspx?id=100224&sid=146365
- Title Unavailable
- Donor Family Network
- http://www.digitalspy.com/music/a147205/men-at-work-star-arrested-for-threats.html
- Men At Work Death Threat