Men At Work, Toad the Wet Sprocket, und Shonen Knife

Formed in 1979 as an acoustic duo by Colin Hay (vocals) and Ron Strykert (guitar) in their hometown of Melbourne, the band soon expanded as the welcomed Jerry Speiser (drums), Greg Ham (flute) and John Rees (bass) helping to realise their full potential with influence stemming from pivotal bands such as The Police.

After spending the early beginnings of their career on the Australian pub circuit, the band quickly gained popularity locally and in 1981 Men at Work struck commercial gold. The release of their debut album “Business as Usual” (1981) through Columbia Records saw Men at Work make a clean sweep as they stormed album charts in Australia, New Zealand, Norway, UK and US with the number one spot. Going seven times platinum, the album featured the tracks “Who Can It Be Now”, “Down Under” and “Be Good Johnny”.

The band went down a treat across the pond in both the US and Canada with an overwhelming amount of support from local radio stations coinciding with their extensive US tour. In 1983 Men At Work released their second album “Cargo” which zipped to the top of the Australian album charts at number one producing the singles “Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive”, “Overkill” and “It’s a Mistake”. Later that year the band received a Grammy award for Best New Band and the following year were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

While in the midst of recording their third album “Two Hearts” (1985) tensions ran high in the band as management decided that Rees and Speiser were not needed on the recording and instead were replaced by session musicians. With the album only peaking at number 16, their success was soon short-lived as they hit a dry spell combined with declining popularity and record sales it forced the band to break up in 1986. During the split, Hay embarked on a solo career playing alongside Ringo Starr & His All Star Band meanwhile Ham played Sax in The Nudist Funk Orchestra.

The band reformed in 1996 with Ham and Hay performing all their greatest hits as they embarked on an extensive South American tour which culminated in the release of the live album “Brazil ‘96” (1997). Although the band only released three studio albums, they achieved incredible levels of recognition worldwide with the highest of accolades bestowed upon them.

Taking their name from a rock band in a Monty Python sketch, the band formed out of San Marcos High School when their singer and songwriter Glen Phillips was only 16 years old. After making their live debut at a school-sponsored open mic talent contest, the band spent the next three years honing their live act and song-writing skills. In 1989 they were ready, and formed their own label to release their debut album “Bread & Circus”. Despite the fact that the record was almost entirely self-released, their second single “One Little Girl” managed to make the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. This early success meant that while they were recording “Pale”, their second album, the band signed a major label deal with Columbia Records.

After its release in 1990, “Pale” wasn't a chart success but the record's singles found a strong foothold in college radio, meaning that Columbia retained the band for the release of their third album. This proved to be an incredibly good choice as their third album, 1991's “fear”, was an enormous hit. After its second single “All I Want” was a surprise hit, reaching number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, the album was certified Gold just over a year after its release and would go on to be certified Platinum by September 1994. They replicated this level of success with the album's follow up “Dulcinea”, which was another Platinum certified hit. However, all was not well within the band, and the band broke up in 1998, citing creative differences as the reasoning behind their demise.

However, the band still worked together occasionally, either by playing short live sets together or reuniting to work on retrospective releases put together by their label. However, in 2002 they came back together for a charity show and to open for Counting Crows, which lead to a more extensive tour in 2003, but despite the hugely positive reception from both fans and critics, the band still decided to stay broken up for the time being. Their full time reunion came in 2009, and the band have since released a crowd-funded new album called “New Constellations”, and remain an unmissable live act. As one of the greatest acts of the 1990's, Toad The Wet Sprocket come highly recommended.