It makes perfect sense to have a song by Men at Work follow one of The Police (although, if you really wanna get technical, it’s actually in FRONT of a song by The Police, but let’s not talk semantics now). Colin Hay and his band of merry Aussies were often accused of biting Sting, Stewart and Andy, but even if they were a carbon copy, at least they were a good carbon copy. “Who Can it Be Now?” is one of the best debut singles of the decade-from that signature sax part to it’s insistent drumbeat to Colin Hay’s deadpan vocal, which makes him sound even nuttier than if he’d screamed the song’s lyrics.
Men at Work burned bright and fast. Their debut, Business as Usual (which contained “Who Can it Be Now?”), hung around at #1 for the latter part of ’82 and the first part of ’83, and the band won the Best New Artist Grammy Award before anyone knew that winning that was the beginning of the end. A follow-up, Cargo, sold well off the fumes from the previous album, and by the time the band’s third album, Two Hearts, was released in ’85, no one cared anymore. Lead singer Colin Hay has gone on to a mildly successful solo career and is a particular favorite of Zach Braff, who put him on the Platinum-selling Garden State soundtrack and has featured him in several episodes of “Scrubs”.
I wonder if Rockwell was inspired to watch “Somebody’s Watching Me” after hearing this song.
