On 1 October 1981 Men at Work released “Down Under” in Australia; in June 1982 - in the US and UK. Billboard Hot 100 #1 for four weeks (from 15 January 1983), UK #1 for three weeks. The flute hook played by Greg Ham on an alto flute - the track's most recognisable element - was ruled in 2010 to be an infringement of “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree” (1934, Marion Sinclair). This is the story of a 28-year lawsuit delay, the flute as an accidental quotation, Greg Ham's 2012 death - tied to the weight of the ruling - and the chart history that made the track an Australian cultural anthem.
Men at Work and the writing of “Down Under”
Men at Work were a Melbourne five-piece, formed in 1978. Core members: Colin Hay (vocals, guitar), Greg Ham (saxophone, flute, keys), Ron Strykert (guitar), John Rees (bass), Jerry Speiser (drums).
“Down Under” was written by Colin Hay and Ron Strykert in 1980 - before the band had a deal. The lyric is a satirical ode to Australia: “vegemite sandwich”, “travelling in a fried-out Kombi”, “Under the Milky Way”. Hay wanted a song that was at once playful and serious - about Australians in 1980 feeling like people from another world (down under).
Recording: Richmond Recorders, Melbourne, 1981
Recording ran at Richmond Recorders in Melbourne from August to September 1981. Producer - Peter McIan, an American working in Australia. Engineer - David Price.
The key moment was the flute line. Greg Ham played it on an alto flute (not a standard soprano flute). In a 1996 interview Ham said: “I was looking for something that would sound Australian, like a pastoral motif. I tried different melodies. At one point I played a four-note phrase - and it stuck in everyone's head in the studio”.
The line - four notes: F - G - F - E♭, repeated in a recognisable pattern. Ham played it from feel - no sheet music. He did not know he was reproducing a melody from the Australian schoolroom song “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree” (1934, composed by Marion Sinclair).
In a 2009 interview Ham swore: “I had not consciously listened to "Kookaburra" since childhood. Whatever remained in the subconscious - it was unconscious”.
Anatomy of the sound
- Key: A minor, i-VII-VI-VII progression
- BPM: 146
- Length: 3:42 (single), 3:45 (album)
- Flute: Greg Ham, alto flute - 4 notes F-G-F-E♭
- Saxophone: Ham, tenor sax - second instrumental layer
- Guitar: Colin Hay and Ron Strykert, Fender Stratocaster + Telecaster
- Bass: John Rees, Rickenbacker 4001
- Drums: Jerry Speiser, Ludwig
- Keyboards: Greg Ham, Roland Jupiter-4
- Vocals: Colin Hay, Shure SM57
- Producer: Peter McIan
- Studio: Richmond Recorders, Melbourne, August-September 1981
- Single release: 1 October 1981 (AU), June 1982 (US/UK)
Chart history: a double #1
In Australia “Down Under” hit #1 one week after release. It held #1 for four weeks (October-November 1981).
In the US and UK the single came out in June 1982 alongside the Business as Usual album. In Britain - UK #1 for three weeks in January 1983; in the US - Billboard Hot 100 #1 for four weeks (15 January - 12 February 1983). Total sales - 6 million copies worldwide.
In Canada and New Zealand - #1 for six weeks each. It was the best-selling Australian record of 1983 in the US.
2010: a plagiarism ruling, 28 years late
In 2007 the Australian panel show Spicks and Specks asked the panellists: “Which Australian schoolroom song can you hear in "Down Under"?”. The answer - “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree”. That broadcast drew public attention to the melodic overlap for the first time.
In 2009 Larrikin Music Publishing - the label owning rights to “Kookaburra” (composer Marion Sinclair had died in 1988) - filed a lawsuit against EMI Songs Australia, Men at Work's publisher. Claim: “Down Under” uses four notes of “Kookaburra” without permission.
In February 2010 the Australian Federal Court ruled: the “Down Under” flute line infringes the copyright of “Kookaburra”. Men at Work were ordered to pay 5% of all future royalties plus $4.5 million in damages for past years.
Greg Ham's death, 2012
On 19 April 2012 Greg Ham (58) was found dead in his Melbourne flat. Cause - heart failure against a background of severe depression. In a 2011 interview Ham said: “My flute line is my main contribution to Australian culture. Now it's my main legal defeat. I can't live with that”.
Ham's widow, Linda Wostry, said in 2012 in The Age: “Greg never recovered from the 2010 ruling. He felt that his creative contribution had been taken away”.
Colin Hay wrote in an open letter in 2012: “Greg was my friend for 40 years. He died feeling that his greatest musical achievement had been reclassified as plagiarism. That is an injustice that should not have happened”.
An Australian cultural symbol
Despite the ruling, “Down Under” remains the unofficial anthem of Australian culture. In 2000 the song was performed by Men at Work at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. In 2005 - in a Tourism Australia campaign (budget A$45 million).
Used in films: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), Young Einstein (1988), Crocodile Dundee (1986). Over 100 covers, from Japan to Brazil.
What to listen for next
Australian music in the US 1981-1983: “Down Under” Men at Work (1982) → “Land Down Under” Jimmy Barnes (1984) → “Walking on Sunshine” Katrina & the Waves (1985). Three Commonwealth exports to US #1.
“Folk” instruments in pop hits: “Down Under” (flute) → “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” Wham! (trombones) → “Total Eclipse of the Heart” Bonnie Tyler (1983) (orchestra). Three different approaches.