Matt Hewson
To say Colin Hay has had a big couple of years would be putting it mildly.
Scottish-born Hay, who first came to fame in the early 1980s as the frontman of iconic Aussie band Men at Work, has received sustained critical acclaim as a solo artist over the past three and half decades.
Since the entertainment industry reawakened after the COVID-19 pandemic Hay has released his 15th studio album Now And The Evermore and toured the US with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
Men at Work’s hit Down Under was recognised with the Billions Award, marking one billion streams of the song, while Hay himself received APRA’s Ted Albert Award for outstanding services to Australian music.
He has worked with Luude to produce a remix of Men at Work’s hit Down Under and appeared in a cameo of Lime Cordiale’s Colin, a tribute to Hay from the indie pop-rock band.
But for Hay, the accolades of the past two years are nothing to make a big fuss about.
“It’s been really just a continuation of things hat have been going on for the last 30 or 35 years; making records, going out on the road,” he said.
“The Ted Albert award, that was lovely. I came down to Sydney, and then I drove down to Melbourne, down the coast road. That was magic.
“COVID put a stop to everything, so I think a lot of things got squashed into those two years that maybe would have happened before that.
“I don’t know, I just put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward, that’s really what I do.”
Now based in California, Hay brings his LA band of vocal and instrumental virtuosos to Australia, kicking off an east coast tour at Geelong Arts Centre’s Costa Hall.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing in Geelong, mind you, I haven’t played there all that much,” he said.
“Back in the old band we used to play at the Eureka, it was always a good place to play. But I’ve always found Geelong audiences to be pretty responsive… it’s not like they’ve come there to hear Down Under and that it’s, which is always a bit disappointing if that’s the case.”
Colin Hay and band are at Costa Hall on Saturday, June 29. Visit colinhay.com/tour for tickets.
