Colin Hay

19th November 2025

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

If folks these days are perhaps unfamiliar with the name Colin Hay, I would hazard that the vast majority of music-loving bods out there will be familiar with his voice.  For Colin was, of course, the vocalist behind Men At Work, and the band's gazzilion-selling hit Down Under.

Born in sunny Saltcoats in 1953, Colin freely admits he adopted a false Aussie accent after his family emigrated to Melbourne at the age of 14.  He, along with guitarist Ron Strykert formed Men at Work in 1979, going on to enjoy worldwide success with their debut album Business as Usual (1981) and associated singles Who Can It Be Now? and the aforementioned Down Under.

Their equally popular second album Cargo (1983), also spawned a pair of global hits in Overkill and Dr Heckyll & Mr Jive, but the band sorta fell apart during the recording of a third album (Two Hearts) in 1985.  

Varying iterations of the band have been put together intermittently by Hay over succeeding years, but the lad has also carved out a moderately successful solo career for himself at the same time, including popping up in both Ringo Starr's All Starr Band and the US TV series Scrubs.

Hay's solo jaunts these days are as much about his witty anecdotes and humorous tales from his life, as they are about the music - all of which he relates (at least in Glasgow) in a broad Ayrshire accent.  

He is so good at the banter, he really should consider giving Stand Up a go.

That being said, his song I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You is one which can effortlessly reduce me to tears, if I ever approach it without my guard up.

Set list

Who Can It Be Now?
Into the Cornfields
Come Tumblin' Down
Beautiful World
Goodnight Romeo
I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You
Family Man
It's a Mistake
Frozen Fields of Snow
Driving With the Brakes On
Overkill
Next Year People
Waiting for My Real Life to Begin
Down Under