Making Hay

His songwriting, his voice and his legacy should need no introduction, yet upon the demise of iconic Australian outfit Men At Work well over 20 years ago, Colin Hay found himself quietly, yet tenaciously, re-introducing himself to the world. It's been an ongoing and organic process, with Hay labouring for years, building momentum by way of constant touring and exposure via film and television.

“I've been doing the same, well a similar, approach for the last 20 years really,” he reflects. “I make records, go out on tour and try to get people to notice them because if you don't get played on the radio you have to figure out how to increase your presence. It's strange really, going back to the late-'80s and early-'90s when the dust settled after the old band, it was very much like starting again. There wasn't that much recognition or crossover, if you like, between the Men At Work audiences and when I started out playing solo – people didn't have a strong name recognition. It was a pop band, in a way, and it was rough for a few years playing alone. At that time, there was no record deal so I just made them myself and basically sold them myself. I built it from there, from the ground up.”

Of course, it helps to have celebrity supporters and one of the incredible catalysts for Hay's re-build was Zach Braff. He stumbled upon a show and introduced Hay's music to Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence who, in turn, took upon himself to support Hay and his music and included some (read: a lot) in his shows. He even wrote an episode called My Overkill (named after a Hay classic) that actually featured the man himself playing a remarkable acoustic version of the song.

“You have to be a moving target,” he laughs. “Playing live was important and everything good has happened from that – Zach Braff saw me and, well, you know what happened there, Garry Shandling came to see me and had me on the Larry Sanders Show or someone saw me play and put a song in a movie – things just happen if you try and make them happen yourself. Plus you probably should make good records and play good shows, so when the people come back they bring all their friends.”

His forthcoming shows in Australia will see the man standing alone onstage, backed with only his songs, his incredible wit and, of course, THAT voice.

“I will play again with a band one day,” Hay explains. “But people seem to enjoy themselves – I tell stories, tamper with the truth and play songs that I know from the old days to the new and try to make sense of why the people got off the couch and came to the show.”