Colin Hay

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This article is about the musician named Colin Hay. For the political scientist, see Colin Hay (political scientist).
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Colin Hay

Album cover of "American Sunshine"
Background information
Birth name Colin James Hay
Born 29 June 1953 (1953-06-29) (age 56)
Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland
Genres Rock, Pop, New Wave, Acoustic, Country
Occupations Singer, Actor
Instruments Vocals, Guitar
Years active 1978-present
Labels CBS, MCA, Compass
Associated acts Men at Work
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
Website Official MySpace

Colin James Hay[1][2] (born 29 June 1953) is a Scottish-Australian musician, who made his mark during the 1980s as lead vocalist of the Australian band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist. Hay is married to singer Cecilia Noël,[3] who often provides backup vocals at Hay's shows.

Contents

[edit] Early life and Men at Work

Hay was born in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire,[4] Scotland, but moved to Australia at the age of fourteen with his family.

In 1978, Hay met Ron Strykert and the men began playing acoustic music as a duo. Hay and Strykert formed the band Men at Work, adding Jerry Speiser (drums), John Rees (bassist) and Greg Ham (flautist/saxophonist). The group released their debut album Business as Usual in 1981.

[edit] Later career

Following the breakup of Men at Work in 1985, Hay released several major label solo albums, including Looking for Jack (Columbia) and Wayfaring Sons (MCA), to some commercial success. In 2002 Hay appeared as the Troubadour in the Scrubs episode, "My Overkill", and in 2004 he contributed to the Garden State soundtrack with his solo song, "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You".

In addition to recording, Hay also established his own recording label, Lazy Eye Records,[5] named for his own strabismus (lazy eye) condition, and has made appearances in cult movies and television shows, such as The Larry Sanders Show, JAG, and The Mick Molloy Show. Hay also appeared on television in the ABC show Scrubs, which along with episodes of ABC's What About Brian, NBC's The Black Donnellys, CBS's Cane, and the BBC hospital drama, Casualty, have included performances of some of his previous songs.

In December 2005, Hay and Heather Mills digitally re-released "My Brilliant Feat" as a charity single as a tribute to the late football (soccer) player George Best, who died on 25 November of that year. Proceeds were forwarded to the Donor Family Network, supporting organ donor families and promoting organ and tissue donation. The single is available on iTunes with a bonus music video tribute to Best.[6][7]

In 2006 he provided his voice for one of the characters in animated movie The Wild. Hay has also been a member of Ringo Starr's Eighth and Tenth All Starr Band. He continues to perform regularly, including playing some folk venues.

On 13 February 2009, former Men At Work band member, Ron Strykert, was arrested for allegedly making death threats against Hay.[8][9]

On 6 May 2009, Colin Hay made a cameo in the season 8 finale of Scrubs, in a non-speaking role as J.D. walks out of the hospital for the last time, seeing faces of those he's been with at the hospital over the years. Hay contributed music to the series, in the course of a number of episodes, including on-camera performances in "My Overkill" and "My Hard Labor".

Hay released his 10th album "American Sunshine" in August 18th 2009 by Compass Records.

[edit] Solo discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Hay, Colin James". ASCAP / ACE Title Search. http://www.ascap.org/ace/search.cfm?mode=results&searchstr=1502401&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 
  2. ^ Denton, Andrew (15 October 2007). "Colin Hay". Enough Rope (ABC Television). http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s2058289.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 
  3. ^ Cecilia Noël website
  4. ^ "Colin Hay". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jnfyxqr5ldje~T1. Retrieved 2008-01-13. 
  5. ^ http://rodeo.cincinnati.com/getlocal/gpstory.aspx?id=100224&sid=146365
  6. ^ "BBC Breakfast - December's Information". BBC News. 20 December 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/breakfast/4665402.stm. Retrieved 2009-06-14. 
  7. ^ Nix, David. "Donor Family Network". Heather Mills. http://www.heathermills.org/charity_donor.php. Retrieved 2009-06-14. 
  8. ^ http://www.digitalspy.com/music/a147205/men-at-work-star-arrested-for-threats.html
  9. ^ "Men At Work Death Threat". Triple M Network. 24 February 2009. http://www.triplem.com.au/music/news//blog/men-at-work-death-threat/20090224-2vbq.html. Retrieved 2009-06-14. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Hay"