Colin Hay was on top of the world with Men At Work. And then, abruptly, he wasn’t. In time, the Scotland-born singer and songwriter would climb the mountain once again.
Hay has gone on to enjoy one of rock music’s remarkable second acts, both as a solo artist, as a member of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, and as a raconteur, his stories and music opening doors and minds everywhere.
Hay has the gift of the gab, an easy charm, and stories that easily beat what the rest of us can drum up. Few tales can compare to the meteoric rise of Men At Work which, for a moment in 1983, simultaneously had the No. 1 single (with “Down Under”) and album (Business as Usual) both in the United States and in the United Kingdom, a rare achievement for an act from Australia, then and now.
Speaking with two-time Grammy Award–winning producer and music executive Pete Ganbarg for the Rock & Roll High School podcast, Hay remembered the high times, some “classic blunders” made along the way, turning his back on booze, and the comeback.
“You always think that you’re handling things really well, but of course you’re not,” he says of Men At Work’s bright start. “We made a couple of classic blunders but I think more than anything else it just wasn’t a band that was destined to go the distance really in terms of the personnel. This is also in hindsight really, we may have had another couple of albums in us, but five musicians and one manager. The manager was my friend and a couple of the guys in the band wanted to sack the manager and he wasn’t gonna get sacked cause he was my friend. It very much turned into an episode of Survivor, who’s gonna get voted off the island.”
That situation “soured me on the whole thing,” he continues. “I thought, well what is the point of conquering the world together if you can’t enjoy it together. It should be enjoyed and honored together by all the people who did that and there were six of us who did it. I’ll never understand why they wanted to get rid of him. It was just stupid. Even to this day I still think it was stupid, so it was over pretty much.”
Men At Work completed two more albums, before calling it a day: Cargo (from 1983) and Two Hearts (from 1985).
Speaking with Ganbarg, Hay points to a moment in January 1991 that he got his life and career back on track. With a move to Los Angeles, Hay kicked the bottle. “That really was the start of my new life,” he explains.
Hay doesn’t have any bad feelings, except for the bruising — and costly — copyright battle over the flute refrain in “Down Under,” which began in 2009 and concluded several years on, an “unforgivable” situation, he mentions. “It was horrible and it went for so long as well. It went for six years or something. There was nothing really I could do about it but defend it,” he reckons.
To make matters considerably worse, bandmate Greg Ham died in 2012, aged 58, two years after the Australian Federal Court ordered Men At Work to pay 5% of royalties earned from the song since 2002 and from future earnings.
“At the end of the day the sadness for me was the fact that Greg, who wasn’t in great shape anyway at that particular time, felt a sense of guilt about the fact that he played the line and yet he wasn’t sued,” Hay continues. “I was the one that was sued as the songwriter and EMI Music Publishing was sued also. And it had a great effect on my father, who had come to Australia as an immigrant and was so proud of what we’d done and I would play him the songs all the time before they were records so he knew the song was clean in terms of composition so smoke would come out of his ears…I’ll never forgive them for that.”
For the podcast, Hay discusses songwriting, resilience, how life’s great setbacks can ultimately lead to fresh starts, how Zach Braff introduced Hay to new audiences on Scrubs and Garden State, the unlikely fan in System of a Down’s Serj Tankian, and much more.
Jack White, the record label chief, business owner and scathing critic of the Trump administration, gets back to the business of rock ‘n’ roll with Frozen Charlotte, his seventh studio album.
Released through White’s Third Man Records, Frozen Charlotte dropped at the stroke of midnight on digital music platforms and houses the new single “Neighbors Blues,” the propulsive, previously-released “Dollar Bill,” and the tracks he performed on SNL earlier this year, “G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs” and “Derecho Demonico.”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee unveiled the 13-track collection during the free, two-part online series Third Man Release Lab, in which his team peels back the layers on his label’s joyfully chaotic release process.
Frozen Charlotte was produced and mixed by the Detroit native, and took sonic shape at White’s Third Man Studio in Nashville with a roll call of familiar collaborators, including Patrick Keeler (drums), Dominic Davis (bass) and Bobby Emmett (keys).
White has assembled the band for North America tour dates in support of the album, which begin tonight, July 10, with a sold-out show at Washington, DC’s The Anthem and then continues through a two-night stand at Atlanta, GA’s Coca-Cola Roxy on Nov. 20-21. Highlights include two-nighters in a string of cities, from Brooklyn to Chicago, Charlotte, and Miami Beach, along with top-billing at Borderland Festival (Sept. 19) and Iron Blossom Music Festival (Sept. 20).
White and Co. will make an Atlantic crossing for more summer dates and festival spots in the United Kingdom and Europe, including two-night stands at London’s Eventim Apollo (Aug. 25-26) and Dublin’s 3Olympia (Sept. 1-2). Then, a visit to Asia for shows in Seoul, South Korea; Shanghai, China; and Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The followup to White’s Grammy Award-nominated 2024 LP No Name, Frozen Charlotte is also available in physical formats, including CD, cassette, standard black vinyl, limited-edition “Zug Island Blue” vinyl (available via Third Man Records), limited-edition “Chrome” vinyl (available on tour), and limited-edition “Ice Blue” vinyl (available at independent record stores).
Billboard’sFriday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to New Music Friday’s most essential releases each week — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Last week, we featured Madonna, Sienna Spiro, Riley Green and more.
This week: Beyoncé surprise drops a new R&B-leaning single; Suki Waterhouse releases her third album Loveland; and Teddy Swims shares a tender summer breakup ballad while teasing a new album in the works…plus much more. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Beyoncé, “Morning Dew (Donk)”
Over the weekend, Queen B decided to surprise drop her new R&B-coated single — much to everyone’s delight. “Morning Dew” is a gorgeous, downtempo track from Beyoncé, showing yet another side to the singer following ventures into country and dance music on her previous two albums (granted, this is a side we already know well). And while it’s long been speculated that her ACT III could lean rock, this single might just prove otherwise — or at least keep us on our toes a while longer.
Suki Waterhouse, Loveland
Following the 2024 release of her memorably-titled second album (Memoir of a Sparklemuffin), dreamy singer-songwriter Suki Waterhouse is back today with her third full-length, Loveland. As the British artist shared on X earlier this week: “Loveland is memorialization of the places that made me. The realisation that reality is not a given and must be continually pursued. The best and worst nights of my life. The move towards aliveness.”
Teddy Swims, “Break Up In Reverse”
For anyone not experiencing summer lovin’, Teddy Swims has you covered with his new heartbreak anthem for the season. The downtempo ballad is all about hitting rewind and yearning to be loved when a relationship ends in the same way he felt at its start. “Upon writing this song and my next album I’ve been going through it with my relationship with my baby’s mother coming to an end,” Swims shared in a statement. “We were super inspired by an old NAS song called ‘Rewind.’ We loved how the whole song takes place in reverse. So we thought, ‘how beautiful would it be if we took the same idea, but wrote it about my relationship.’”
The Rolling Stones, Foreign Tongues
As only a legendary act can do, The Stones shares its 25th studio album today, a fresh and tight set for the veteran rockers clocking in at just over an hour across 14 songs. Mick Jagger’s vocals are clear-eyed while the band’s instrumentals are just as driving as ever, resulting in an album well worth listening from top to bottom.
The Linda Lindas and Hayley Williams, “Closer”
It’s fitting, really, that Williams would help The Linda Lindas with its major label debut single. The band goes back with the rock icon, citing Williams as a longtime inspiration and even welcoming her onstage last year to perform their breakout hit “Racist, Sexist Boy” at London’s O2. Now, that relationship has been formalized with a collaboration; “Closer” is the bands first release since signing to Reprise/Warner in June, and the midtempo alt-rock track surely signals more new music ahead.
Chris Lake & Tiga ft. Aatig, “Party Time”
The release of the first ever Chris Lake and Tiga collab finds each producer on a respective hot streak, with Lake recently moving 55,000 tickets across shows in New York and L.A. and remixing Taylor Swift’s “Opalite” just prior. Tiga, meanwhile, released his excellent new album, Hot Wife, in April. So yes, it’s party time indeed on this new single, which finds Lake leaning into the weirder, squelchier area of his sound, a realm in which Tiga has permanent residency. Vocals come from Aatig, the artist name of Lake’s wife, Gita, and the song is out on his own Black Book Records. — KATIE BAIN
Chris Avantgarde, Hyperreal
German-born, London-based producer Chris Avantgarde releases his debut album with a confident statement, calling the project “an album that moves through genres with the energy of a night out. The build, the peak, the sunrise on the roof. On my own terms, with my own sonic identity. I’ve done that for plenty of other artists over the years, never really for myself. This time it’s mine, and I’m standing behind it.” Indeed, while Avantgarde has worked on myriad projects by Anyma along with music by artists including Kölsch and Adam Beyer, Hyperreal marks the most complete statement of his 15 year career thus far. Coming on the heels of Avantgarde becoming a father for the first time, Hyperreal is cool and pristinely made, a nearly 90-minute journey traversing throttling club beats to spacey, emotional ambient for the afters. — K.B.
The rock ‘n’ roll juggernaut that is the Rolling Stones continues to power on with Foreign Tongues (via Polydor/Universal Music), the band’s 25th studio album which arrives fully formed, 14-tracks in total.
The followup to the Grammy Award-winning 2023 collection Hackney Diamonds, the new set houses 12 new compositions, including the previously-released “Rough and Twisted,” “Jealous Lover” and “In The Stars” — plus a cover of Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” and a nod to one of the Stones’ all-time influences, Chuck Berry, on the closing track “Beautiful Delilah.”
Brought to life during a fruitful and “exceptionally creative period” at Metropolis Studios in West London, the new release features contributions from a starry lineup of guests Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, The Cure’s Robert Smith and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers; longtime collaborators Darryl Jones, Matt Clifford and Steve Jordan; and late drummer Charlie Watts on “Hit Me In The Head,” his efforts captured during one of his final recording sessions before his death in 2021.
“It was a very intense few weeks recording Foreign Tongues,” recounts frontman Mick Jagger. “We had 14 great tracks and we went as fast as we could. I like the room there as it’s not too big so you can feel the passion from everyone.”
The atmosphere in the room “was so creative,” remarks guitarist Ronnie Wood, “and the whole band was on top form throughout the whole process. Very often we nailed it on the first take. I hope everyone loves it.”
With Foreign Tongues, the Stones could enter rare territory on the Billboard 200. The Rock Hall-inducted group has 38 top 10 hits on the all-genres chart, and nine No. 1s. Another leader would lift the Brits into double-digit chart crowns. In their homeland, the Stones’ have nabbed eight leaders on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, including a No. 1 with Hackney Diamonds, winner in the Grammys category for rock album.
“The Foreign Tongues album has a continuity from Hackney Diamonds and it was great to be working in London again,” enthuses founding guitarist Keith Richards, “and to have that London vibe around us. It was a month of concentrated punch. To me, it’s all about the enjoyment of it. I’m blessed to be able to do this and long may it last.”
A new Stones album tends to herald a new, global tour by this, the greatest rock band still doing it. Jagger has said he “can’t wait” to take the lads back on the road, though fans shouldn’t expect an imminent announcement.
Speaking on BBC Radio 2’s Tracks of My Years alongside Wood, Jagger was asked whether the Stones would ever tour again. “I’d love to go on tour, I can’t wait,” he said, before tempering expectations. “I don’t think it’s going to be this year. But hopefully it’s going to be as soon as possible.”
Those remarks come after the band scrapped plans for a U.K. and European stadium tour, on unconfirmed reports that Richards was unable to “commit” to the jaunt. Richards has since hinted at a potential return to the road in 2027, and Jagger’s latest comments are a good indication that the legendary outfit will head out once more.
My Chemical Romance performed the first of three sold-out nights at London’s Wembley Stadium on Wednesday (July 8), playing to an ecstatic, standing crowd of nearly 75,000 people who welcomed the New Jersey band led by Gerard Way for their first-ever Wembley headlining date.
The group played the entirety of their seminal 2006 The Black Parade album top to bottom, with the set’s storyline amplified by visuals playing on two gigantic screens flanking the stage as well as plenty of drama on set.
Following The Black Parade repertoire, the group moved to an intimate stage set in the middle of the stadium floor for a second set of songs from their other albums, including “Na Na Na” and “Helena.”
For concertgoers enamored of perhaps the most successful emo rock band in the world, the shows are a rare and hugely craved moment. My Chemical Romance has only played Wembley once before, back in 2007, when they opened for British band Muse during that group’s Black Holes and Revelations tour.
The return was sweet. MCR are playing a total of three nights, with over 230,000 tickets sold, a rare feat for a rock band, particularly one that hasn’t released an album in over 15 years and whose tour is built on an album released 20 years.
Following the three Wembley dates, The Black Parade 2026 tour — which kicked off in January in Bogotá, Colombia — will continue for 25 more dates across Europe, Asia and the U.S., including a five-night special run at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in October. All told, the group will play 39 stadium dates worldwide this year, continuing its Long Live The Black Parade tour of 2025, which played 10 stadiums in the U.S. in 2025.
Here is the full set list played in London’s Wembley Stadium.
Bonnie Tyler, the voice behind the Billboard Hot 100-topping 1983 smash “Total Eclipse of The Heart,” has died. She was 75.
A statement posted by representatives on the Welsh rock and pop singer’s Facebook page on Thursday morning (July 9) said that Tyler “unexpectedly passed away last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for”.
Her death follows emergency intestinal surgery in May, which took place in Faro, where Tyler had a home. She was later placed in an induced coma.
Born Gaynor Hopkins in Neath, Wales, Tyler rose to international prominence in the late 1970s with ballad “It’s a Heartache,” before reaching global superstardom in 1983 with “Total Eclipse of The Heart.” Written and produced by Jim Steinman, the dramatic mini-epic spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, making Tyler the first and only Welsh-born singer to top the chart to date.
The song, which featured on her album Faster Than the Speed of Night, earned Tyler Grammy nominations for female pop vocal performance and female rock performance, and became one of the defining records of its era. She then followed with another enduring classic, the urgent “Holding Out for a Hero,” from the film soundtrack to Footloose. Tyler’s distinct, raspy vocal style, developed after early vocal cord surgery, became her signature.
Across a career spanning more than five decades, Tyler released 18 studio albums. She represented the U.K. in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Believe in Me,” finishing in 19th place. She was also made an MBE in 2023 for her services to music, after being named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Tyler had been due to perform at the Sunshine Festival in Worcester, England this summer, along with a number of European dates, and was also booked to perform at Cardiff’s Utilita Arena on December 17. Her final full show took place at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London on March 19.
