Arts & Entertainment

There’s Joyous ‘Overkill’ When Colin Hay Plays The Tarrytown Music Hall

Published 2 weeks ago2w ago • Bookmarks: 192

October 23, 2025

By W.B. King–

A Scottish-born wandering minstrel who first made his mark Down Under, Colin Hay rose to fame in the early 1980s with the Grammy Award winning band he co-founded: Men at Work. Fresh off the heels of a tour with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, Hay spoke to The Hudson Independent in late October from his home in California.

“The novelty of playing with a Beatle never really wears off,” Hay confided, noting that The Fab Four were among his first musical inspirations. “You know, it’s Ringo Starr. There is only one—he’s the guy and I get to play with him. It’s incredible.” The band often performs Starr’s hits such as “It Don’t Come Easy,” “Photograph” and “With a Little Help from My Friends.”

Support our Sponsors

Hay, a longstanding member among Starrs’ stars, plays his hits as well at the shows, including “Overkill” and “Down Under.” Starr, he said, “doesn’t suffer fools” but is as interesting and entertaining off stage as he is when the curtains rise and crowds cheer.

“Playing with him is really good. I mean, no one plays like Ringo…even just messing around at soundcheck is fun, because he’s always up for a jam,” said Hay who was joined on this last tour with consummate bandmates such as Steve Lukather (from Toto) and Hamish Stuart (from Average White Band). “So, every night there’s always 15 to 20 minutes where we’re just messing around on stage. And you think to yourself, ‘I’m playing a little groove and Ringo is joining in,’ and that’s pretty great.”

So enthralled with Hay’s songwriting, Starr incorporated his tune, “What’s My Name,” on the former Beatles 2019 album of the same name. “From Paul, George, to John. To playin’ in German bars. From mono to stereo. Hittin’ number one. It has been all the fun. And lightin’ up the radio,” the lyrics read in part. “Well, I’ve seen it all. From the mountains of Nepal. To Reno, Nevada. I’ve taken all the falls. I was climbing up the walls. And now it doesn’t matter.”

Who Can It Be?

Born in Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland in 1953, Hay, celebrated as a keen and humorous storyteller on stage, said there was a lot of laughter in his home. Along with his grandmother, parents, older brother and younger sister, the clan operated the only music store in town.

“My father was a very funny, charming man…he was a singer and a dancer on stage when he was young. So, he was really an unfulfilled artist, if you like. He didn’t believe he was an artist, but he was,” Hay said, noting that he had a gift for crafting witty rhymes. “He was a really talented guy. But of course, the war [World War II] came, and after that, he became a piano tuner.”

It was in his parent’s music shop that Hay began to gravitate toward the guitar, listening to hit records of the day and attempting his first stabs at songwriting. But at age 14, a whirlwind announcement was made: the family would start anew in Melbourne.

“We went to Australia, it kind of blew everything apart. We didn’t really understand what Australia was, neither did my parents. So, it kind of opened us up. My parents became more open minded,” Hay recalled. “It was an incredibly brave thing for my parents to do. Not a lot of people have the gumption to do that, especially when you’re in your mid-40s—we’re gonna go on a big adventure to the other side of the world, it’s big stuff. Scotland, as beautiful as it is, was pretty much gray most of the time, whereas Melbourne was full of big oceans and big skies, brilliantly lit—like technicolor.”

In time, Hay’s brogue wilted into more of a general Strine. Ever the entrepreneur, he began playing music around town. His early prowess as a guitarist-singer songwriter led to forming a duo with Ron Strykert (bass, lead guitar) in 1978—what became Men at Work. They were later joined by Jerry Apieser (drums), Greg Ham (flute, saxophone and keyboards) and John Rees who assumed bass duties.

While the band didn’t define their sound, critics called them “new wave, pop rock or reggae rock.” No matter the prescribed label, their unique first major hit, the rhythmic, introspectively lyrical and saxophone driven “Who Can it Be Now?,” was taken from their debut album Business as Usual (1981). The groundbreaking release also featured standouts like “Down Under” and “Be Good Johnny.” The album’s release coincidentally coincided with the launch of MTV. The around-the-clock cinematic plays of iconic Men at Work videos, featuring the creative and spirited antics of Hay and his bandmates, gained international acclaim.

We the People

While the band changed lineups, Men at Work would release a total of four albums before disbanding in 1986. Hay, who has revived the group with different musicians over the years, including a summer 2025 tour with Toto and Christopher Cross, has remained dedicated to his craft.

“These days, I’m trying to learn how to play the guitar better, so I’m forever going online and looking at different great players and trying to pick things up—how they play,” Hay said, noting he’s been listening to inspirational musicians such as Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell and Robben Ford. “Maybe something different from what you would normally play, it sparks an idea and takes you down a different path and all of a sudden you have something that’s got some kind of infection to it that you follow.”

As Hay sees it, one doesn’t necessarily need inspiration to write a song. Over his career, for instance, crafting a tune has been more vocational. He concedes, however, that his artistic process has evolved. “As I get older, I have to consciously go, ‘Okay, I’m gonna go down to the studio, which is basically down the basement stairs, and I’m gonna be in this space for four hours and not really do anything—just be in this room with no real expectations of anything happening,’” he shared. “And usually by the end of that time, something is cooking.”

Over the last 40-plus years, the multi-platinum recording artist has released 16 solo albums, including Man @ Work Volume 2 (2025), the follow up to his well-received Man @ Work (2023). On these compilations, Hay has reenvisioned select tracks from his entire cannon. “I just decided to do songs that had some kind of personal meaning to me. I loved re-recording them. It was a lot of fun making this record. The process of doing it was cool.” Aside from revisiting his past songs, Hay was inspired to create by the contentious 2024 presidential election. On the suggestion of his wife, singer Cecilia Noël, from The Wild Clams, rapper Derrick “Solpowa” Rice stopped by the studio. In short order, the two artists finalized “We the People.”

“I had this song, the lyrics and the music, but I always imagined somebody rhyming in the middle of it. But I didn’t really know people who were in that world. My wife introduced us,” Hay recounted. “He is a really great writer and quick—just fantastic. I had loved what he did with her tracks [that he rapped on]. He completed the song—what I was really looking for. Hopefully people will bear in mind that we all have a voice and that we all have a vote.”

A Proud Son Remains Hard at Work

Hay has performed at The Tarrytown Music Hall several times over the years, so that when he returns to the stage on November 7, he looks forward to the “haunted” quality of the historic venue that he adores. For this tour, fans can expect to hear lots of favorites. “There are certain songs I will always play—the songs that demand to be played,” he said of his hits that comprise about half the set. “The rest of the songs are just ones that I really enjoy playing. And if you really enjoy playing something, I think it translates to the audience.”

While Hay is billed as performing solo on this tour, which will take him from Minneapolis to Melbourne and many points between, someone will be standing beside him. “Since my father died, I felt that every time I go on stage, he was with me,” said Hay, who often ran new songs he wrote, including soon-to-be hits, by his parents. “So, I’m performing as myself but also kind of as my father, which was something that I wanted to do—it was a way I could constantly bring him to life.”

Read or leave a comment on this story...

Support our Sponsors