While pop punk and emo headliner Taking Back Sunday has its widely reported local origins, another band rocking upon the Shorefront Park stage for the Great South Bay Music Festival couldn't helm any further from their upcoming Patchogue-set gig.
Not to be confused with new wave sensations Men Without Hats (Safety Dance, anyone?), the Melbourne, Australia-born Men at Work also rose to multi-platinum selling heights at the dawn of the 1980s. They won the Grammy Award for "Best New Artist" in 1983 as well.
Though the new wave and reggae pop rock band disintegrated shortly after their peak in 1985, they forged a few substantial reunions over the years. Keyboardist Greg Hamm unfortunately passed away in 2012.
Later on, founding member Colin Hay—who also saw some time as part of Ringo Starr’s All-Star Band—started touring under the Men at Work banner once more in 2019.
Hay endeared himself to younger generations with a pair of memorable cameos singing “Overkill” and “Down Under” in some of the most memorable fantasy sequences featured in the irreverent medical workplace comedy “Scrubs.”
Men at Work will take the Shorefront Park stage from 8:50 to 10 p.m. on Sunday, July 27th.
See you there.