Men at Work's heady highs and tragic lows

The global hit 'Down Under' brought Men at Work great sorrow despite its enduring success, frontman Colin Hay has revealed.

Thirty-five years after 'Down Under's release, founding member and lead singer Colin Hay looks back at the heady highs and heartbreaking lows of an epic musical journey.

It became the raucous, cocky theme song for one of Australia’s greatest ever sporting achievements and a people’s choice national anthem that was heard loud and proud around the world.

By the time 'Down Under' was blaring out as the battle song for Australia’s America’s Cup challenge at Newport, Rhode Island in 1983, it had already dominated international charts and made a band called Men at Work one of our biggest global acts.

For a brief and brilliant time in the early 80s, Men at Work sold out stadiums everywhere they toured, securing their place as Aussie rock icons.

Now at the age of 62, Colin Hay is a solo artist looking back on the hits and misses of a remarkable rock and roll career that reached dizzying heights and then just as quickly fell apart.

"We felt that we were on a path of success, we just felt that right from the start and it's almost you know it's beyond human understanding," he said.

"Playing lots of shows before we were famous, that was the most exciting time, when you're in that period of ascension."

After years working the pub circuit, Colin, Greg Ham, Ron Strykert, John Rees and Jerry Speiser had hit the big time, taking out a Grammy for their unique and upbeat sound.

"We conquered the world but… it's like a big storm that came with incredible power and incredible force and then just went away.

"Disappeared as quickly as it came."

The song that became a national anthem in 1981 later delivered a devastating blow when the Federal Court ruled that a riff from Down Under was taken from the children's song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.

It was an obscure national scandal, but a deeply personal blow for the band.

Greg Ham, who came up with the melody, was devastated by the verdict and less than two years after losing the court case he was found dead in his apartment.

"I think about Greg a lot, you know every day I think about Greg”, Colin said.

Colin's biggest challenge has been coping with the dizzying success and sudden collapse of Men at Work.

Conflicts over money and clashes with management led to Men at Work breaking up in 1986.

"I mean I suppose the regret that I have is that we didn’t have.. we didn't have the conversations that we could have had", he recalled.

"I think that really more than anything, I think I just really wanted to be on my own."

Trouble with drinking eventually led Colin to the US in search of a new work environment.

He said: "There was addictive behaviour which I knew was going to shorten my life, so I had to figure out how to stop and it was difficult."

Hay began to tour as a solo artist in the US, appearing on talk shows and even scoring a recurring gig on the TV show Scrubs.

He says he is satisfied that Men at Work's music has stood the test of time.

"The songs have remained. The music has remained still quite powerful.”

He said: “I won a Grammy in 1982 but I still think my best days are ahead of me.”