Colin Hay
Colin James Hay (born 29 June 1953) is a Scottish-Australian musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of the band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist. Hay's music has been used frequently by actor and director Zach Braff in his work, which helped a career rebirth in the mid-2000s.[1] Hay is a member of the band Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
This article is about the musician. For the political scientist, see Colin Hay (political scientist).
Colin Hay
Colin James Hay
- Musician
- singer
- songwriter
- actor
- Vocals
- guitar
1978–present
Hay has made appearances in movies such as Cosi (1996) and in television shows such as The Larry Sanders Show, JAG, The Mick Molloy Show, A Million Little Things, and Scrubs.[2] In Scrubs, he performs an acoustic version of the Men at Work hit "Overkill". His music also appeared in the television series What About Brian, The Black Donnellys, Cane, and the BBC medical drama Casualty.
Early life[edit]
Colin James Hay was born on 29 June 1953 in Saltcoats, a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland to James and Isabela Hay.[3] In 1967, when he was 14, the Hays emigrated to Melbourne in Australia.[4][3] His parents owned a small music shop; his father, a piano tuner, had been a stage singer and dancer in Glasgow.[5][6]
Personal life[edit]
Hay is married to singer Cecilia Noël,[36] who often provides backing vocals at his shows. Noël has also helped with production on Hay's solo studio albums. Hay said of his ninth solo studio album, Are You Lookin' at Me? (2007) that "She was really crucial. She was a really great sounding board for me. She's a really good producer in the sense that she's very musical and has a great sense of song structure and so forth. So she was great to bounce ideas off. And she sang on nearly all the songs. So she was really a great part of this record".[37] Hay and Noël live in Topanga Canyon in the Los Angeles area.[38]
On 13 February 2009, former Men at Work band member Ron Strykert was arrested for allegedly making death threats against Hay.[39][40]
Hay became an American citizen in 2016. He also has a residence in St Kilda, Melbourne.
Awards and nominations[edit]
APRA Awards[edit]
The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters".[42]
