Overkill (Men at Work song)
Encyclopedia
"Overkill" is a song by Australian band Men at Work
and featured on their 1983
album Cargo
. It was written by lead singer Colin Hay
. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100
chart at #28 in April 1983 and peaked at #3 in early June. When it was first released, it was a departure from the typical Men at Work's style of reggae
pop. "Overkill" instead had hard-hitting lyrics and blues
and roots feel.A solo acoustic version by Hay featured in the Scrubs
episode "My Overkill", along with a cameo of him singing it. This version was included on his 2003
album Man @ Work. Scrubs theme-song band Lazlo Bane
and Hay have an updated version of this song as well as a video.
Men at Work
Men at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States . They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom...
and featured on their 1983
1983 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1983.-January-April:*January – ZTT Records is founded.*January 8 – The UK singles chart is tabulated from this week forward by The Gallup Organization...
album Cargo
Cargo (album)
Cargo is the second album by Australian band Men at Work, released in 1983. . Rolling Stone magazine noted that while it lacked a blockbuster hit, "song for song, it is a stronger overall effort than Business as Usual."...
. It was written by lead singer Colin Hay
Colin Hay
Colin James Hay is a Scottish-Australian musician, who made his mark during the 1980s as lead vocalist of the Australian band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist.- Early life and Men at Work :...
. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart at #28 in April 1983 and peaked at #3 in early June. When it was first released, it was a departure from the typical Men at Work's style of reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
pop. "Overkill" instead had hard-hitting lyrics and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and roots feel.A solo acoustic version by Hay featured in the Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
episode "My Overkill", along with a cameo of him singing it. This version was included on his 2003
2003 in music
-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...
album Man @ Work. Scrubs theme-song band Lazlo Bane
Lazlo Bane
Lazlo Bane is an alternative rock band hailing from Santa Monica, California, United States. They are well known for collaborating with former Men at Work member Colin Hay, and providing the song "Superman" as the theme for the television show Scrubs...
and Hay have an updated version of this song as well as a video.
Cover versions
- The Benjamin GateThe Benjamin GateThe Benjamin Gate was a South African Christian band formed in 1998 following the motor vehicle accident and subsequent death of a mutual friend and fellow musician, Benjamin Herbert...
have also released a cover version of the song. - Emmerson NogueiraEmmerson NogueiraEmmerson Nogueira is a Brazilian guitarist and songwriter notable for releasing only cover albums, containing acoustic versions of several internationally famous English-speaking songs...
has also released a cover version of the song. - Dashboard ConfessionalDashboard ConfessionalDashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the song "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" from the debut album The Swiss Army Romance....
has also released a cover version of the song.