Men at Work 1983 Tour

On the flight to Minneapolis I couldn’t stop thinking how my life was in constant flux. As I’ve stated, two years ago, I was nailing aluminum siding and doing other things on the side to subsist. Then, I was a chunk of raw steel being pulled along by the magnet of life. Now, I was shining stainless steel gliding and rising smoothly in the magnetic pool of existence! 

As I've written in previous blogs, self believe is one of the best mind sets used to succeed in the world in which we live. The knowledge that you can manifest your thoughts and be triumphant is really strong stuff. I owed all this positive mental hopscotch I’d been experiencing to my mentor Eric. By taking me under his wing he turned my world into this wonderment odyssey. The man was a brilliant mentor and a great friend. However, as mentioned in my book, I betrayed our bond on the 1982 Police Tour and always regretted it. Though, I learned a great lesson from the dissolution of our friendship; put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Then, think about the actions you’re engaging in with that person and the consequences!

Halfway through the flight my train of thought turned in the direction of things to come. Here I was going on this 3 month plus tour totally prepared and ready to take care of business. My self belief was never stronger! The reality that I was in line to make some serious cash had me floating on cloud nine. Something that I’m sure would have never happened if I’d still been working for Guy. From the first night selling Men At Work merchandise, which also turned out to be another karma ass kicking of sorts for my dirty deed I bestowed onto Larue, we made nothing but money! More often than not, I was being paid a considerable percentage to vend at shows. My salary plus perdiem was at a level that a couple years ago was inconceivable. The icing on the cake was the hefty bonus afforded to me from being part of that very profitable 1983 Men at Work Tour. We did eighty some odd gigs in the USA alone and the vibe of the tour was fast paced and upbeat. Men at Work were professionally peaking and all those sold out concerts made the tour a win win situation, everyday. The large amounts of money being generated nightly from merchandise sales forced me to buy an over sized duffle bag to carry all the loot.

My friends, I must tell you it was mad fun for the duration. I didn’t barter with jail bait which made up the lion’s share of the audience. But, I did invite lady friends from past tours to come hang out and enjoy the concert. The amount of blow snorted on that tour was staggering! Just like the Police Tour, everybody was into coke and in 1983 it was the drug of choice in America.  Damn, the road crew from OZ LOVED their cocaine, more so than the Brits I’d traveled with!

The three nights we stayed in LA at the Hyatt (RIOT) House on Sunset was one of the best three day benders I’d ever been on. My invisible banner that said Sex Drugs & Rock & Roll waved wildly over my head. Those were three burn a brain cell days.

Colin Hay was the leader of the group Men At Work. For the most part he came off very cocky and I got the vibe he looked at Americans as real YANKS, like in, Yank This!!! As far as front men go, he was the polar opposite of watching Sting who radiated on stage. Most nights while performing, Colin looked uninterested in giving the audience their money’s worth of a show. Don’t get me wrong, he sang well and the band was tight. I just think touring didn’t work for him.
Colin had what looked like a lazy eye and the few times I was around him, I caught myself gawking at it. All I kept thinking was don’t stare at his dallying eye ball, and made it a point to not make eye contact with him. Happily, the band split 9 out of 10 times after the show and that was fine by me. I really wasn’t looking to derail my come back. The opening act INXS was the pure essence of a great Rock & Roll group, they were an energetic live act. They were fun to be around and we were also selling their merchandise.

Driving in a twenty six foot Ryder truck compared to a luxury tour bus was quit a contrast. The three of us rode squeezed shut in that truck’s cab and became brothers of the road really quick! I had to pinch myself when I morphed into Eric’s role of the mentor while on that tour. I never thought I’d be wearing those shoes, but that’s part of the mind-boggling surprises self belief has in store for you. You’re capable of anything under the sun, and in charge of your own life. Looking back, twenty four years old never looked so sweet!!!!

As the Men at Work tour started to wind down I knew RJ had no tours set to roll and kept the belief a gig would appear. To my pleasant surprise it would be the 1984 Billy Idol tour and I’d be working for one of RJ’s competitors.

So, when the jet touched down in Minneapolis, Minnesota I stopped day dreaming, which had been the entire flight and departed. Donnie greeted me at the airport’s baggage claim area and I got the feeling I was in the right spot at the right time. The next two years I spent living and working in Minnesota was like a home away from home. From day one, Donnie and RJ treated me as an equal, not just some worker bee. I never felt so blessed for the second chance I’d received and silently thanked the gods of the universe. 

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