"Hold Me" by Colin James Hay

Song#:  3043
Date:  03/07/1987
Debut:  99
Peak:  99
Weeks:  1
Genre:  Pop, Rock, World



Pop Bits:  The Australian band Men at Work hit it big in 1981 with their #1 debut album Business As Usual. The multi-platinum LP would be followed by a second one, Cargo. However, they experienced a sharp decline with their gold third effort Two Hearts and turmoil within the band didn't help. By 1986, the band was done. Lead singer Colin Hay decided to step out on his own for a solo career. He signed with the band's home label of Columbia and put together a debut solo album titled Looking for Jack. This first single was released, but it didn't do much to establish Hay's career. The song topped out at #41 at Rock while only hitting a very minor #99 on the Pop chart for one week. Further singles failed to chart and that left the album peaking at #126. This song would end up being Hay's only one to reach any US chart. Hay would continue to record solo works over the years and for a period of time beginning in 1996, Hay and his former bandmate Greg Ham would tour with a new version of Men at Work. Hay's thirteenth solo album Fierce Mercy was released in 2017.

ReduxReview:  Hay was Men at Work's main songwriter, so going solo was a challenge because he had to create an identity of his own without sounding like the LP was just an extension of Men at Work. He certainly gave it a good try with this first single. Instead of the concise pop he wrote for Men at Work, he went big with this worldbeat influenced track. It sounded as if Paul Simon (in Graceland mode) met up with Phil Collins. The track took a minute or so to get warmed up, but by the time the chorus hit, the song was in full gear. It ended up being quite a nice song. Unfortunately, it was one that just wasn't going to be a major Pop chart contender. Despite that, it really should have done better than a measly week at #99.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Hay's music would appear in several films and TV shows. He has even appeared in a few of them including four appearances on the hit TV show Scrubs. It was there that Hay met actor Zach Braff. In 2004, Braff would include a song by Hay, "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You," on the soundtrack to Braff's film, Garden State. Braff wrote, directed and starred in the movie. The soundtrack would end up being a platinum seller that would go on to win the Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album.

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