Greg Ham just passed away

[So this is love]

I always loved Man at work....and we have alot of Aussies in here...so RIP Greg Ham!!!

[FORD]

Damn.... as usual, this shit always comes in threes. Guess somebody either upstairs or downstairs really needed a flute player.

RIP Greg

[So this is love]

Damn.... as usual, this shit always comes in threes. Guess somebody either upstairs or downstairs really needed a flute player.

RIP Greg

Many thanks from upthere....

[So this is love]

Where are you Aussies...I mean its like you guys have AC/DC, Men at Work and kangaroos and none of you here and we love you....anyways RIP Greg Ham from a Canuck

[DONNIEP]

Fuck. See you on the other side mate.

[Diamondjimi]

R.i.p.

[So this is love]

Quote from an Australian news ...The song "Down Under" remains an unofficial anthem for Australia and was ranked fourth in a 2001 music industry survey of the best Australian songs. What are the first three best Australian songs??

[ashstralia]

r.i.p. greg... tragic.

you'd probably find 'khe sanh' by cold chisel and 'it's a long way to the top' by ac/dc would be in the top 4 aussie songs.

[FORD]

Unfortunately, I imagine the Bee Gees probably made that list of top songs.

(And on that note, seems that Robin Gibb is in pretty bad shape too. Guess he's been in a coma for a few days, and might not come out of it. Can't say I'm a fan of their disco era music - though some of the early stuff was alright - but you gotta feel for Barry Gibb. Guy had three younger brothers and it looks like he's gotta bury all of them )

[DONNIEP]

How can anyone listen to this song and not think of Greg...

[DONNIEP]

Unfortunately, I imagine the Bee Gees probably made that list of top songs.

(And on that note, seems that Robin Gibb is in pretty bad shape too. Guess he's been in a coma for a few days, and might not come out of it. Can't say I'm a fan of their disco era music - though some of the early stuff was alright - but you gotta feel for Barry Gibb. Guy had three younger brothers and it looks like he's gotta bury all of them )

I know this isn't the time or place..but did anyone else think Barry looked exactly like what you'd expect Jesus to look like?

[Mushroom]

Be Good Johnny!

[ashstralia]

great song mushroom. sada will be devo'ed when he finds this thread.

you're probably all aware of what led to this tragedy, if not...

in 2010 or so, the company that owns the rights to a little known oz ditty called 'kookaburra sits in the old gumtree' written by an old lady 80 years prior decided to sue M.A.W for copyright infringements and a % of the royalties based on that one flute riff.

they fucking WON, and effectively killed this man.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment...-1226333422936

[Jack68]

i remember the lawsuit.did they rape him financially?either way love Men @ work,this sucks.

[rockhead]

yeah another Aussie fan here of the band.Apparently the cause of death isnt suspicious, but all fans will be interested to see how he passed away.He was teaching sax and flute in various high schools and Colin Hay reckons he never emotionally got over the court case....even though the band knew there was no ripping off on the song, it still ate at Greg, like from now on people would know he ripped the song off when he knows he didnt.

[clarathecarrot]

There is always room for some brass in rock and roll, great band.

RIP

[SunisinuS]

I wanted to post this when it first came out on the wire a bit back. But with all the death around this weekend I wanted to think a bit more. Men-At-Work holds a special place for me, as when heavy into playing gigs (drummer) each week we would all learn the new tunes we would play at the golf club or the party that weekend. At least one of the days, or at least the first hour, during the practice week would be me hitting up MAW tunes just to warm up. They were tight like a metronome.

RIP man.

[SunisinuS]

I want to remember some other musicians lost from that part of the globe:



RIP for some of my favorite music makers.

*pours one out on the curb.

[fourthcoming]

I'll never forget hearing my dad playing the piss out of the crowded house album the summer it came out. My friends and I would play wiffle ball in my parents backyard every day and every day he would come home from work, crack a few brews and blast that album by the pool.

[sadaist]

I always loved Man at work....and we have alot of Aussies in here...so RIP Greg Ham!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!


Motherfucker this sucks. I wanna cry. I consider myself super lucky I saw him with Colin Hay as Men At Work in the 2nd half of the 90's. The guy was so fun to watch & listen to. And that music....such a humongous part of my youth. ALWAYS puts a smile on my face. And very very very few songs can do that every single time.

It's a sack of shit that he was sued for using the Kookaburra song 30+ years after the fact. From all accounts that really affected him personally.

Rest in peace Greg. I hope you are playing Down Under forever Up Over us all. And thanks again for the happy music.

[sadaist]

Here is a decent link

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/ar...ies-at-58.html

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Greg Ham, whose saxophone and flute punctuated the Australian band Men at Work’s 1980s hits, was found dead at his home in Melbourne on Thursday. He was 58.
ArtsBeat


The Victoria state police confirmed the death and said it did not appear to be suspicious, although the cause was not immediately known. Two concerned friends who had not heard from Mr. Ham in some time found his body after going to check on him, the police said.

Men at Work topped charts around the world in 1982 with the songs “Who Can It Be Now?,” which featured Mr. Ham’s saxophone, and “Down Under,” on which he played flute. Both songs reached No. 1 in the United States, and the group won the Grammy Award for best new artist in 1983.

“Down Under” became an unofficial anthem for Australia. But it came under intense scrutiny in recent years after Men at Work was accused of stealing the catchy flute riff played by Mr. Ham from the children’s song “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.”

The publisher of “Kookaburra” sued the band, and in 2010 a judge ruled that Men at Work had copied the melody. The group was ordered to hand over a portion of its royalties and lost its last appeal in October 2011.

Mr. Ham later said that the controversy had left him devastated, and that he worried it would tarnish his legacy.

“It will be the way the song is remembered, and I hate that,” he told the Melbourne newspaper The Age. “I’m terribly disappointed that that’s the way I’m going to be remembered — for copying something.”

Mr. Ham also played keyboards with Men at Work and recently worked as a guitar teacher.

Information on survivors was not immediately available.
A version of this article appeared in print on April 21, 2012, on page B8 of the New York edition with the headline: Greg Ham, 58, ‘Down Under’ Flutist.

[sadaist]

Colin Hay.......click the link to hear actual audio of Colin talking about Greg.



Colin Hay opens up about his mate Greg
Henrietta Cook
April 20, 2012

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/...#ixzz1shqhiErQ

"He'll be playing with me tonight," an emotional Men At Work frontman Colin Hay said of his friend and colleague Greg Ham, who was found dead in a house in Melbourne’s inner-north yesterday.

He described the flautist as a "man with a golden heart" and said it would be difficult performing at the Baltimore Soundstage knowing his friend of 40 years had died.

"We were here almost 30 years ago to the day. We did it many times and we are still doing it. We always loved to play together," he told Jon Faine in an emotional interview on ABC 774.

Hay, who broke down in tears several times while talking , said Ham was loved by everyone and a great friend, neighbours, colleague and teacher.

"He was dearly loved. He was a man with a golden heart. One of the great ones."

But he was also deeply affected by the court decision that determined a distinctive flute riff in the hit single Down Under had been copied from Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.

The flute riff was only added during the recording of the song and happened "innocuously and unconsciously", Hay said.

"It had a big impact on him. It was mixed feelings as well. He was angry about it. He was embarrassed about it," Hay said.

"(He) wrongly, I think, thought that’s what people would remember about him most. But I don’t think that's the case."

Hay said that although Ham was not directly involved in the court case — EMI, Hay and another writer were sued — he felt responsible for the saga and incredibly frustrated.

‘‘The way that litigation took place was appalling," Hay said.

"It was appalling in its opportunism and appalling in its greed and I think that will become clear as time goes on."

The case affected him financially and he was forced to downsize from a grand property to a more modest house.

The 58-year-old was found by friends in the front of his Carlton North house yesterday morning.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/...#ixzz1shqm2wb2

[FORD]

I know this isn't the time or place..but did anyone else think Barry looked exactly like what you'd expect Jesus to look like?

Except one would hope Jesus wouldn't wear a satin jumpsuit or scream like his balls were caught in a mousetrap.

[katina]

They were tight like a metronome. RIP man.

I used to train with their music on my mind.

[ashstralia]

as an interesting little footnote, my friend Dr. C used to live in greg's house in the 70's.

[SunisinuS]

Fun.

[Dan]

Very Sad News.

[Nitro Express]

I didn't know what a vegemite sandwich was until I listened to Men at Work.

[Nitro Express]

There is always room for some brass in rock and roll, great band.

RIP

There actually was a lot of brass in a lot of 80's songs. I used to play sax. I had a nice CONN sax from the 40's that was worked over and played nice. I gave it to my nephew. I always had to play a reed instrument because I have thin lips and never could do the trumpet mouthpiece thing well.

[ashstralia]

I didn't know what a vegemite sandwich was until I listened to Men at Work.

mmm... fresh bread, lots of butter and a thin smear of vegemite. yummo!!!

[SunisinuS]

I'll never forget hearing my dad playing the piss out of the crowded house album the summer it came out. My friends and I would play wiffle ball in my parents backyard every day and every day he would come home from work, crack a few brews and blast that album by the pool.

[fifth element]

RIP Greg