Ron Strykert
| Ron Strykert | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ronald Graham Strykert |
| Born | 18 August 1957[1] |
| Origin | Korumburra Australia |
| Genres | Pop, rock, new wave, acoustic |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, percussion |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels |
Columbia Records Le Coq Musique |
| Associated acts | Men at Work |
Ronald "Ron" Graham Strykert (born 18 August 1957) is an Australian musician. He is most well known for playing lead guitar, providing vocals, co-founder and composing songs with the 1980s band Men at Work.
Career
Strykert co-founded Men at Work with Colin Hay as an acoustic duo in 1978, regularly performing at the Cricketer's Arms Hotel in Richmond, Victoria.[2] From 1979 to 1985 he provided guitar, vocals and bass guitar for that group.[3] He contributed to all three Men at Work studio albums. He wrote or co-wrote many of their songs, including "Down Under" which appears on their first album Business as Usual. He sings lead vocals on "Settle Down My Boy", one of his self composed songs on their second album Cargo.
Strykert played bass guitar on the very first recordings of the early group in a stage musical called Riff Raff in 1979. When bassist Johnathan Rees was later added in 1980 to the band, he moved forward to lead guitarist.[4] He developed a unique soaring style of playing which added a high amount of energy to their songs. His signature playing went from long sustained notes as is often the case with the bass guitar, to a rapid fire lead guitar attack in a split second. He would often duel with fellow guitarist Hay adding dimension to his presentation as well as blending strong backing vocals. He often weaved his guitar playing around the stylistic playing of Greg Ham on his keyboards, saxophone, clarinet and flute.
As a founding member of the group, Strykert was concerned when the group lost their rhythm section of Jerry Speiser and Rees who completed the band's excellent hit making chemistry. During the process of recording their Two Hearts album, he decided to leave the group in 1985.[5]
Compositions
Strykert composed thirteen songs for Men at Work:[6]
| Title | Composed | From |
|---|---|---|
| "Keypunch Operator" | Hay & Strykert | Early single |
| "Down Under" | Hay & Strykert | B side to early single, A side single & Business as Usual |
| "Anyone For Tennis" | Hay, Strykert, Ham, Speiser & Rees | B side to "Who Can It Be Now?" single |
| "Crazy" | Strykert | B side to "Down Under" single |
| "People Just Love to Play with Words" | Strykert | Business as Usual |
| "Touching the Untouchables" | Hay & Strykert | Business as Usual |
| "Down by the Sea" | Hay, Ham, Strykert & Speiser | Business as Usual |
| "Settle Down My Boy" | Strykert | Cargo |
| "Upstairs in My House" | Hay & Strykert | B side to "Dr. Heckyl & Mr. Jive" 12" & Cargo |
| "I Like To" | Strykert | Cargo |
| "Shintaro" | Strykert | B side to "It's a Mistake" single |
| "'Till the Money Runs Out" | Hay, Strykert, Ham, Speiser & Rees | B side to "Overkill" single |
| "Sail to You" | Hay, Strykert & Ham | Two Hearts |
Release performance
Strykert took part in thirteen singles released by Men at Work. Nine of them charted. He took part in three albums released. All three charted.[7]
Awards
Strykert with Men at Work won the following awards:
- 1983 United States Grammy Award for "Best New Artist"
- 1983 Canadian Juno Award for "International LP of the Year" for Business as Usual
Hay & Strykert received the following awards from APRA Awards for their composition "Down Under":
- 1985 Special Award
- #4 on the APRA Top 30 Australian songs list
Solo Release
In 2003, Strykert released a solo debut titled Paradise on compact disc. It was released by an independent label Le Coq Musique and contained the following tracks composed and produced by Strykert:[8][9]
| Track | Title | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "In The Air" | 3:06 |
| 2 | "Heartbeat" | 2:54 |
| 3 | "Do I Love You?" | 3:48 |
| 4 | "Paradigm Shift" | 2:49 |
| 5 | "Shiva Shambu" | 5:02 |
| 6 | "Show Us The Way Home" | 4:52 |
| 7 | "Love Train" | 5:07 |
| 8 | "Sunrise" | 5:42 |
| 9 | "Eternal Waves" | 5:26 |
References
- ↑ Dafydd Rees, Luke Crampton (15 September 1999). VH1 Rock Stars Encyclopedia. DK ADULT. p. 661. ISBN 0789446138.
- ↑ The Age Australia accessed 14-Dec-2013
- ↑ Holmgren, Magnus; Warnqvist, Stefan. "Men at Work". passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ↑ "Men at Work" entry. Australian Music Encyclopedia Archive accessed 14-Dec-2013
- ↑ AMG Biography accessed 12-Dec-2013
- ↑ Australian Charts accessed 14-Dec-2013
- ↑ Australian Music Encyclopedia Archive accessed 14-Dec-2013
- ↑ Discogs Release Information accessed 14-Dec-2013
- ↑ Band to Band accessed 14-Dec-2013
External links
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