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Cover of Business As Usual by Men At Work — Cover: Business As Usual

Song · Men At Work

“Who Can It Be Now?” by Men At Work

From the album Business As Usual (1981)

“Who Can It Be Now?” by Men At Work appears on 23 radio countdowns from 12 stations between 1982 and 2026. It was first released in 1981 on the album Business As Usual. Its best result is #36 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1982. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #54 alternative song of 1982 and #1,052 alternative song of all time.

23countdowns

12stations

#36best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1982–2026years charted

Watch

Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now? (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (MenAtWorkVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Men at Work put "Who Can It Be Now?" out at home in Australia in 1981, before they had even recorded their debut album, and when Business as Usual followed, it went in as the opening track. Colin Hay wrote it and sings it with a nervy, twitchy edge, Greg Ham's saxophone hook slinks around him, and Ron Strykert's guitar, John Rees on bass and Jerry Speiser on drums keep it tight and bouncing under Peter McIan's production.

It won Best Debut Single at the Countdown Australian Music Awards that year, then took the long way round: a hit in Canada in 1982, and well over a year after its first release, number one in the US. That October the band played it on Saturday Night Live along with "Down Under".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

#141 of the '80s

Classic Rock

#1,962 of all time

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1982	36	KROQ Los Angeles, CA	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1982	107

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1998	270	KROQ	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998)	488
1999	277	Q101	Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	1017
1999	238	WLIR / WDRE	WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	300
1999	728	107.7 The End	The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	1077
1999	648	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
1999	330	CFNY 102.1 The Edge	CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)	1002
2000	648	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	656	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	656	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2002	330	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)	2002
2003	656	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2003	148	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)	2044
2004	656	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2005	656	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2021	276	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s	909
2021	804	Q104.3	Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021)	1043
2022	450	Q104.3	Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022)	1043
2023	382	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s	850
2024	952	Q104.3	Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024)	1043
2024	620	KEXP	The Best Opening Tracks of All Time	738
2025	584	Q104.3	Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025)	1043
2026	195	WFPK	WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s	498

Also listed as: Who Can It Be Now; Who Can it Be Now?.

Charting alongside it in 1982

Best songs of 1982 →

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