"Hey Men" is a song from

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

new wave/synthpop band

Men Without Hats Men Without Hats are a Canadian New wave music, new wave and synth-pop band, originally from Montreal, Quebec. Their music is characterized by the baritone voice of their lead singer Ivan Doroschuk, as well as their elaborate use of synthesizers ...

' fourth album, ''

The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century ''The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century'', often shortened to ''In the 21st Century'', is the fourth studio album by Canadian synth-pop group Men Without Hats, released in 1989. It was the second and last album to be re ...

'', released as the album's first single in 1989.

History

The song is based on experiences bandleader

Ivan Doroschuk Ivan Eugene Doroschuk (, ), born 9 October 1957, is an American-born Canadian musician. He is the lead vocalist and founding member of Men Without Hats, best known for the hit song "The Safety Dance". Early life Ivan Doroschuk was born on ...

had during his teenage years and is an anti-

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

song; the chorus implores men to "stop pushing your women down" and "quit knocking your children around". In later interviews, however, Doroschuk acknowledged that he had received some criticism for the lyrics, because "your women" implied possession rather than partnership. In early reviews of the album, Mark Lepage of the ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'' singled the song out for praise as "a round-edged Chuck Berry thing with a winning chorus and a feminist nudge", while Helen Metella of the ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'' called it a "snappy put-down of a male-dominated globe" and singled it out as one of the high points of the album. In early December while the song was still in the midst of its chart run, band member Stefan Doroschuk was struck by a car in Montreal, breaking both legs and his hand and forcing the band to postpone its concert tour to support the album.

Chart performance

The song entered the '' RPM100'' singles chart in October 1989, debuting at #72 in the week of October 16. Initially, the song was only modestly successful, and appeared to have stalled out on the charts by December; however, following the

École Polytechnique massacre École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

on December 6, the song suddenly jumped into the Top 10 in the week of December 16, 1989"RPM100 Singles"
''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'', December 16, 1989. on the basis of increased radio airplay because of its anti-violence stand.

References

{{authority control 1989 singles Men Without Hats songs Songs about domestic violence 1989 songs Mercury Records singles