"Happy Man" is a song by Australian

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

band,

Sunnyboys Sunnyboys are an Australian power pop band formed in Sydney in 1979. Fronted by singer-songwriter, guitarist Jeremy Oxley, the band "breathed some freshness and vitality into the divergent Sydney scene". Their first two albums, '' Sunnyboys' ...

. It was written by lead singer-guitarist,

Jeremy Oxley Jeremy Saxon Oxley (born 15 November 1961) is an Australian songwriter, singer and guitarist. He is best known for his work with the 1980s pop-rock band Sunnyboys. Biography 1961-1978: Early Life Jeremy Oxley grew up in the northern New South ...

, Note: User may have to click on 'Search again' and provide details at 'Enter a title:', e.g. Happy Man; or at 'Performer:' Sunnyboys. and was the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

released in June 1981, on

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

, from their

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

debut album, which followed in September. The studio tracks were produced by

Lobby Loyde Lobby Loyde (born John Baslington Lyde, 18 May 1941 – 21 April 2007), also known as John Barrie Lyde or Barry Lyde, was an Australian rock music guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was a member of two 1960s groups: Purple Hearts, which had ...

and engineered by Colin Freeman at Alberts Studios, Sydney. "Happy Man" reached No. 26 on the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

singles chart. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

created their own

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...

in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974. The live tracks were recorded at the

Bombay Rock The Bombay Rock is a rock music venue located on Sydney Road, Brunswick, Victoria, Australia, which originally ran from 1977 until it was destroyed by a fire in 1991. The venue had previously been located in Bourke Street in the city under the ...

, Brunswick.

History

"Happy Man" was the first single released by Sunnyboys after signing with

and debuted on 6 July 1981 at No. 26 on the

singles chart. It remained in the charts for 14 weeks. It also reached the top ten in Sydney. It was included on their eponymous debut album, released that September. Aside from the standard

7" vinyl In music, a single is a type of Art release#Music, release, typically a song Sound recording, recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for record sales, sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most ca ...

format it was also issued as Australia's first

cassette single A cassette single (CS), also known by the trademark cassingle, or capitalised as the trademark Cassette Single, is a music single supplied in the form of a Compact Cassette. The cassette single was first introduced in 1980. History The debu ...

, which included two bonus live tracks, "Thrill" and "Why Do I Cry?" (the latter is a cover version of 1960s band the Remains' first single). In the liner notes of the compilation album, ''Sunnyboys, Our Best of'' (December 2013), Jeremy Oxley explained, "This song was written at Watkins Street, Newtown, the second place I lived in Sydney as another exercise in pop... It wasn't written about anybody in particular. This song was chosen as the first single to be released off the album and really showcased Bil's drumming style. The film clip was made with a budget of $3,000 in a studio in Roselle – which later became Sydney College of Arts – and was directed by Tony Stevens. It was the first Sunnyboys clip to be made." The song was one of two the band performed during a November 1998 reunion for the ''

Mushroom 25 Live ''Mushroom 25 Live'' is a live album, VHS, video and DVD by various Australian musicians and was recorded at the Mushroom 25 Concert held on Saturday 14 November 1998, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. From the early afternoon until late at night ...

'' concert to celebrate the label's 25th anniversary. On 6 March 2006 Off the Hip Records released ''Happy Man: Tribute to the Sunnyboys'', with 18 cover versions of the group's tracks by various artists, including "Happy Man" by The Indian Givers. The Barman of I-94 Bar website found their version was a "credible take".

Critical reception

Garry Raffaele of ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' reviewed ''Sunnyboys'' and felt that "'Happy Man', the single, is still, in my view, their best. Closely followed by 'Alone with You'." Australian musicologist,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

, described it as a "high-spirited single" which had "cracked the mainstream charts".

Craig Mathieson Craig Mathieson (born 1971) is an Australian music journalist and writer. His books include, '' Hi Fi Days'' (1996), ''The Sell-In'' in (2000) and the 100 Best Australian Albums in 2010, with Toby Creswell and John O'Donnell Biography Craig ...

in ''

100 Best Australian Albums 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

'' describes the song as having a duality with lyrics like "I think I'm swimming in a sea of doubt" in the verses counterposed by the chorus "But I'm a happy man". Mathieson goes onto state that this "confusion is all packaged in a great guitar stomp performance. These were four strong players who knew how to bring drama to a simple pop song". In April 2012 Sunnyboys reunited and performed a gig at the Enmore Theatre,

Toby Creswell Toby Creswell (born 21 May 1955) is an Australian music journalist and pop-culture writer. He was editor of ''Rolling Stone'' (Australia) and a founding editor of ''Juice''. In 1986, he co-wrote, with Martin Fabinyi, his first book, ''Too Much ...

noticed that the "guitars and military drum beat collide into the hit 'Happy Man', Jeremy Oxley catches his brother Peter's eye and a smile bursts across both their faces. It's as though they are transported back to the Chatswood Charles hotel in 1980."

Track listing

Charts

Release history

Credits

;Sunnyboys * Bil Bilson – drums * Richard Burgman – guitar *

– guitar, vocals *

Peter Oxley Peter Oxley was the bass player for 1980s Australian pop-rock band The Sunnyboys. He is credited with writing two songs with The Sunnyboys: "The Stooge" (from the 1984 album ''Get Some Fun'') and "You Don't Need Me" (from the 1983 album ''Indiv ...

– bass guitar ;Production * Col Freeman – engineer * Brent Legge – photography *

– producer * Peel – cover design

References

External links

"Happy Man"
@

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Authority control 1981 singles 1981 songs Sunnyboys songs Mushroom Records singles