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Men At Work - Dr. Heckyll And Mr. Jive


babyteen

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On the song, "Dr. Heckyll And Mr. Jive" by Men At Work, there's one thing that's struck me as interesting. The intro. When I listen to it, I hear what sounds like wind blowing, soft ticking, and then a chime. When my partner listens to the intro, to him, the ticking sounds like someone's footsteps. Where did that intro come from? And what is that chime? Is there a "Making of Men At Work: Cargo"? If so, where can I listen to it?

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Hi, Anabelle!! :)

I couldn't find any info... Wikipedia only mentions these instruments:

Greg Ham - flute, keyboards, saxophone, background vocals, lead vocals on track 9

Colin Hay - guitar, lead vocals

Johnathan Rees - bass, background vocals

Jerry Speiser - drums, background vocals

Ron Strykert - guitar, background vocals, lead vocals on track 3

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Hi, Anabelle!! :)

I couldn't find any info... Wikipedia only mentions these instruments:

Greg Ham - flute, keyboards, saxophone, background vocals, lead vocals on track 9

Colin Hay - guitar, lead vocals

Johnathan Rees - bass, background vocals

Jerry Speiser - drums, background vocals

Ron Strykert - guitar, background vocals, lead vocals on track 3

What's your Email Address? This way, I can send you the song, since I have the album it's on, "Cargo".

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Hi Anabelle,

I'm a huge fan of this song... ever since I bought Cargo in summer of '83, I've listened to it hundreds of times over the years. For what it's worth I've always believed that to be foot steps, as if Mr. Jive was "walking" into his laboratory. Always loved the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and this song is a cool twist on that story, and love the tune.

Unfortunately... in all the interviews I've read with Colin Hay, I've yet to see this song discussed.

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What's your Email Address? This way, I can send you the song, since I have the album it's on, "Cargo".

You're a sweetie, Anabelle... :) but my husband has the album since the 80s, that's the music he used to listen to in his younger days :grin: Thank you so much anyways, my friend!! Wish I could have helped more...

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If all of you guys think that it's footsteps, then where does that chime come from? And, how can they be footsteps, when in fact they're evenly spaced, and at about 200 beats per minute? And, they're so sharp, with the chime, it could be a ticking clock, like that in a Church Tower.

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It sounds more like a clock to me... maybe he's walking with a clock in his pocket? ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfwaMIKL5Ws

Gotta be a big clock for a chime of that tone. How can a clock that big fit in a guy's pocket? Is that even a possibility?

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I listened to the song and watched the video for it also.

Since the song title is a pun on "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in which Mr. Hyde is evil and roams the streets of London, England, I would think the bell chiming is coming from one of the bell towers in London, possibly the famous "Big Ben" clock tower, as MS29 said.

The band could have used any effect to achieve the bell sound.

They may not wanted or cared if the chime was the exact tone as the actual bell on Big Ben.

I think the wind blowing adds a scary feeling to the eerie scene that one would encounter late at night with a madman on the loose.

The tapping sound does sound like it could be footsteps, but not someone walking at a normal pace, perhaps someone walking fast to escape a following Mr. Hyde or perhaps Mr. Hyde himself walking very fast to catch up with a woman who is walking the streets late at night.

The video shows a man walking the streets late at night, but not at a very fast pace that would match the audio sound. That doesn't rule out that the sound could be footsteps, though.

It has somewhat of a "clacking" sound that would match maybe a woman's shoe or even a man's shoe if they were walking at a very fast pace.

If it is, they may have recorded actual footsteps or it's possible they made the sound by tapping the drumstick on the metal rim of the snare drum trying to simulate someone walking fast.

It could very well be something different than footsteps.

On the other hand, just because they are evenly spaced doesn't mean they aren't footsteps.

If you are running from something and you keep a steady pace, your footsteps will be evenly paced.

It's possible they made the sound with a sound effect machine.

Whether or not they meant it to be footsteps or a ticking clock or something else is anybody's guess.

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I listened to the song and watched the video for it also.

Since the song title is a pun on "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in which Mr. Hyde is evil and roams the streets of London, England, I would think the bell chiming is coming from one of the bell towers in London, possibly the famous "Big Ben" clock tower, as MS29 said.

The band could have used any effect to achieve the bell sound.

They may not wanted or cared if the chime was the exact tone as the actual bell on Big Ben.

I think the wind blowing adds a scary feeling to the eerie scene that one would encounter late at night with a madman on the loose.

The tapping sound does sound like it could be footsteps, but not someone walking at a normal pace, perhaps someone walking fast to escape a following Mr. Hyde or perhaps Mr. Hyde himself walking very fast to catch up with a woman who is walking the streets late at night.

The video shows a man walking the streets late at night, but not at a very fast pace that would match the audio sound. That doesn't rule out that the sound could be footsteps, though.

It has somewhat of a "clacking" sound that would match maybe a woman's shoe or even a man's shoe if they were walking at a very fast pace.

If it is, they may have recorded actual footsteps or it's possible they made the sound by tapping the drumstick on the metal rim of the snare drum trying to simulate someone walking fast.

It could very well be something different than footsteps.

On the other hand, just because they are evenly spaced doesn't mean they aren't footsteps.

If you are running from something and you keep a steady pace, your footsteps will be evenly paced.

It's possible they made the sound with a sound effect machine.

Whether or not they meant it to be footsteps or a ticking clock or something else is anybody's guess.

Maybe I could ask Colin. Do you think he's the one who knows?

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I knew that b*stard would steal my idea! I'm suing!

:afro: :afro: :afro: :jester:

Colin Hay is no "b*stard". First of all, I'll have you know that he was born to married parents, and secondly, he's not a hateful or unpleasant man. He's a loving Scottsman, and on top of that, he's quite a sweet Australian!

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I knew that b*stard would steal my idea! I'm suing!

:afro: :afro: :afro: :jester:

Colin Hay is no "b*stard"! First of all, I'll have you know that he was born to married parents, and secondly, he's not a hateful or unpleasant man. He's a loving Scottsman, and on top of that, he's quite a sweet Australian!

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