INXS

The Australian pub circuit spawned INXS, a background that kept the band from meshing easily with new wave circles. Early experiments with synth pop still rested on a tough, Stones-derived pulse and the swaggering delivery of vocalist Michael Hutchence, whose style recalled Jagger. Those same traits eventually carried the group to worldwide stardom by the late 1980s. At that stage the musicians had fused hard rock, dance, and new wave elements into a smooth, fashionable drive that propelled the 1987 album Kick to multi-million sales. The identical sound that secured their breakthrough later confined them; by the early 1990s, when listeners turned toward sharper alternative rock, INXS found themselves locked into a formula of Stonesy pop-funk. The musicians kept touring and releasing records for a loyal audience until Hutchence’s death in 1997 closed the band’s most successful chapter.

Three brothers formed the core of INXS, whose origins lay in the family group the Farriss Brothers. Keyboardist Andrew Farriss, the middle sibling, met vocalist Michael Hutchence at high school and started a band that also included bassist Gary Beers. At the same time guitarist Tim Farriss performed in several outfits alongside guitarist and saxophonist Kirk Pengilly. The separate units combined in 1977, adding Jon Farriss on drums. After Jon finished school two years later the ensemble adopted the name INXS, relocated from Perth to Sydney, and began working the pub circuit. Within twelve months the musicians secured an Australian deal with Deluxe and issued their self-titled debut in 1980.

INXS and Underneath the Colours (1981) both succeeded at home, earning the group a U.S. contract with Atco Records. Their American debut, Shabooh Shoobah, appeared in 1983 and was supported by extensive touring that, aided by the hit single “Don’t Change,” established them as minor new wave figures. Subsequent sessions with producer Nile Rodgers yielded the sleek, funky track “Original Sin,” an early sign that the band was steering toward a blend of Stonesy rock and dance music. The single helped 1984’s The Swing reach modest chart levels, but genuine mainstream success arrived with 1985’s Listen Like Thieves, which peaked at number 11 in the U.S. thanks to “What You Need.”

Listen Like Thieves prepared the ground for Kick, the record that elevated INXS to international superstardom. Issued late in 1987, Kick accumulated multi-platinum numbers throughout 1988 as four singles—“Need You Tonight,” which reached number one, “Devil Inside,” “New Sensation,” and “Never Tear Us Apart”—entered the U.S. Top Ten. In the aftermath Hutchence was frequently described as a potential successor to Jagger, and the band was ranked alongside U2 in global popularity. Overconfidence followed. Hutchence issued the experimental side project Max Q in early 1990, and the album failed commercially. X, the follow-up to Kick, arrived in fall 1990 to largely unfavorable notices. Although several tracks charted, among them “Disappear” and “Bitter Tears,” only the opening single “Suicide Blonde” reached the U.S. Top Ten, and overall sales lagged far behind those of Kick.

The momentum generated by X suffered lasting damage. Despite strong ticket sales on the supporting tour, captured on the 1991 live set Live Baby Live at Wembley Stadium, the second-largest venue in Europe, INXS could no longer claim parity with U2 or R.E.M. Hutchence maintained a high-profile lifestyle that included relationships with Kylie Minogue and various supermodels, an image that clashed with the rise of alternative rock in 1992. When the band released Welcome to Wherever You Are, their most experimental album to date, they already seemed dated, and even positive comparisons to U2’s Achtung Baby failed to lift sales. Full Moon, Dirty Hearts followed in 1993 and attracted little attention. After its release INXS departed Atlantic’s roster, issuing Greatest Hits as their final album for the label.

A new deal with PolyGram was signed in 1994, yet three years passed before another studio record appeared. During the interval Hutchence figured in numerous tabloid stories, notably his relationship with British television personality Paula Yates that ended her marriage to Bob Geldof, and he indicated plans for a solo album. That project never surfaced, but INXS resurfaced in spring 1997 with Elegantly Wasted. Although reviews were negative, the album’s hedonistic dance-rock aligned better with late-1990s tastes than earlier material, producing the group’s strongest sales since X. On November 22 of that year Hutchence was discovered dead in a Sydney hotel room, the apparent result of hanging. His long-planned solo debut was released posthumously in late 1999.

Terence Trent D’Arby handled lead vocals for a shortened performance at the 1999 opening of Sydney’s Stadium Australia, after which Jon Stevens assumed the role for occasional shows that continued through the end of 2003. Stevens later departed to focus on solo work. INXS stayed inactive for most of the next year, then partnered in 2005 with producer Mark Burnett to create the global television competition Rock Star: INXS, whose purpose was to select a permanent replacement for Hutchence. Canadian former Elvis impersonator J.D. Fortune won the contest, joined the band, performed on the 2005 album Switch, and took part in the ensuing world tour. Switch achieved significant chart placement only in Canada, and Fortune’s cocaine use created friction with the other members as touring concluded. Another stretch of inactivity followed. When INXS resurfaced in 2010 they employed numerous guest vocalists while retaining Fortune as official frontman; Rob Thomas, Ben Harper, and others contributed to Original Sin, a collection of reworked past hits. Issued in November 2010, the album reached just outside the Australian Top 40. The band performed regularly over the next two years but announced in late 2012 that touring would cease.

The 2014 Australian television miniseries INXS: Never Tear Us Apart dramatized the band’s story. Five years afterward the documentary Mystify: A Musical Journey with Michael Hutchence appeared, accompanied by a soundtrack.