INXS
Oct 3, 2011
INXS hailed from the pubs of Australia, which is part of the reason they never comfortably fit in with new wave. Even when the band branched out into synth pop on its early recordings, they were underpinned by a hard, Stones-y beat and lead singer Michael Hutchence's Jagger-esque strut. Ultimately, these were the very things that made INXS into international superstars in the late '80s. By that ti.me, the group had harnessed their hard rock, dance, and new wave influences into a sleek, stylish groove that made their 1987 album Kick into a multi-million-selling hit. While that sound was their key to stardom, it also proved to be their undoing; the group became boxed in by their Stonesy pop-funk in the early '90s, when their audience became entranced by harder-edged alternative rock.
Appropriately for a band that featured three brothers, INXS had its roots in a family act, the Farriss Brothers. The group came together while Andrew Farriss (keyboard, guitar), the middle brother, was in high school with Michael Hutchence (vocals). The two formed a band with Gary Beers (bass). Simultaneously, Tim Farriss (guitar) was playing in various groups with his friend, Kirk Pengilly (guitar, saxophone). Eventually the two groups merged in 1977, with Jon Farriss joining as drummer. Two years later, when Jon graduated from high school, the band renamed itself INXS, moved from Perth to Sydney, and began to play the pub circuit. Within a year, the group landed an Australian record contract, releasing an eponymous debut on Deluxe in 1980.
In 1983, they released their U.S. debut, Shabooh Shoobah, and embarked on an extensive tour which, thanks to the hit single "Don't Change," made them minor new wave stars. For their next album, INXS recorded a few sessions with producer Nile Rodgers, which resulted in the sleek, funky "Original Sin," the first inclination that the band was making a move toward a fusion of Stonesy rock and dance music. "Original Sin" made 1984's The Swing a minor hit, yet the group didn't have a genuine mainstream breakthrough until 1985's Listen Like Thieves, which climbed to number 11 in the U.S. on the strength of the single "What You Need."
Listen Like Thieves laid the groundwork for Kick, the album that made INXS international superstars. Released late in 1987, Kick worked its way to multi-platinum status over the course of 1988, as four singles -- the number one "Need You Tonight," "Devil Inside," "New Sensation," and "Never Tear Us Apart" -- climbed into the U.S. Top Ten. X, INXS' follow-up to Kick, appeared in the fall of 1990 to mostly negative reviews. While the album generated several hits, including "Disappear" and "Bitter Tears," only its first single, "Suicide Blonde," reached the Top Ten in the U.S., and the sales of X were disappointing when compared to Kick.
INXS signed with PolyGram in 1994, yet it took them three years to release a new album. During that time, Hutchence was involved in several tabloid scandals, most notably his love affair with British TV personality Paula Yates, and he hinted that he was recording a solo album. That record didn't materialize, but INXS returned in the spring of 1997 with Elegantly Wasted. While the album was greeted with poor reviews, its hedonistic dance-rock was better suited to the late '90s than the early '90s, which made the record the group's biggest hit since X. On November 22 of that year, Hutchence was found dead in his Sydney hotel room, the victim of an apparent hanging; his long-in-the-works solo debut was posthumously issued in late 1999.
Though Terence Trent D'Arby took the frontman role for an abbreviated set at the opening of Sydney's Stadium Australia in 1999, Jon Stephens filled the spot for occasional gigs that took place through the end of 2003. The singer left to pursue a solo career. INXS was quiet throughout the following year, but in 2005 they teamed with reality-show maverick Mark Burnett for Rock Star: INXS. On September 20th 2005, J. D. Fortune of Salt Springs, Nova Scotia, Canada won the eleven-week competition, which culminated in his singing the Rolling Stones's "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and INXS' "What You Need" in the finale of the show to become the new lead singer of INXS. With Fortune they recorded their 2005 album, Switch produced by Guy Chambers and went on a world tour in 2006. Runner-up Marty Casey was the opening act during the first leg of the tour, along with his band, The Lovehammers. After a few on and off again performances Fortune was kicked out of the band in 2010.
Northern Irish singer-songwriter Ciaran Gribbin was recently announced as the band's new frontman for their forthcoming tour of Australia, South America and Europe in November & December 2011.
