INXS

History

Early years

The origins of the band began with Andrew Farriss convincing his Davidson High School classmate, Michael Hutchence, to join his band, Doctor Dolphin. The band contained two further classmates, Kent Kerny and Neil Sanders, as well as Garry Beers and Geoff Kennely, both from the nearby Forest High School. In 1977, Tim Farriss, Andrew's older brother, invited Andrew, Hutchence and Beers to join him and his schoolmate Kirk Pengilly. Tim and Pengilly had been playing together since 1971 as either an acoustic duo known as Kirk and Tim or as a four-piece band called Guinness (named after their bass player's dog). Together with younger brother Jon Farriss, they formed "The Farriss Brothers", which consisted of Garry Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar, Michael Hutchence on lead vocals and Kirk Pengilly on guitar and saxophone. The band made their debut on 16 August 1977 at Whale Beach, 40 km (25 mi) north of Sydney.

The parents of the Farriss boys relocated to Perth, Western Australia in 1978, taking Jon to continue his schooling and as soon as Hutchence and Andrew finished school, the rest of the band followed. They briefly performed as The Vegetables before returning to Sydney ten months later and recording a set of demos. At a chance meeting in the car park of the Royal Antler, a pub in Narrabeen, Tim was approached by Midnight Oil manager Gary Morris.

The band began to regularly support Midnight Oil and other local bands. Morris advised that a member of the Oils crew had come up with a new name and suggested they change it to INXS. The name INXS was inspired by English band XTC and Australian jam makers IXL. Pengilly later explained that Morris was interested in turning the group into a Christian band, which the band briefly considered before rejecting the idea. The band's name is a word play on the phrase "in excess".

The band's first performance as INXS was on 1 September 1979 at the Ocean Beach Hotel in Umina on the Central Coast of New South Wales and by the end of 1979, after passing on the Christian band image, they hired Chris "CM" Murphy as their manager and continued taking on the Australian pub circuit. Murphy was an adept business manager and negotiator and by early 1980 the band had signed a five-album record deal with a Sydney independent label, Deluxe Records, run by Michael Browning, a former manager of AC/DC.

1980s

INXS released their first single, "Simple Simon"/"We Are the Vegetables", in Australia and France in May 1980. The single had its debut TV performance on Simon Townsend's Wonder World. Their debut album, INXS, was recorded at Trafalgar Studios in Annandale, Sydney. It was co-produced by the band and Duncan McGuire (ex-Ayers Rock), with all songs attributed to the entire band, at the insistence of Murphy. Deluxe gave them a budget of $10,000 to record the album, so to keep within the budget they had to record from midnight to dawn, usually after doing one or more performances earlier that night. The album was released in October 1980. It featured "Just Keep Walking" which was their first Australian Top 40 single, with the album peaking in the Top 30 of the Kent Music Report for Australian albums. The album eventually went gold (selling over 35,000 units) but it took a number of years to do so.

These early records demonstrated their new wave/ska/pop style, and were followed by near constant touring with almost 300 shows during 1981 as the band developed their status as a live act. In 1981, they signed Gary Grant as their tour manager, who then became co-manager a year later. Between touring commitments, the band released their third single in May 1981, "The Loved One", which was a cover of a 1966 song by Australian group the Loved Ones. The song was recorded at Studios 301 in Sydney; it was produced by Richard Clapton and peaked in the Top 20.

The success of the single led to Clapton and the band returning to Studios 301 between July and August 1981 to create an album. In October 1981, their second album Underneath the Colours was released and became a hit in Australia peaking at No. 15.

Soon after recording sessions had finished, band members started work on outside projects. Beers, Jon and Andrew Farriss played on Clapton's solo album, The Great Escape. Hutchence recorded "Speed Kills", written by Don Walker of Cold Chisel for the soundtrack of the film Freedom directed by Scott Hicks. It was his first solo single and was released by WEA in early 1982.

Deluxe had been unable to attract international interest so the band decided to record a new song, "The One Thing" at their own expense with Mark Opitz at Paradise Studios. The song turned out so well that Murphy hired Opitz to produce three more songs. Murphy approached WEA Australia with copies of the song, leading to INXS signing a recording deal in July 1982 with WEA for releases in Australia, South East Asia, Japan, New Zealand, Atco Records (a subsidiary of Atlantic Records) for North America, and PolyGram for Europe including the UK.

1990–1997: From X to Elegantly Wasted

In October 1990, INXS released X which was produced by Chris Thomas. The album peaked at No. 3 in Australia, No. 5 in the US, No. 2 in the UK, No. 5 in Switzerland and No. 10 in Sweden. It followed in the same vein as Kick, and added harmonica to some songs. X scored hits with "Suicide Blonde" and "Disappear" (both Top 10 in the US). "Suicide Blonde" peaked at No. 2 in Australia, No. 11 in the UK and in Switzerland. Other singles from X were "Bitter Tears" and "By My Side", which had less chart success.

INXS performed at Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1991, during their "Summer XS" tour stop in London to a sold-out audience of 74,000 fans. This performance was recorded and filmed to become Live Baby Live, a live album that was released in November 1991 and peaked in the Top 30 in the Australia and UK album charts. The album had less success on The Billboard 200. This concert was the band's most well-attended show of all time; according to a 2017 article by Paul Donoughue of ABC.net.au, it "solidified [INXS's] place in pop history".

On 28 March 1992, INXS performed at the controversial Concert for Life at Centennial Park in Sydney (a fundraiser for the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Centre), and other performers included Crowded House, Yothu Yindi, Jenny Morris, Diesel, Ratcat, and Def FX. Due to inclement weather, the expected attendance of 100,000 never came through, and the event only raised $500,000.

Welcome to Wherever You Are, produced by Mark Opitz and released in August 1992, was an experimental album using sitars and a 60-piece orchestra while adding a more "raw" sound. It received good critical reviews reaching No. 1 in the UK and in Sweden; No. 2 in Australia and Switzerland, and No. 3 in Norway, but had less chart success in the US (peaking at No. 16). Singles from the album included "Taste It" and "Baby Don't Cry", which were Top 20 successes in UK but had less success in US and Australian markets.

In August 1992, Hutchence suffered a fractured skull in an altercation in Copenhagen. He was left with brain damage. The injury led to periods of depression and increased levels of aggression. According to Beers, Hutchence brandished a knife and threatened to kill him during the 1993 recording of Full Moon, Dirty Hearts. Beers recalled, "Over those six weeks, Michael threatened or physically confronted nearly every member of the band."

1997–2003: Transitional years

INXS were fronted by Hutchence for 20 years, and his stage presence had made him the focal point of the band. After his death, INXS did not perform publicly for almost a year, and then only made a few one-off performances with different guest singers until 2000. On 14 November 1998, they played at the Mushroom 25 Concert with Jimmy Barnes fronting for two songs: "The Loved One" and "Good Times". On 12 June 1999, they headlined the opening of Stadium Australia in Sydney, with US singer-songwriter Terence Trent D'Arby and Russell Hitchcock as guest vocalists, they performed "New Sensation", "Kick", "Never Tear Us Apart" and "What You Need". In December 2000, INXS performed a concert with singers Suze DeMarchi and Jon Stevens sharing the spotlight. DeMarchi was reportedly offered the role of permanent singer in the band.

The former lead singer of Australian band Noiseworks, Jon Stevens, began singing with INXS on a regular basis. INXS played as one of the headline acts at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and then toured through South America and Europe in 2001. Stevens was officially named a member of INXS in 2002, and the band started recording new material in November. He left the band in October 2003 to pursue a solo career.

2004–2011: Rock Star: INXS and J.D. Fortune era

INXS returned to the news in 2004 when it was announced that a new reality television program titled Rock Star: INXS would feature a contest to find a new lead vocalist for the band. On 20 September 2005, J.D. Fortune won the eleven-week competition and became the new lead singer of INXS.

With Fortune as lead singer, INXS released the single "Pretty Vegas" on 4 October 2005. The single reached No. 5 on the iTunes Store ranking of daily most downloaded songs on its first day. It peaked at No. 9 in Australia and No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became a huge radio airplay hit in Fortune's native Canada. On 29 November 2005, Switch—the band's first album with Fortune as lead singer—was released in the United States via Epic Records. The band's new line-up started a world tour in support of Switch in January 2006. In September 2006, INXS and Epic Records parted ways. INXS toured Australia and New Zealand in March 2007 with Simple Minds and support band Arrested Development. The band signed with Petrol Electric Records in December 2008, reuniting them with former manager CM Murphy.

On 16 February 2009, J.D. Fortune told Entertainment Tonight Canada that INXS had let him go from the band with a shake of the hand at an airport in Hong Kong. Murphy denied this and added that Fortune was next on his list to call regarding a major recording contract he was negotiating for the band. In a 6 March 2009 interview, Fortune said that after returning to Canada from Hong Kong, he believed there were still two more legs of the INXS 2007 tour to complete. When the rest of the tour was cancelled and the band did not return his calls for 10 months, he believed he was out of the band.

On 30 November 2009, Andrew Farriss, Jon Farriss, and Kirk Pengilly performed an acoustic version of "Don't Change" with the Qantas Choir at the Pride of Australia Awards. The band performed at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on 24 February 2010 with guest singers J.D. Fortune and Argentine singer Deborah de Corral.

During a radio interview with Kirk Pengilly and J.D. Fortune in July 2010 just before the Broome concert, Pengilly confirmed that Fortune had returned as the band's permanent singer. In August 2010, Petrol Records issued Australian radio stations with a one-track promo "Never Tear Us Apart" featuring Ben Harper on vocals, a preview from the upcoming INXS Michael Hutchence tribute album Original Sin. On 25 September 2010, the band performed before the 2010 AFL Grand Final. On 19 October 2010, it was announced in the Courier Mail that INXS, fronted by J.D. Fortune, would tour as part of the A Day on the Green winery concerts in February."

2011–2012: Final years

The band released a demo of a song, called "Tiny Summer" in streaming format on their official website in September 2011. When INXS announced Fortune's departure, they also announced that Northern Irish singer-songwriter Ciaran Gribbin would serve as the band's frontman in their upcoming tour of Australia, South America, and Europe in November and December 2011.

At a 11 November 2012 concert at the newly opened Perth Arena, INXS announced that they were playing their final show. Kirk Pengilly stated that it was appropriate to finish where they had started 35 years earlier.

Later developments

In 2013, Australian TV network Seven Network announced that it would produce a miniseries focusing on the band's behind-the-scenes stories. The miniseries was called INXS: Never Tear Us Apart. Band member Tim Farriss was a pre-production consultant on the show. The miniseries premiered on 9 February 2014; the finale aired on 16 February 2014. The miniseries rated very highly and created a renewed interest in the band, which translated to a resurgence in sales of their music that brought them once again to the number one position on the Australian popular music charts.

In 2019, a documentary film about Michael Hutchence was released; the film was entitled Mystify. A soundtrack was also released featuring INXS tracks.

Band members

Legacy

INXS have been cited as an influence by acts including the 1975, Maroon 5, and Savage Garden.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), INXS have sold over 30 million albums in the United States alone, making them the third-highest selling Australian music act in the United States behind AC/DC and the Bee Gees. They have sold over 50 million records worldwide.

In 2026, INXS were nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They were not inducted.

Awards

INXS have been nominated for numerous music awards, including ARIA Awards, Grammy Awards, and MTV Video Music Awards.

ARIA Awards

INXS have won six Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards. In addition, the band were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001 alongside the Saints. The induction recognised their achievement of a "significant body of recorded work" and that they "had a cultural impact within Australia". INXS have won six other ARIA Awards, including three for 'Best Group' in 1987, 1989 and 1992.

Countdown Awards

Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week but then independently. The Countdown Music and Video Awards were succeeded by the ARIA Awards. INXS won seven awards at the 1984 awards ceremony, which was broadcast on 25 May 1985. On 20 April 1986 they won three further Countdown awards for 1985. They won further award in the final awards in 1986, from five nominations.

Grammy Awards

INXS received three Grammy Award nominations.

International Rock Awards

The International Rock Awards (1989–91) was a music award ceremony broadcast on ABC Television, to honour the top musicians in the genre of rock music.

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. INXS won two awards in that time.

MTV Video Music Awards

INXS won five MTV Video Music Awards for their 1988 video "Need You Tonight/Mediate".

Pollstar Concert Industry Awards

The Pollstar Concert Industry Awards is an annual award ceremony to honour artists and professionals in the concert industry.