INXS

Originally known as the Farris Brothers in 1977, INXS (pronounced as “in excess”) is an Australian band that is consist of Tim Farris in guitars, Jon Farris on drums, Garry Gary Beers on keyboards, Kirk Pengilly on keyboards and Micheal Hutchence on vocals. INXS was responsible for the hit songs “What You Need”, “Need You Tonight”,”Devil Inside”, and “Suicide Blonde”. INXS was initially known for their new wave, pop musical styles but they knew that they just did not fit well in that genre. The band later developed their music style and came up with a harder pub rock with a hint of funk and dance elements.

History

INXS began when Michael Hutchence decided to join Andrew Farriss’ band “Doctor Dolphin”. The band consisted of Kent Kerny, Garry Beers, Neil Sanders and Geoff Kennely. Years later, Andrew Farriss, together with Michael Hutchence and Garry Beers had been invited by Andrew’s brother, Tim Farriss to join him in his band called Guinness. The group then decided to rename their band The Farriss Brothers because Andrew and Tim’s little brother, Jon Farriss decided to join their band. The band’s line-up became Tim Farriss on lead guitar, Jon Farriss on drums, Michael Hutchence on vocals, Andrew Farriss on keyboards and Kirk Pengilly on guitar and saxophone.

The band decided to change their name to INXS when a band member from another local group named Midnight Oil suggested it to them. He said that the name INXS was inspired by the British band XTC and an Australian artist named IXL.

The band faced a tragic moment when their front man, Michael Hutchence was found dead in his hotel room at Ritz-Carlton in Sydney on November 22, 1997. Three months later, it was revealed that Hutchence’s was struggling with depression and his cause of death was a suicide while he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

After Hutchence’s death, INXS took a break from performing publicly for almost a year. After that, they only accepted a few booking performances in which they performed with different guest vocalists.

In 2000, INXS shared the stage in a concert with fellow Australian artist and Noiseworks former frontman Jon Stevens. Since then, Jon Stevens became INXS vocalist and the band started to accept public performances again and started touring South America and Europe. And in 2002, INXS recorded a new album with Jon Stevens as their frontman but during their recording process, Stevens left the band to pursue his solo career.

A year after Steven’s exit, INXS launched a reality television program called Rock Star: INXS in their search for their new vocalist. And after eleven weeks of competition, J.D Fortune won the game and became INXS new frontman.

Hit Songs

  • The One Thing
  • Original Sin
  • What You Need
  • Listen Like Thieves
  • Shine Like It Does
  • Need You Tonight
  • Devil Inside
  • New Sensation
  • Never Tear Us Apart
  • Suicide Blonde
  • Disappear
  • The Stairs

Albums

INXS- INXS released their self-titled debut studio album on October 13, 1980. The album was recorded from midnight till dawn sessions after the band finished their gigs at the local pubs in Sydney. This album contained the single “Just Keep Walking”. This was INXS’ first song that entered the UK top 40.

Underneath the Colours–  this was INXS’ second studio album and it was released on October of 1981. Despite’s the band busy schedule with the tour, INXS managed to release their cover on an Australian group song entitled “The Loved One” The song had even entered the top 20 of the charts.

Shabooh Shooabah– This was INXS’ third studio album which was released in October 1982. The album reached the top five spot in the ARIA albums chart and stayed on the chart for a total of 94 weeks. This was INXS first album that they released worldwide and the first of their album that entered the United States Billboard 200. Shabooh Shoobah scored four hit singles “That One Thing”, “Don’t Change”, “To Look At You”, and “Black and White”.

Listen Like Thieves- Released on October 1985, Listen Live Thieves was INXS fifth album. this was considered as INXS’ international breakthrough album because it reached as far as the eleventh spot in the United States Billboard 200 and at the top 50 in the UK Albums Chart.

Kick- This was INXS sixth studio album and was considered to be their most successful album because it became a certified six time platinum album. INXS took home five awards from the MTV Video Music Awards for the “Need You Tonight” music video.

X– Released in 1990, X was INXS’ seventh studio album. they released this album after they took a break in 1989 to work on some personal projects. This album did not receive the same success compared to their multimillion record, Kick. But X also spawned hit singles like “Suicide Blonde” and “By My Side”.

Welcome to Wherever You Are- Released on August 1992, Welcome To Wherever You Are was INXS eight studio album. INXS experimented with their musical styles with this album, incorporating a 60-piece orchestra, sitars and other raw sounds. The record received positive reviews and was even listed as one of the best albums of 1992. But because of lack of promotion and not having a tour for the album, it did not perform well in the market. It still spawned two hit singles “Baby Don’t Cry” and “Not Enough Time”.

Full Moon, Dirty Hearts– This was INXS ninth studio album and it was released in 1993. This album scored hit singles like “The Gift”, “Time”, and “Freedom Deep”. INXS embarked on the “Dirty Honeymoon” tour to promote this album. The album reached the number three spot in the UK and number four in Australia and became a certified gold album in both countries.

Elegantly Wasted– This was INXS tenth studio album and it was released in April 1997. This is the last album that INXS recorded with their front man Michael Hutchence because in November of 1997, he was found dead in his hotel room at Sydney. The album’s title was well thought of Michael Hutchence and the title track was obviously trying to channel the vibe of their Kick album.

Switch- Released in 2005, this was INXS eleventh studio album. This was also the first INXS album that featured their new singer, J.D Fortune. The album received different reviews from critics and was said to be inconsistent. Some critics also praised JD Fortune’s vocals as well as featuring some guest vocalist like Suzie McNeil.

Original Sin– This was INXS twelfth and final album that was released in November 2010 by Epic Records. The album featured covers of their earlier hits which were sung by different guest singers.

INXS was an extremely impactful band during their time. Among others, Maroon 5 and Savage Garden both cited INXS as their musical influence.