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The Australian rock group INXS became one of the hottest bands in the late 1980s, renowned for their new wave, Aussie rock sound. The group was formed in 1977 under the name The Farriss Brothers and included original members Michael Hutchence (lead vocals), Andrew Farriss (guitar and keyboards), Tim Farriss (lead guitar), Garry Gary Beers (bass), Jon Farriss (drums), and Kirk Pengilly (saxophone and guitar). Prior to the release of their self-titled debut album in 1980 the band changed their name to INXS.

Signed to the Australian label Deluxe, INXS was recorded l Continued...

ive in between the band’s busy schedule of playing gigs in local Sydney bars. The album received much attention in Australia with the noteworthy single “Just Keep Walking”. In 1981, the follow-up Underneath the Colours witnessed the emergence of the unique INXS sound and became a major hit in Australia. The success of their first two albums led them to land a contract with the American company Atco Records.

Shabooh Shoobah was issued worldwide in 1983 spawning the popular singles “The One Thing” and “Don’t Change”. The album placed in the US Top 50 motivating INXS to embark on an extensive tour to further promote their music. The band released The Swing in 1984 and scored a number one hit in Australia, Argentina, and France with “Original Sin”. INXS eventually experienced a breakthrough success in the US with the 1986 album Listen Like Thieves which generated the US Billboard Top Five single “What You Need”. The group’s popularity amplified with the release of the sensational Kick in 1987.
The album became their best-selling album with over 10 million copies sold in the US alone. It featured the four Top Ten singles “Need You Tonight/Mediate”, “Devil Inside”, “New Sensation”, and “Never Tear Us Apart” which led the album to peak at number three on the album charts and to achieve 6x platinum status.

Following a two year worldwide tour, Michael Hutchence took a break from INXS to focus on his side project Max Q releasing a self-titled album in 1989. The experimental record proved to be rather inadequate in terms of sales, leading Hutchence to return to the studio with INXS. The band released X in 1990 to the high expectations of fans and critics. Although the album featured several noteworthy singles such as “Disappear”, “Bitter Tears”, and “Suicide Blonde”, the latter proved to be the only Top Five hit. Even though the band managed to maintain their vast popularity, X was considered somewhat of a letdown as a week follow-up to Kick.

The 1992 album Welcome to Wherever You Are is considered one of their greatest efforts by critics as the band experimented with sophisticated sounds using sitars and a sixty piece orchestra. The album fared extremely well in the UK becoming a number one hit yet performed miserably in the US. Its lackluster performance is largely attributed to the insufficient promotion by their American label Atlantic Records. Along with the emergence and gaining popularity of grunge music and INXS’ decision not to tour, the band’s reputation quickly began to fizzle. The absence of promotion for their 1993 release Full Moon, Dirty Hearts worsened their increasing obscurity. Soon afterwards, INXS departed from Atlantic Records issuing a greatest hits album in 1994 as their last.

Following a four year hiatus, the long awaited Elegantly Wasted was released in 1997 under their new label, PolyGram. The album, which became their biggest hit since X in Australia, Canada, and the UK, owed much of its success to the popular title track “Elegantly Wasted”. However, the album proved to be a failure in the US and amongst music critics. A few months after its release, lead singer Michael Hutchence was discovered dead in his Sydney hotel room on November 22, 1997. The tragic suicide is speculated by many to be an accidental death resulted by autoerotic asphyxiation.

INXS continued as a band experimenting with several temporary lead singers, notably Terence Trent D’Arby, Suze De Marchi, and Jimmy Barnes. Jon Stevens, the current host of Celebrity Treasure Island, fronted the band in 2000 and became an official member in 2002. Following the release of the single “I Get Up” in 2003, Stevens departed from INXS to pursue a solo career. On July 11, 2005, the band began their public search for a new frontman on the reality TV series Rockstar: INXS. Following an eleven week competition, J.D. Fortune was crowned the new lead singer. On November 29, 2005, the band issued Switch featuring the singles “Dirty Vegas”, “Afterglow”, and “Devil’s Party”.