INXS turns 45, and in twist to the finest of traditions, the Australian new wave act is handing out the presents.
The alternative rock outfit announces INXS Day and, to celebrate, prepares a slew of physical and digital releases, merch and a special TikTok streaming party.
All of it swings back to this day (Aug. 16), 45 years ago, when INXS sprung to life with a debut performance at a house party in Whale Beach, Sydney.
The group was then known as The Farriss Brothers, after the founding core of Andrew, Jon and Tim Farriss. The name INXS (pronounced in-excess) came later, and stuck.
INXS Day, launched in association with Petrol Records, Universal Music Group and Rhino Records, kicks off Tuesday with an exclusive TikTok live stream commemorating 35 years since the release of KICK. The hour-long global event includes a track-by-track on the album, interviews with the band and with executive music producer, Giles Martin.
Kick went on to become the group’s highest and longest-charting album in the U.S., with a peak of No. 3 on the Billboard 200. It remained on the chart for 81 weeks, and four of its singles – ‘New Sensation,’ ‘Never Tear Us Apart,’ ‘Devil Inside’ and the No. 1 ‘Need You Tonight’ – cracked the Top 10.
“I take my hat off to Giles, who has been able to process the sounds accurately with today’s technology,” comments INXS’ founding saxophonist and guitarist Kirk Pengilly. “It sounds like the original album but now, spread out over a 3D space. It sounds incredible.”
Joining team INXS in 2018, Martin is also on production duties for a new Dolby Atmos remix of The Very Best, the 2011 compilation which gathers such classics as as “Never Tear Us Apart,” “Original Sin” and “What You Need” and recently celebrated 500 weeks on the ARIA Albums Chart. The Very Best has been awarded “Diamond” status, for 500,000 chart sales.
Later, during the month of August, five official music videos from the 1992 set Welcome To Wherever You Are will be upgraded to HD for release on YouTube (“Heaven Sent,” “Baby Don’t Cry,” “Taste It,” “Beautiful Girl,” and “Not Enough Time”).
And to mark the 40th anniversary of the band’s breakthrough LP Shabooh Shoobah, a three-tiered release on Oct. 28, including a digital deluxe edition of the 1982 album, and a limited-edition release on clear vinyl via INXS.com, along with a vintage Shabooh Shoobah t-shirt. Also in October, the band’s nine-track set recorded at Steve Wozniak’s Live at the U.S. Festival from May 1983 will be officially released for the first time.
Thanks to the “hard work of visionary manager Chris Murphy, his team and the band, INXS’ legacy and influence are still seen every day around the globe,” comments executive VP international marketing (UMe), Universal Music Group, Andrew Daw. “Now, new fans are discovering the band and music through new platforms, non-traditional media and even an art/dance/visual short film based on their songs. We have found audiences are reacting, enjoying, and engaging.”
Led by late frontman Michael Hutchence, INXS would conquer sales charts and stadiums around the globe during a golden run in the 1980s.
The band scored six U.K. top 10 albums (including a No. 1 with Welcome To Wherever You Are from 1992) and five U.S. top 20 albums, with worldwide album sales topping 70 million, according to Petrol.
INXS was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001, four years after the death of Hutchence, aged 37.
Though the band called time on touring in 2012, the surviving members continue to add new chapters to the INXS story with catalog reissues and special projects, from documentaries to docudramas and a short film, Original Sin – The 7 Sins.
