Michael Kelland John Hutchence was an Australian singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the co-founder, lead singer, and lyricist of the rock band INXS from 1977 until his death in 1997. The band sold over 50 million records worldwide and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001.
INXS were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, guitarist Tim Farriss, lead singer and main lyricist Michael Hutchence, and guitarist and saxophonist Kirk Pengilly. For 20 years, INXS was fronted by Hutchence, whose magnetic stage presence made him the focal point of the band. Initially known for their new wave/pop style, the band later developed a harder pub rock style that included funk and dance elements.
Kick is the sixth studio album by Australian rock band INXS, released on 19 October 1987 through WEA in Australia, Mercury Records in Europe, and Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada. The album was produced by British producer Chris Thomas, recorded by David Nicholas in Sydney and Paris and mixed by Bob Clearmountain at Air Studios in London.
X is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band INXS, released on 25 September 1990 through WEA in Australia, Mercury Records in Europe, and Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada. The follow-up to the massive seller Kick, X scored hits with "Suicide Blonde" and "Disappear". Both singles were later used in the soundtrack to the 1991 American teen comedy Mystery Date. Two other singles from X were "Bitter Tears" and "By My Side" but they had less chart success. A fifth single, "The Stairs", was only issued in the Netherlands to coincide with the release of the Live Baby Live album.
Live Baby Live is the first live album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released on 11 November 1991 and features tracks recorded during their Summer XS Tour in Paris, New York, Chicago, London, Dublin, Glasgow, Rio de Janeiro, Montreal, Spain, Switzerland, Melbourne, Sydney, Philadelphia, and Las Vegas. The album peaked in the top 10 on both the Australian and United Kingdom albums charts. It has sold over one million copies in the United States, earning a platinum certification by the RIAA. A single, "Shining Star", was released from and ahead of the album on 21 October. It became the group's ninth Top 40 single on the UK Singles Chart, but failed to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, despite reaching the top 20 of the rock charts.
Shine Like It Does: The Anthology (1979–1997) is a greatest hits compilation released by Australian rock band INXS on 5 June 2001. It features most of their singles, some remixes, and rare tracks heard for the first time on CD. To date, the album has sold 35,000 copies in the US.
The Best of INXS is a greatest hits album by Australian rock band INXS, released on 4 June 2002 by Atlantic Records and Rhino Entertainment. It featured digitally remastered versions of tracks from previous albums and reached #144 on the US charts, selling more than 373,000 copies since its release. The compilation features most of their hit singles, as well as two previously unreleased tracks, "Salvation Jane" and "Tight". "Salvation Jane" is an outtake taken from the X sessions in 1990; the 2002 remaster of X features the song's original demo. "Tight" was written by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Farriss and recorded by the band during the sessions for Welcome to Wherever You Are in 1992. The song was reworked by the remaining members of INXS in 2002 after the death of vocalist Michael Hutchence in 1997. The nearly identical counterpart compilation released in the same year, Definitive INXS, was a moderate chart success in the UK, peaking at #15.
The Years 1979–1997 is a greatest hits compilation released by Australian rock band INXS on 10 December 2002. It is roughly the Australian equivalent of the American double-disc retrospective, Shine Like It Does: The Anthology (1979–1997), although it substitutes out several tracks that appeared on the American compilation in favor of later tracks like "By My Side" and "Baby Don't Cry" and full-length versions of many songs that only appeared in their single versions on the American release. This album also includes two previously unreleased tracks, which were not featured on Shine Like It Does.
"Mediate" is a song by INXS from their 1987 album, Kick. On the album, the song segues from their big hit single, "Need You Tonight." The song has the distinction of having almost every line rhyme with the word "ate".
The discography of INXS, an Australian rock band, consists of 12 studio albums, 71 singles, 12 compilation albums, 4 live albums and 5 extended plays.
"Need You Tonight" is a song by the Australian rock band INXS, released as the first single from their 1987 album, Kick, as well as the fourth song on the album. It is the only INXS single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also achieved their highest charting position in the United Kingdom, where the song reached number two on the UK Singles Chart; however, this peak was only reached after a re-release of the single in November 1988. On its first run on the UK charts in October 1987, it stalled at No. 58. It was one of the last songs recorded for the album, yet it would arguably become the band's signature song.
"Never Tear Us Apart" is a power ballad by Australian rock band INXS, released in June 1988 by WEA as the fourth single from their sixth studio album, Kick (1987).
"Devil Inside" is a song by Australian rock band INXS. The song was written by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence and was released as the second single from the band's sixth studio album, Kick, in February 1988. The song reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks. "Devil Inside" also peaked at number six in Australia, number three in Canada, and number two in New Zealand. Cash Box said that the band "[uses] a Daytripper-like guitar sound and riff it under a sultry, breathy vocal to put the point across."
"By My Side" is a single by Australian band INXS, the third UK single and fourth Australian single taken from their seventh studio album, X (1990). The song was written by Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence and Kirk Pengilly as part of the 1990 sessions for the X album. Record producer Chris Thomas, who produced the album, is also given songwriting credits, specifically contributing to the chorus and arrangement, as explained in the liner notes for the X album special edition in 2002. Farriss has said "By My Side" was written about missing family and friends while touring.
"Bitter Tears" is a song by Australian rock band INXS, released as the third Australian and fourth UK single from their seventh studio album, X (1990). The song was written by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence as part of the sessions for the X album. It peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart and number 36 in Australia. The single was released to coincide with the band headlining the SummerXS concert at Wembley Stadium in July 1991, as documented in the Live Baby Live DVD.
"Beautiful Girl" a song by Australian rock band INXS, released as the fifth international single from their eighth album, Welcome to Wherever You Are (1992), on 1 February 1993.
"Please " is a song by Australian rock band INXS, released as the second single from their ninth studio album, Full Moon, Dirty Hearts, on 29 November 1993. The song was written by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence and features guest vocals by Ray Charles. In June 2019, a new version of the song was released as the second single from the 2019 documentary film Mystify and lifted from the soundtrack, Mystify: A Musical Journey with Michael Hutchence.
"Don't Lose Your Head" is the third single from the album Elegantly Wasted by INXS. Released in Europe and Japan at the end of 1997. No official release for this in USA. The song was written by Michael Hutchence and Andrew Farriss and recorded by the band in Dublin during the summer of 1996.
"Searching" is the fourth single from the album Elegantly Wasted by INXS. It was never officially released although scheduled for the UK market. The song was written by Michael Hutchence and Andrew Farriss and recorded by the band in Dublin during the summer of 1996. It is also the final single to feature original lead vocalist Michael Hutchence, who died two months after the song was released.
INXS: Never Tear Us Apart is a two-part Australian miniseries about the rock band INXS and was originally telecast on 9 February 2014, and concluded on 16 February 2014, produced by Shine Australia and airing on the Seven Network.
