INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were<!--Goes by Australian English.--> an Australian rock band formed in 1977 in Sydney. Originally called the Farriss Brothers, the band's 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 were fronted by Hutchence, whose stage presence made him the focal point of the band. Irish singer-songwriter Ciaran Gribbin replaced Fortune as lead singer in 2011. INXS performed their final concert on 11 November 2012.
INXS won six Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awards, including the award for "Best Group" in 1987, 1989 and 1992, respectively. In addition, the band were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001. As of 2026, INXS have sold over 75 million<!-- DO NOT change this number without a reliable source. As of 2026 INXS have sold over 75 million albums worldwide. See talk page.--> albums worldwide. In 2026, the band was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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 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. 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. The single had its debut TV performance on Simon Townsend's Wonder World. with the album peaking in the Top 30 of the Kent Music Report for Australian albums. In Australia it peaked at No. 5 and remained in the albums charts for 94 weeks. It was also a Top 20 hit in Canada, and peaked at No. 14 in Australia on 23 August 1982. During that time, their co-manager Gary Grant relocated permanently to New York City to ensure a continual presence in the northern hemisphere. The band then travelled to the UK to begin sessions on their fourth album with Nick Launay at the Manor Studios in Oxford. During 1984, the single reached no. 1 in Australia (for two weeks in January), No. 31 in the Netherlands; and No. 58 in the U.S.
During 1984, INXS toured non-stop, performing across Europe, the UK, the US and Australia. By December 1984, The Swing had gone double platinum, making it one of the five biggest domestic albums in the history of Australian music at the time. Two INXS songs, "What You Need" and "Don't Change", were also in the BBC broadcast and are contained on Live Aid's four DVD boxed set released in 2004.
Listen Like Thieves was released in October 1985 reaching No. 3 on the Australian charts and No. 11 on the US charts. With the release of Listen Like Thieves, the band developed a rock sound influenced by Led Zeppelin and XTC while remaining true to the band's original roots in Aussie pubs. It was also the first album to feature songs written by a combination of band members, with Andrew Farris and Hutchence becoming the primary songwriters in the years to follow. an edited version of the concert was played on MTV in the U.S. in 1985 on its Saturday night concert series. INXS toured North America, Europe, and New Zealand from November 1985 to February 1986. Next the band took a two-month break, with Andrew Farriss writing and producing "You're Gonna Get Hurt" for Jenny Morris (who had previously been a backing vocalist with the band), and Hutchence featuring in Richard Lowenstein's second feature film Dogs in Space. Lowenstein had previously made the video clip for "Dancing on the Jetty". While a song from the movie, "Rooms for the Memory", written by Ollie Olsen, with vocals by Hutchence charted, the movie was received well by critics but was not a commercial success. Beginning in May 1986, the band performed 32 European shows (including support for Queen at their Live at Wembley '86 concert on 12 July), 42 U.S. shows, and 12 Australian shows. America's influential Musician magazine called INXS "the best live band in the world." "Good Times" was used as the theme song for the Australian Made series of concerts in the summer of 1986–1987. allowing it to peak at No. 47 in the US on 1 August 1987. It was an upbeat, confident album that yielded four Top 10 US singles: No. 1 single "Need You Tonight", "Devil Inside", "New Sensation", and "Never Tear Us Apart". The band toured heavily behind the album throughout 1987 and 1988. The video for the 1987 INXS track "Mediate" (which played after the video for "Need You Tonight") replicated the format of Bob Dylan's video for "Subterranean Homesick Blues", even in its use of apparently deliberate errors. In September 1988, the band swept the MTV Video Music Awards, with the video for "Need You Tonight/Mediate" winning in five categories.
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, 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). Other singles from X were "Bitter Tears" and "By My Side", which had less chart success.
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, No. 2 in Australia and Switzerland, 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."
Full Moon, Dirty Hearts, produced by Opitz, was released in November 1993 and peaked at No. 3 on the UK charts, No. 9 in Switzerland, It fared respectably in Australia (No. 14), Canada (No. 14), On 6 February 1998, New South Wales State Coroner Derrick Hand presented his report, which ruled that Hutchence's death was a suicide while depressed and under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
1997–2003: Transitional years
alt=|thumb|The members of INXS collaborated with several Australian singers before settling on [[Jon Stevens as a replacement for Hutchence.]]
INXS were fronted by Hutchence for 20 years, and his stage presence had made him the focal point of the band.
The former lead singer of Australian band Noiseworks, Jon Stevens, began singing with INXS on a regular basis. 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.
thumb|left|INXS live in [[Townsville, Australia in 2010]]
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."
The band recorded an album in memory of Michael Hutchence entitled Original Sin. Released in November 2010, the album featured well-known singers from Australia and around the world, including Ben Harper, Patrick Monahan, and Rob Thomas.
In September 2011, INXS announced that J.D. Fortune had again left the band and Northern Irish singer-songwriter Ciaran Gribbin was the band's frontman for their forthcoming tour of Australia, South America, and Europe in November and December 2011.
2011–2012: Final years
thumb|right|[[Ciaran Gribbin performing with the band in July 2012]]
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.
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
Founding members
- Tim Farriss – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Kirk Pengilly – rhythm and lead guitar, saxophones, backing and lead vocals
- Garry Gary Beers – bass, backing vocals
- Andrew Farriss – keyboards, rhythm guitar, harmonica, percussion, backing and lead vocals
- Jon Farriss – drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Michael Hutchence – lead and backing vocals
Other members
- Jon Stevens – lead vocals
- J.D. Fortune – lead vocals
- Ciaran Gribbin – lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitar
Touring members
- Jenny Morris – backing vocals
- Suze DeMarchi – lead vocals
Timeline
Discography
- INXS (1980)
- Underneath the Colours (1981)
- Shabooh Shoobah (1982)
- The Swing (1984)
- Listen Like Thieves (1985)
- Kick (1987)
- X (1990)
- Welcome to Wherever You Are (1992)
- Full Moon, Dirty Hearts (1993)
- Elegantly Wasted (1997)
- Switch (2005)
- Original Sin (2010)
Legacy, recognition, awards, and nominations
INXS have been cited as an influence by several acts, such as 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. INXS have sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2026. and MTV Video Music Awards.
In 2026, the band was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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| 1989
| "Need You Tonight"
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| rowspan=2|1990
| "Devil Inside"
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| "New Sensation"
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| 1991
| "Suicide Blonde"
| rowspan=2|Most Performed Australian Work Overseas
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| 2002
| "Precious Heart" <small>(with Tall Paul)</small>
| Most Performed Dance Work
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| 2026
| INXS
| Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services
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ARIA Awards
INXS have won six Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards. The induction recognised their achievement of a "significant body of recorded work" and that they "had a cultural impact within Australia".|group="nb" ||
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| Best Group ||
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| Single of the Year||
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|rowspan="2"| 1991 ||rowspan="2"|X || Album of the Year ||
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| Best Group ||
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| 1992 ||| Live Baby Live || Best Group ||
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|rowspan="2"| 1993 ||| "Baby Don't Cry", "Heaven Sent", "Taste It" || Engineer of the Year ||
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| Welcome to Wherever You Are || Best Group ||
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|rowspan="3"| 1994 ||| "The Gift" || Best Video ||
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| "The Gift" || Highest Selling Single ||
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| | Full Moon, Dirty Hearts || Best Group ||
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| 2001 || INXS || Hall of Fame ||
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| 2004 || I'm Only Looking || Best Music DVD ||
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ASCAP Pop Music Awards
!
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| 1987
| "What You Need"
| rowspan=6|Most Performed Songs
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| rowspan=4|1989
| "Devil Inside"
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| rowspan=4|
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| "New Sensation"
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| "Never Tear Us Apart"
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| "Need You Tonight"
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| 1991
| "Disappear"
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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. 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. ||
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|rowspan="3" | 1982 ||| Shabooh Shoobah || Best Australian Album ||
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| | "One Thing" || Best Australian Single ||
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| | INXS || Most Popular Group ||
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|rowspan="9" | 1984 ||| "Burn for You" || Best Group Performance in a Video ||
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|"Good Times" (with Jimmy Barnes)|| Best Group Performance in a Video
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| 1989
| Themselves
| Artist of the Year
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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.
(wins only)
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| 1986
| INXS
| Rock Group of the Year
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| 1988
| INXS
| Rock Group of the Year
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MTV Video Music Awards
INXS won five MTV Video Music Awards for their 1988 video "Need You Tonight/Mediate".
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|rowspan="9"| 1988 ||rowspan="8"|"Need You Tonight/Mediate" || Viewer's Choice ||
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| rowspan="2" | 1986
| Themselves
| Next Major Arena Headliner
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| rowspan="2" | Tour
| Small Hall/Club of the Year
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| 1989
| Most Creative Stage Production
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Brit Awards
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| 1989 || INXS || Best International Group||
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|rowspan="2"| 1991 ||| INXS || Best International Group||
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| | Michael Hutchence || Best International Male||
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| 1992 || INXS || Best International Group
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| "Elegantly Wasted"
| Best International Video
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| The Death of Michael Hutchence
| Best International Průser
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