Michael Hutchence: INXS, Kick and Never Tear Us Apart | Ultimate Aussie Pub Rock Reunion

Why fans still care

In July 2025 Never Tear Us Apart topped triple j’s Hottest 100 of Australian Songs, from 2.65 million votes. Need You Tonight made the same list at number 59, and it’s still the band’s only US number 1. Kick reached number 3 in the US and number 2 in Australia, and ABC says INXS have passed 4 billion streams.

Early life

He was born in Sydney in 1960. His father’s work took the family to Hong Kong, where he went to Beacon Hill School and, as a boy, sang on a recording for a local toy company. The family came back to Sydney in 1972. At Davidson High School he became friends with Andrew Farriss, and he went on to sing in Andrew’s band, Doctor Dolphin.

Career chapters

1. 1977the Farriss Brothers form on Sydney’s Northern Beaches
2. 1982Shabooh Shoobah, produced by Mark Opitz
3. 1983Original Sin, with Nile Rodgers producing
4. 1985Listen Like Thieves and their first US Top 5 single, What You Need
5. 1986Good Times with Jimmy Barnes; lead role in Dogs in Space
6. 1987ARIA Best Group; Kick released on 19 October
7. 1991BRIT Awards; Wembley Stadium on 13 July
8. 1992Welcome to Wherever You Are goes to number 1 in the UK
9. 2001ARIA Hall of Fame
10. 2025Never Tear Us Apart tops the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs
11. 2026APRA Ted Albert Award

The Farriss Brothers 1977 to 1982

The band started in 1977 as the Farriss Brothers: Hutchence, Kirk Pengilly, Garry Gary Beers and the three Farriss brothers, Jon, Tim and Andrew. As INXS they made Shabooh Shoobah in 1982 with producer Mark Opitz.

Breaking out 1983 to 1986

Nile Rodgers produced Original Sin in 1983. The Swing followed with Nick Launay, then Listen Like Thieves in 1985 with Chris Thomas. That album reached number 11 in the US, and What You Need gave them their first US Top 5. Late in 1986 came Good Times with Jimmy Barnes, recorded for the Australian Made tour. The same year he played Sam, his only lead film role, in Richard Lowenstein’s Dogs in Space.

Kick and the big stages 1987 to 1992

Kick came out on 19 October 1987 and gave them four US Top 10 singles, including Need You Tonight, New Sensation, Devil Inside and Never Tear Us Apart. In Australia it went seven times Platinum (ARIA); in the US it went six times Platinum (RIAA). X followed in 1990, and in 1991 he won the BRIT for Best International Male while INXS took Best International Group. On 13 July 1991 they played Wembley Stadium to a sellout 73,791, filmed by David Mallet as Live Baby Live. Welcome to Wherever You Are went to number 1 in the UK in 1992.

Craft, sound and style

Words and music

Andrew Farriss was the main music writer and Hutchence wrote the words. At the 2026 APRA Awards Farriss said the pair wrote over 300 songs together. He told ABC in 2025 that Hutchence “had the ability to say a lot in a very short space of time”.

Need You Tonight

Farriss sketched the groove on a Roland 707 and a Fostex 8-track while waiting for a cab to the airport. The two worked it up over a fortnight in Hong Kong. Engineer David Nicholas told Mix that Hutchence usually needed only a couple of takes on the vocal.

Influences

Mix lists Joe Jackson, The Clash and Talking Heads early on, then Nile Rodgers and Chic.

Working with others

Good Times, his duet with Jimmy Barnes, is on The Lost Boys soundtrack. He also worked on screen with director Richard Lowenstein, on Dogs in Space and the Australian Made concert film.

Stories people still tell

1. Never Tear Us Apart.

   As ABC tells it, Hutchence laughed when he first heard Andrew Farriss’s demo, then went away and wrote the lyrics and the melody. Chris Thomas pushed for the strings.

2. Wembley.

   The 13 July 1991 show was a sellout: 73,791 people, according to uDiscover Music.

Legacy

INXS joined the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2026 the band were first-time nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and received APRA’s Ted Albert Award. Michael Hutchence died in 1997. In July 2025 ABC reported that The Very Best had held a spot in the Top 20 of ARIA’s Australian albums chart for 12 years.