INXS

From Toasted Rav

Early years

The origins of the band began with Andrew Farriss convincing his fellow Davidson High School, New South Wales classmate, Michael Hutchence to join his band, Doctor Doctor.[13] The band contained two other classmates, Kent Kerny and Neil Sanders and a bass player, Garry Beers from a nearby high school, Forest Hill High School.[13] In 1977 Tim Farriss Andrew's older brother invited Andrew, Hutchence and Beers to join him and his schoolmate Kirk Pengilly. Andrew and Pengilly had been playing together since 1971 as either an acoustic duo or as a four-piece band called Guiness[13] (named after their bass player's dog[14]) Together with younger brother Jon Farriss they formed the Farriss Brothers consisting of 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.[1][3][15][16] The band made their debut on 16 August 1977 at Whale Beach,[17] 40 km (25 mi) north of Sydney. Andrew Farriss remembers:

   I thought the show went really well, but I think my dad summed it up the next day: 'Great show, but everyone was asleep when we left.' I think everyone might have been stoned.
   —Andrew Farriss[17]

The parents of the Farriss boys relocated to Perth in 1978 taking Jon to continue his schooling and, as soon as Hutchence and Andrew finsihed school, the rest of the band followed.[2][17] They briefly performed as The Vegetables, singing "We Are the Vegetables", before returning to Sydney ten months later,[17] where they recorded a set of demos.[13] At a chance meeting in the car park of the Narabeen Antler, a pub in North Narrabeen Tim was approached by Gary Morris, the manager of Midnight Oil.[13]

   I remember him coming up to me and saying 'Who are you working for mate?' and I kind of went, 'Oh, we have this band and we're called The Farriss Brothers'. He offered to give us some work supporting Midnight Oil on the spot.
   —Tim Farriss[13]

The band began to regularly support Midnight Oil and other local bands. Morris advised that a member of the Oils crew had come up with a new name and suggested they change it to INXS.[13] The name INXS was inspired by English band XTC and Australian jam makers IXL.[2][17] Pengilly explained that Morris had some other ideas:

   Gary [Morris] was a great marketing man, and I think he also had this idea of us being 'inaccessible'. He said we could be on stage in a cage of lights. It was a mystery thing [...] He told us that unless we wanted to change our ways and become the world's biggest Christian band, he could no longer manage us [...] He wanted us to write songs about Christ and to promote a drug-and-alcohol-free and no-sex-before-marriage, proper Christian lifestyle. He was very convincing and for a moment I think we might have done it. Then he got on to strange terrain.
   —Kirk Pengilly[17]

   We thought that would be a bit much - but it was a good name
   —Tim Farriss[13]

The band's first performance as INXS was on 1 September 1979 at the Oceanview Hotel in Toukley, New South Wales[18] and by the end of 1979 they hired Chris Murphy as their manager and continued on the pub circuit without the Christian band image.[2][17][19] Murphy was an adept business manager and negotiator, by early 1980 the band signed a five-album record deal with Sydney independent label, Deluxe Records, run by Michael Browning, a former manager of AC/DC.[1][2][13]

1980s

From "Simple Simon" to Shabooh Shoobah

INXS released their first single, "Simple Simon"/"We Are the Vegetables", in Australia and France in May 1980.[1][20] The single had its debut TV performance on Simon Townsend's Wonder World.[17] Their self-titled debut album, INXS, was recorded at Trafalgar Studios, it was co-produced by the band and Duncan McGuire (ex-Ayers Rock), with all songs attributed to the entire band.[13] The album was released in October 1980, it featured "Just Keep Walking" which was their first Australian Top 40 single,[1][4] with the album peaking in the Top 30 of the Kent Music Report for Australian albums.[1][3][4] The album eventually went gold (selling over 35,000 units) but it took a number of years to do so.[13] These early records demonstrated their New Wave/ska/pop style, and were followed by near constant touring with almost 300 shows during 1981 as the band developed their status as a live act.[1][2]

   I'm not a great fan of the first album. It's naïve and kinda cute, almost. It's these young guys struggling for a sound. All I can hear is what was going to happen later and it's probably an interesting album becuase of that. "Just Keep Walking" was the first time we thought we'd written a song. And that became an anthem around town. It's funny, I remember kids in pubs saying it and hearing it on the radio the first time. We'd never heard that before.
   —Michael Hutchence[13]

In 1981 they signed Gary Grant as their tour manager, who then became co-manager a year later.[13] Between touring commitments, the band released their third single in May 1981, "The Loved One", which was a cover of a 1960s song by Australian group The Loved Ones. The song was recorded at Studios 301 in Sydney,[13] produced by Richard Clapton,[3] and peaked in the Top 20.[1][4][20] The success of the single led to Clapton and the band returning to the studio between July and August 1981 to create an album. In October 1981, their second album Underneath the Colours was released and became a hit in Australia peaking at #15.[4][21]

   Most of the songs on Underneath the Colours were written in a relatively short space of time. Most bands shudder at the prospect of having 20 years to write their first album and four days to write their second. For us, though, it was good. It left less room for us to go off on all sorts of tangents.
   —Michael Hutchence[13]

Soon after recording sessions had finished band members started work on outside projects. Beers, Jon and Andrew Farriss played on Clapton's solo album, The Great Escape. Hutchence recorded "Speed Kills", written by Don Walker of Cold Chisel for the soundtrack of the film Freedom directed by Scott Hicks. It was his first solo single and was released by WEA Records in early 1982.[13] In January, INXS toured New Zealand as support act for Cold Chisel. Band manager, Murphy, became convinced their future no longer lay with Deluxe Records, who had been unable to attract international interest, and decided to record a new song, "The One Thing" at their own expense, with Mark Opitz at Paradise Studios.[13] Murphy approached WEA Records Australia with copies of the song, leading to INXS signing a recording deal in July 1982 with WEA for releases in Australia, South East Asia, Japan and New Zealand, Atco Records (a subsidiary of Atlantic Records) for North America and Polygram for Europe and the UK.[1][2][3][13]

   INXS got signed not because some A&R guy thought we'd sell a lot of records, but because we sold out so many venues.
   —Tim Farriss[13]

Prior to recording their third album Pengilly, Hutchence and Andrew Farriss visited the UK and USA, with a view to selecting a suitable producer, only to find that no-one they wanted was available and that most people advised them that Opitiz's work on their single was as good as they could wish for.[13] In mid-1982 they commenced recording at Rhinoceros Studios, with Opitz.[3]

   Mark was the first producer that was able to capture some glimmer of what the band felt it was like live. Prior to us, Mark had done bands like AC/DC, Cold Chisel, The Angels. Big guitar sounds, mighty drum beats.
   —Tim Farriss[13]

In October 1982 Shabooh Shoobah was released internationally on Atlantic/Atco Records, peaking at #52 on the US Billboard 200 and #46 on the Hot Pop Albums chart.[7][12] In Australia it peaked at #5 and remained in the albums charts for 94 weeks.[4] The single "The One Thing" brought them their first Top 30 hit in United States peaking at #30 on 28 May 1983[22], it was a Top 20 hit in Canada,[6] and peaked at #14 in Australia on 23 August 1982.[4] INXS undertook their first US performance in San Diego in March, 1983, to a crowd of 24 patrons.[13] Their first tour was as support for Adam and the Ants, then support for The Kinks,[1] followed by The Go-Gos.[13] INXS played alongside many of their contemporaries on New Wave Day in May 1983 at the US Festival in Silicon Valley, California.[23] It was during this time that Grant, their co-manager, relocated permanently to New York to ensure a continual presence in the northern hemisphere.[13] The band remained on the road in the US for most of the year, including support for Men at Work and by mid-1983 were headlining venues such as The Ritz in New York.[13]

From "Original Sin" to Listen Like Thieves

Following a performance in Toronto the band was approached by producer Nile Rodgers and by September 1983 recorded "Original Sin", originally titled "Brand New Day", at New York's Power Station Studios.

   We were fresh off the road. So we had the basic song completed and we'd been playing it live in the set. He was talking to us through the headphones, kind of saying things that were meant to encourage us, and we figured he was just getting levels and stuff on the whole band playing together, but after we'd run it down a couple of times he said 'OK, come in and have a listen'. We went in and the control room was sort of full of people dancing. Apart from adding background vocals and the sax solo, we were finished. We didn't even know he was recording.
   —Andrew Farriss[13]

Three tracks from Shabooh Shoobah were featured in the soundtrack for the 1984 film Reckless.[24] The band then travelled to the UK to begin sessions on their fourth album with Nick Launay at the Manor Studios in Oxford.

   Nick was always going to be the main production force behind The Swing. We had a really genuine interest in the stuff that he had done and we knew he was the right guy for us at the time. It was funny, actually, becuase we arrived at the Manor, which is up in Oxford, and we basically walked in and said, 'Nick, we've recorded one song for the album'. And he was like, 'Oh yeah, where did you do that?' And we said, 'New York.' "Who'd you do it with?' 'Nile Rodgers.' And his face just went white because he was a major Nile Rodgers fan himself. So he said ' Well, 'suppose we'd better listen to it', and we put it on and he was just blown away. I think that started poor old Nick off on a bit of a -- he wasn't as secure and confident as he probably would have been.
   —Andrew Farriss[13]

The album, The Swing released in April 1984,[3] received more significant attention from around the world, as "Original Sin" became their first #1 single and was a highly popular song worldwide with fans and reviewers.[25] During 1984 it was #1 in Australia (for two weeks in January)[4] as well as in Argentina and France, #11 in Canada, #23 in Switzerland,[26] #31 in the Netherlands and #58 in the U.S.[6] Yet "Original Sin" was largely ignored in the UK, where INXS was described in New Musical Express as a "depressingly definitive example of excruciating, boring, incredibly unimaginative MTV rock",[1][27][28] and INXS didn't have any Top 50 chart success until 1986 album Listen Like Thieves.[29]

During 1984 INXS toured non-stop performing across Europe, the UK, the United States and Australia and by December 1984, The Swing, was double platinum, making it, at the time, one of the five biggest domestic albums in the hitory of Australian music.[13] In March 1985 the band re-entered Sydney's Rhinoceros Studios to record their next album, together with producer Chris Thomas (Sex Pistols, Pink Floyd, The Pretenders, Elton John).

   Chris was one of the most talented, most eccentric and demanding people you'd ever want to meet. ...from the moment you walked into the control room, there was no doubt you were in the presence of greatness. INXS met their match with Chris Thomas. He was the only producer they've ever had who told them what they needed to hear.
   —Richard Clapton[13]

   This is what we've been trying to do one way or another for a few years now, that is to make an album that is purely just form and function of the songs. It has no artistic pretentions.
   —Michael Hutchence[13]

As the band were finishing the recording sessions Thomas told the band that the album wasn't good enough and it still didn't have a killer track.

   We'd already finished the Listen Like Thieves album but Chris Thomas told us there was still no 'hit'. We left the studio that night knowing we had one day left and we had to deliver "a hit". Talk about pressure.
   —Andrew Farriss

Andrew produced a demo tape of a funk song he had been working on "Funk Song No. 13" and evolved it into "What You Need".

   Then Andrew brought in three demos – two songs that had been completed and he played me a thing that was just this riff – dink, dink, dink-a-dink-and it was great. I thought, 'I could listen to that groove for ten minutes!' I said, 'Let's work with that groove.' So we went with that and in just two days it turned into the song that eventually broke them, "What You Need".
   —Chris Thomas

   We wrote it on Saturday, rehearsed it on Sunday and recorded it on Monday.

Whilst the band was recording, WEA released Dekadance, a limited edition cassette only EP of INXS remixes from their album The Swing.

On 19 May 1985, INXS won seven awards at the 1984 Countdown Music and Video Awards ceremony.[1] They performed "Burn for You", dressed in Akubras (hats) and Drizabones (outdoor coats/oilskin jackets). They performed five songs for the July 1985 Oz for Africa concert, in conjunction with the Live Aid benefit.[30] 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.[31]

INXS had started out as a New Wave act, gradually moved in a more straight-ahead rock-oriented direction through the first half of the 1980s.[32] By 1985's breakthrough album Listen Like Thieves, the band had developed a rock sound influenced by Led Zeppelin and XTC, but true to the band's original roots in Aussie pubs. Listen Like Thieves was released in October,[3] was approved of by critics[33], reaching #3 on the Australian charts and #11 on the US charts. The first US single from the album, "This Time", stalled at #81 in late 1985, but the next, "What You Need", released there in early 1986, became a top five Billboard hit,[6] bringing INXS their first breakout U.S. success. The single was also a top 20 hit in Canada, reached #2 in Australia (September 1985)[4] but only #51 on the UK charts.[29]

The British press dismissed the album, with New Musical Express calling the band 'INX-cusable' and a reviewer declaring Listen Like Thieves to be a 'complete and utter turkey'.[13] In the United States however Rolling Stone Magazine wrote "INXS rocks with passion and seals the dela with a backbeat that'll blackmail your feet."[33]

In August 1986, they toured ahead of the album's release, before touring South America before returning to Melbourne to played for Prince Charles and Princess Diana of Wales at a concert in Australia, it was filmed and later released on home video entitled Living INXS, an edited version of the concert was played on MTV in the US in 1986 on their Saturday night concert series. In November, December, January and February INXS toured North America, Europe and New Zealand. The band then 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 having previously made the video clip for "Dancing on the Jetty". Whilst a song from the movie, "Rooms for the Memory" written by Ollie Olsen, with vocals by Hutchence charted, the movie was recieved well by critics but was not a commercial success.

In May 1986 the band returned to the United States and over the next six months performed 32 European shows, 42 US shows and 12 Australian shows. America's influential Musician magazine calling them "the best live band in the world."

From "Good Times" to Kick

Whilst supposedly taking an eight month break before commencing work on a new album, their manager Murphy decided to stage a series of major outdoor concerts across Australia, featuring INXS, Jimmy Barnes, Models, The Divinyls, Mental as Anything, The Triffids and I'm Talking.[17] To promote the tour INXS recorded two songs with Jimmy Barnes of Cold Chisel: The Easybeats cover "Good Times" and "Laying Down the Law" which Barnes co-wrote with Beers, Andrew Farriss, Jon Farriss, Hutchence and Pengilly.[34] "Good Times" was used as the theme song for the Australia Made series of concerts in the summer of 1986–1987.[17] It peaked at #2 on the Australian charts,[4] and months later was featured in the Joel Schumacher film The Lost Boys and its soundtrack,[35] allowing it to peak at #47 in the US on 1 August 1987.[6][22]

After the success of "What You Need" and Listen Like Thieves, the band knew their new material would have to be even better, according to Pengilly,

   We wanted an album where all the songs were possible singles.
   —Kirk Pengilly[17]

They recorded Kick in Sydney and Paris, it was produced by Thomas again,[3] but Atlantic Records were not happy with the result, as manager Chris Murphy remembers:

   They hated it, absolutely hated it. They said there was no way they could get this music on rock radio. They said it was suited for black radio, but they didn't want to promote it that way. The president of the label told me that he'd give us $1 million to go back to Australia and make another album.
   —Chris Murphy[17]

Despite Atlantic's protests Kick was released in October 1987 and provided the band with worldwide popularity, it peaked at #1 in Australia,[4] #3 on the US Billboard 200,[12] #9 in UK,[29] and #15 in Austria.[36] It was an upbeat, confident album that yielded four Top 10 US singles, "New Sensation", "Never Tear Us Apart", "Devil Inside" and #1 "Need You Tonight".[6] "Need You Tonight" peaked #2 on the UK charts,[29] #3 in Australia,[4] and #10 in France.[37] They 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 5 categories.[38]

During 1989, Hutchence collaborated with Ian 'Ollie' Olsen on a side project, Max Q,[1] the two had previously worked together on Richard Lowenstein's 1987 film Dogs in Space.[1] The rest of the band also took a break to work on side projects, but soon returned to the studio to record their follow-up album to Kick.

1990–1997: From X to Elegantly Wasted

In October 1990, INXS released X which was produced by Thomas again and it peaked at #3 in Australia,[5] #5 in the US,[12] #2 in the UK,[29] #5 in Switzerland and #10 in Sweden.[7][39] 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),[6] "Suicide Blonde" peaked at #2 in Australia, #11 in the UK[29] and in Switzerland.[40] Other singles from X were "Bitter Tears" and "By My Side" but they had less chart success.[1]

Hutchence's romance with Australian pop singer, Kylie Minogue brought the group a new audience of fans.[1][41] INXS performed at Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1991, during their "Summer XS" tour stop in London to a sold out audience of 74,000 fans.[1] This performance was recorded and filmed to become the their live album Live Baby Live (a video version was also released under the same title), which was released in November 1991 and peaked in the Top 30 in both Australia and UK album charts,[5][29] but had less success on The Billboard 200.[12]

Welcome to Wherever You Are, produced by Mark Opitz and released in August 1992,[3] was an experimental album using sitars and a 60-piece orchestra while adding a much more "raw" sound to their music. It received good critical reviews and went #1 in the UK[29] and in Sweden;[42] #2 in Australia and Switzerland,[42] and #3 in Norway,[42] but had less chart success in the US peaking at #16.[12] Singles from the album included, "Taste It" and "Baby Don't Cry" which were Top 20 successes in UK but had less success in US or Australian markets.[6][5][29]

Full Moon, Dirty Hearts', produced by Opitz again, was released in November 1993 and peaked at #3 on the UK charts,[29] #4 in Australia,[5] #8 in Sweden,[43] #9 in Switzerland,[43] #14 in Norway,[43] but did not reach the Top 50 in the US.[12] The title track featured The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde and another track, "Please (You Got That)", featured Ray Charles. The band made a full video album for the record using unknown Australian students to direct with help by Richard Lowenstein. Full Moon, Dirty Hearts received mixed reviews and was the last record under INXS' contract with Atlantic. The band took time off to rest and be with their families, while Hutchence remained in the public eye through modelling and film acting.[1]

In 1997, the group released a comeback album titled Elegantly Wasted, which garnered mixed reviews. It fared respectably in Australia (#14),[5][44] Canada (#14),[12] France (#30),[44] UK (#16)[29] (where INXS had more success in the 1990s than in the 1980s), Belgium (#7),[44] Switzerland (#13),[44] but only #41 in US.[12]

On 22 November 1997, Hutchence was found dead in his Sydney Ritz-Carlton hotel room.[45] On 6 February 1998, after an autopsy and coronial inquest, 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.[45][46][47] Despite the official coroner's report, fans and relatives considered his death accidental.[48][49][50]

1997–2003: Transitional years

After Hutchence's death, INXS did not perform publicly for almost a year and then only made a few one-off performances with different guest singers until 2000.[2] On 28 November 1998, they played at the Mushroom 25 Concert with Jimmy Barnes fronting for two songs: "The Loved One" and "Good Times".[2][18] On 12 June 1999, they headlined the opening of Stadium Australia in Sydney, with US singer-songwriter Terence Trent D'Arby as guest vocalist, they performed "New Sensation", "Kick", "Never Tear Us Apart" and "What You Need".[2][18]

Former lead singer of Australian band Noiseworks, Jon Stevens began singing with INXS in May 2000.[2] They played as one of the headline acts at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and then toured through South America and Europe.[18] Stevens was officially named a member of INXS in 2002 and they started recording new material in November.[2] Stevens left in October 2003 to pursue a solo career,[2] only recording a contractual obligation song called "I Get Up", it was released as a single but did not peak in the ARIA Top 50 singles charts.[5] The song was used in the Rugby Union World Cup 2003 and the EA Sports Rugby 2004 video game.

2004–2005: Rock Star: INXS

INXS returned to the news in 2004 when it was announced that a new reality television program titled Rock Star: INXS would feature a contest to find a new lead vocalist for the band. The show, which had its debut on the CBS network 11 July 2005, (on Global in Canada, VH1 in the UK and FOX8 in Australia), featured 15 contestants vying for the position of lead singer. The show was executive produced by Survivor's Mark Burnett and hosted by Brooke Burke and former Jane's Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro.

On 20 September 2005, J. D. Fortune (born Jason Dean Bennison, but uses his mother's maiden name) of Salt Springs, Nova Scotia, Canada won the eleven-week competition, which culminated in his singing the Rolling Stones's "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and INXS' "What You Need" in the finale of the show to become the new lead singer of INXS. With Fortune they recorded their 2005 album, Switch produced by Guy Chambers and went on a world tour in 2006. Runner-up Marty Casey was the opening act during the first leg one of the tour, along with his band, The Lovehammers.[51]

During the Rock Star: INXS competition, the contestants were challenged to write the lyrics and melody to music written by Andrew Farriss. Originally this challenge was divided up into two teams. When Fortune did not see eye-to-eye with his team (that included Casey), he decided to venture out on his own and write his own lyrics. At first Fortune's move seemed to have doomed his chances to win the competition (because it was perceived he couldn't work in a team), but it was this move that resulted in his creation of the lyrics to "Pretty Vegas". This song became a favourite of both fans and INXS and played a major role in Fortune being able to win the competition[citation needed]. "Pretty Vegas" was released 4 October 2005 and reached #5 on the iTunes Store ranking of top downloaded songs on its first day, it peaked at #9 in Australia,[5] #37 on the Billboard Hot 100,[6] and became a huge radio airplay hit in Fortune's native Canada.

2005–current: Reworked lineup

On 29 November 2005, the band's first album with Fortune as lead singer, entitled Switch, was released in the United States via Epic Records. In September 2006, the band and Epic parted ways.[52] The new lineup toured in support of Switch and in 2006 was reported to be working on material for another album,[53] as of November 2008 it is unreleased.

INXS toured Australia and New Zealand in March 2007, with Simple Minds and support band Arrested Development.[54] After the cancellation of a 31 August 2007 show in Cleveland, Ohio, INXS placed a statement on their website stating "Due to ongoing medical issues with Garry Beers' hand, the band's doctor has urged the band to not play more than three shows in a row or risk permanent damage to Garry's hand."[55]

Influence and recognition

Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, INXS was a major force in Australian popular music, leading the way into worldwide popularity for several Australian bands. The band worked closely with several other Australian artists, such as Models and ex-patriate New Zealander Jenny Morris, helping to establish their careers. By the mid-nineties, however, their popularity had waned, especially in the US, where their Greatest Hits compilation failed to reach the Top 100. At the 1996 BRIT Awards, Michael Hutchence presented Oasis with an award, after which their lead singer Liam Gallagher remarked "Has-beens shouldn't be presenting awards to gonna-bes".[56]

INXS was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame on 30 October 2001.[8][9][10] INXS has won six other ARIA Awards including three for 'Best Group' in 1987, 1989 and 1992.[11] The band has also received three Grammy nominations over their 30-year career. In 2007, The Farriss Brothers were inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Awards Hall of Fame. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), INXS have sold 15 million units in the United States alone, becoming the 3rd highest selling Australian Music Act in the United States, behind AC/DC and The Bee Gees.[57]

Commercials

In America, 2002, McDonald's and Mazda used "New Sensation" for a promo campaign, and in 2008 Toyota used "What You Need" in their ad campaign.

Whilst in Australia "By My Side" has been used by NRMA Insurance on and off for 8 years.

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)

Members

Listed chronologically:

   * Garry Gary Beers — bass guitar, double bass (1977–present)
   * Andrew Farriss — keyboards, guitar (1977–present)
   * Jon Farriss — drums, keyboards (1977–present)
   * Tim Farriss — lead guitar (1977–present)
   * Michael Hutchence — lead vocals (1977–1997 d.)
   * Kirk Pengilly — guitar, saxophone, backing vocals (1977–present)
   * Jon Stevens — lead vocals (2002–2003, guest vocals 2000–2002)
   * J.D. Fortune — lead vocals (2005–current)

On tour/special performances:

   * Jimmy Barnes — guest vocals (1998)
   * Terence Trent D'Arby — guest vocals (1999)