Biography of INXS

After several years as a moderately successful dance-oriented new wave band, INXS began to accentuate the underlying dance and funk elements of their music, as well as vocalist Michael Hutchence's Jaggeresque sexuality. With the strong, funky single "The Original Sin," 1984's The Swing was the first album that featured their change in direction; for the first time, INXS had a hit outside of their native Australia. 1985's Listen like Thieves was even more successful, both commercially and artistically; its title track was a hit on the charts and on MTV, but it was "What You Need" and its stylish, funky rock & roll that gave them their first Top Ten hit outside of Australia. But that was nothing compared to the worldwide success of 1987's Kick, which sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone. From the slow, simmering sexuality of "Need You Tonight" to the lovely ballad "Never Tear Us Apart," the album had no less than four huge hit singles.Although its 1990 follow-up, X, sold well, the record was a carbon copy of Kick, signalling the beginning of INXS' commercial decline. The band released their most consistent and musically adventurous album, Welcome to Wherever You Are, in 1992 but it had almost no impact on the chart; 1993's Full Moon, Dirty Hearts was even more disappointing, falling off the charts only a few weeks after its release. After taking several years off, the group returned in the spring of 1997 with Elegantly Wasted, their first album for Mercury Records. Elegantly Wasted was greeted with mixed reviews, yet the album performed well initially on the radio. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine