I always thought the events surrounding his death were in October or earlier, but it was November 22 when he was last seen by friends and then discovered dead in his hotel room. I read the news on the Internet back when people’s dependence upon it was still growing. My first reaction was shock followed by sadness because I felt that INXS was bouncing back. The current album Elegantly Wasted had a song featured on the movie Face/Off, the band was making appearances on the all the US late shows and I personally felt it was on par with their good CDs Welcome to Wherever You Are, X and The Swing. But suicide is a frequent event in Pop music so I never gave it anymore thought.
Years later, all the jokes and rumors began to spread over the circumstances. One instance is even made in The Ventures Brothers cartoon. However, I decided to do some deeper research and I found a link to a transcribed coroner’s report. The autopsy concluded his death as an intentional suicide and I would have to agree since he was full of booze, drugs and Prozac. What I didn’t know was his recent treatment for depression and custody battle with Bob Geldof, the ex-husband of his then wife Paula Yates. So there was motivation and probably the exact chemical cocktail to overcome his self-preservation. Never mind what Science found, I’m sure it will be debated forever just as some think the Mafia whacked Elvis or the Kennedys had Marilyn Monroe silenced.
However, I wanted to reflect on my great memories of him because INXS is one of the best five bands to come from Australia and they’re definitely a part of the soundtrack of my life since Houston. They came to attention for Brian and me in 1983 when KLOL played “The One Thing” that Spring followed by “Don’t Change,” a song they frequently used to end their sets with. MTV actually played the videos too but no one thought much about them. INXS was just one of many Down Under acts caught in the trend started by Men at Work. I did have the opportunity to see them later as the opening act for Adam Ant in May 1983. They were loud yet I really liked the other stuff outside the hits, namely “Soul Mistake” and “Old World, New World.” The crowd was rather slow to warm up to them. After their opening song Michael yelled, “What’s the matter? Are you glued to your f*&$ing seats?”
INXS then took a radical departure from Shabooh Shoobah with The Swing which I read was their least favorite record. Too bad, it had Nick Launay as the producer—he’s the go-to guy for a solid percussion-intensive sound and if he can make Silverchair plausible, he’s a miracle worker. Listen Like Thieves followed quickly and most of it was a return to their standard sound, the exception being “What You Need.” By 1986, there was that expectant vibe over how great the next release (Kick) would be just as U2 had with The Joshua Tree or Van Halen’s 1984. Thankfully INXS delivered for it went on to be one of those “all killer, no filler” records with singles being released from it for two years.
Brian had the good fortune to meet the band shortly after Kick hit the shelves. He told me they were playing at Illinois State. He didn’t have any luck getting tickets yet he had an idea where they would be staying (Bloomington-Normal is a small place). The only part of the conservation I recall him telling me about was assuring them that most Americans were nice people despite Reagan being president. They responded with something to the effect of “we kind of knew that.” I used to have serious doubts in my brother’s story becuase I figured he’d have the sense to get his record autographed. Validity aside, it’s an amusing anecdote. I guess he can post a comment clarifying the events.
I managed to score tickets for the big show in the Summer of 1988. By then Kick, namely “Devil Inside” and “New Sensation” had been played to death and they were the forefront of the second Aussie wave. I didn’t really care for the venue though but Milwaukee was terribly trapped in the past musically so I was just thrilled to have a non-Metal, non-Top 40 or non-Dinosaur act appear at the Marcus Amphitheatre. INXS did put on a great show. Sadly, it was the last time I caught them live. I passed on the X tour at the Bradley Center three years later due to financial reasons and they skipped most of the Midwest 0n Welcome to Wherever You Are and Full Moon, Dirty Hearts, the latter being a rather disappointing album.
As the Nineties progressed, I figured INXS was through because Michael Hutchence was appearing solo on numerous soundtracks. Then again, he was only doing covers; his version of Iggy’s “The Passenger” on Batman Forever is pretty cool. Then Elegantly Wasted appeared in the Summer of 1997. INXS had a new label, a new logo yet the same great rockin’ sound. Sure the sold-out stadiums and airplay of a decade ago wouldn’t be there yet I figured they had discovered a second wind to keep a respectable presence as Duran Duran had been doing.
While I was thinking about this story, I remembered I had a copy of his posthumous solo record (came out in 1999) and the side band he had called Max-Q in the late Eighties. These aren’t bad. Definitely different from his INXS work so I think I’ll be listening to them at greater length in the future. As for the “new” INXS with replacement singer JD Fortune. Time will tell. I would’ve preferred Terence Trent D’Arby or an Aussie Michael really respected. Fortune is decent and Switch was a solid comeback (listen to “Afterglow,”) but I feel the remaining five members should’ve taken a chance on someone whose voice is radically different, not imitative. Michael Hutchence’s voice was distinctive and his charisma was an added benefit, just as it was in Houston 25 years ago.
If you get the chance, revisit some of the lesser known tracks of INXS to “hear” my point. Another good place to check is the Essentials series on the iTunes Store.