We'll see how this goes, but the plan is to dive headlong into the 80's catalog of INXS, and go straight through all six of them back to back. Hopefully the band delivers big, and that plan goes off without a hitch.
INXS was on my radar in the 80's, specifically with how much MTV VG's were forced to push them, a story unto itself, and one we may get into more in depth as this series of posts progresses. However, I wasn't as into them as the television expected me to be. Instead, I started to take notice around 2022 / 2023, when I was perusing my usual haunts of forgotten 80's, or my playlist videos and PDF's, actively hunting for "new" music. From there, I amassed their entire 80's discography, and it's relatively just sat there since.
The origins of INXS begin when Andrew Farriss asked his school friend, Michael Hutchence to join his band Doctor Dolphine. The group consisted of additional classmates, Garry Beers, Kent Kerny, and Neil Sanders.
In 1977, Andrew's older brother, Tim, asked his brother, Michael, and Garry to join his band, which was rounded out by additional brother Jon, and Kirk Pengilly. The group called themselves, The Ferris Brothers, and debuted on my birthday (!) August 16, 1977 at Whale Beach.
The band would briefly relocated to Western Australia in 1978, where they continued as The Vegetables. However, after ten months, they returned to Sydney, where a chance meeting with Midnight Oil manager, Gary Morris granted them the opportunity regularly support the band as an opening act. It would be a member of Midnight Oil's crew who would pitch the name INXS to the band, which they would adopt. Initially, Morris wanted to craft INXS into a Christian band, which the members briefly considered before ultimately rejecting the idea.
They would make their first appearance as INXS on September 1, 1979, and by the end of the year, after deciding against the Christian concept, hired manager, Chris "CM" Murphy. As an adept business manager and negotiator, Murphy was able to land the band a five album recording deal with Deluxe Records, run by former AC/DC manager, Michael Browning.
Hindered by a limited budget of $10,000.00, the band was relegated to the midnight to dawn studio schedule as a cost savings measure. This meant that they would typically go from playing a show straight to the studio, spending long hours working. Their efforts would pay off, as their 1980 self titled debut would ultimately reach the Australian top 40. It would also eventually receive gold status in sales, though this would take a couple years to achieve.
INXS would follow up its release by rigorously touring, performing three hundred show between its release and 1981. This time on the road helped to establish the group's live act, while also demonstrating their new wave, ska, and pop style to a broad spectrum of fans.
The single, The Loved Ones, a cover of the 1966 song by the group of the same name, would be recorded and released in May 1981, becoming a top 20 hit. This would invigorate the band, and lead to them returning to the studio to begin work on their second album.
However, we pause here to first jump into their debut.
It was a pleasant surprise to play through INXS (1980). I didn't know what to expect, having only heard Just Keep Walking, which subsequently was the song I purchased the album for. I definitely hear the ska elements, though it's not as "big band" as your typical record in that genre. I also get a solid, and straight forward rock sound from it.
I really dug it, and found some additional tracks to add to my shuffle. These included, Jumping, and Wishy Washy. With that said, there were others that intrigued, such as Newsreel Babies, and On A Bus. However, since I was hyper focused on typing all of the above while listening to it, these two tracks were really only memorable in name to me at this point.
My favorite aspect from hearing the record was that it left me wanting more. That's always been one of my biggest goals in doing these Retro Spins. I don't want to just hear the album at hand. I want to be psyched up enough to say, "What else has this band done." I suppose in the case of INXS, this is a good thing, because as I said, I already own their entire 1980's catalog. Boy, wouldn't that be awful to buy an entire stack of CD's just to find out the juice wasn't worth the squeeze (looking at you Laura Branigan).
Ironically, it was Michael Hutchence himself who wasn't particularly thrilled with the band's debut, saying "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 because 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."
Well, Mr. Hutchence, we're going to have to agree to disagree. As for me, I'm diving headlong into their next album, Underneath The Colours, so we'll see if things get better, worse, indifferent, or make me a super fan. But, that's a post for tomorrow.
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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
June 16, 1984 |
