03-05-2025
Never-before-heard Michael Hutchence demos set to be released for anniversary of iconic INXS album: 'I did get emotional'
Never-before-heard INXS demos, featuring vocals from late frontman Michael Hutchence, are set to be released set to mark a milestone anniversary.
The tracks will be released on May 9 as part of a 40th anniversary reissue of the iconic band's 1985 album Listen Like Thieves, which reached number one in Australia.
Among the unreleased songs is a candid studio moment where Hutchence's charismatic voice echoes through early takes of their '80s hit track This Time.
The anniversary edition looks to reignite nostalgia and appreciation for INXS' enduring legacy, under the guidance of executive music producer Giles Martin.
INXS saxophonist Kirk Pengilly said compiling the tracklist was a moving experience.
'I did get emotional with this, because there were some out-takes of the banter between us all,' he told The Daily Telegraph.
Never-before-heard INXS demos featuring vocals from late frontman Michael Hutchence are set to be released set to mark a milestone anniversary
'But we didn't keep a lot of that stuff, so I was really surprised when the tapes turned up. So this is pretty special, a real time capsule.'
The band conquered the world with their 1985 album, which reached number 11 on the US Billboard chart and went double platinum there.
It also charted in New Zealand, the UK and Canada.
It featured their first US top five single, What You Need, as well as the hit songs Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain) and the title track.
The rockers continued to perform with singer Michael Hutchence until his tragic death in Sydney in 1997, where he committed suicide in a hotel room.
Hutchence died at Sydney's Ritz Carlton, now known as the Intercontinental Hotel Double Bay, while depressed and under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
His partner, Paula Yates, claimed a year before her own death that Michael likely died accidentally while choking himself for sexual pleasure, as the pair had engaged in similar sex games.
A post-mortem examination found alcohol, cocaine, codeine, Prozac, Valium and other prescribed benzodiazepines - or 'benzos' - in Hutchence's urine and blood.
The tracks will be released on May 9 as part of a 40th anniversary reissue of their 1985 album Listen Like Thieves, which reached number one in Australia
Among the unreleased songs, is a candid studio moment where Hutchence's charismatic voice echoes through early takes of their '80s hit track This Time
In late 1995 Hutchence told British music magazine Vox: 'I don't wanna be a f***ing cliche. I don't need to be dropping off in a hotel bath.
'I've come close, though. I'm surprised I've survived and so are a lot of my friends.'
The Australian group were one of the world's most successful rock bands in the late '80s.
Following their formation in 1977, they stormed the charts with songs including Need You Tonight, Good Times, New Sensation and Kick.
They are one of Australia's highest-selling bands of all time, with over 50 million albums sold worldwide.
Their 2011 greatest hits album has spent a record 623 weeks on the ARIA top 100 albums chart.
Its success followed the release of the 2014 Channel Seven mini-series about the band called Never Tear Us Apart.
The band split after 35 years together in 2012, although its surviving members continue to reunite for special events.
