 The coolest sensation to come from an Australian pub since Foster's Lager, the guitar-driven popsters in INXS flexed their Dundee power in 1987 with Kick, the multi-million selling album that put the band on par with such giants as U2 and R.E.M. Lead singer and strutter extraordinaire Michael Hutchence was dubbed the Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison of the late '80s when his pout and growl brought the band's sleek, stylish, danceable rock to the fore with songs like "New Sensation" and "Need You Tonight." INXS achieved overwhelming success with Kick. In 1979 the newly named INXS left Perth for Sydney and began dodging beer bottles in the capital's pubs. The reward for appeasing drunk Australians came in the form of a record contract and a self-titled album in 1980. By 1985 INXS had found its niche with crisp, lively guitar work, funky saxophone accompaniment, lush rhythms and seductive vocals. Listen Like Thieves was the album to prove the band's growth and promise. The single "What You Need," with its catchy chorus and hard-edged guitar posturing, brought MTV viewers to their knees and paved the way for the band's biggest triumph yet. Kick was, by all standards, the definition of an all-time album. The mildly political and wildly hip record went multi-platinum in 1988 and Hutchence went rock-star huge. The videos for the No. 1 single "Need YouTonight," as well as "Devil Inside," No. 3 "New Sensation" and No. 7 "Never Tear Us Apart," showed that an Australian in leather pants could rule the world.The enticing rhythms and throaty growls of INXS soon infiltrated dance floors from coast to coast and made Kick a legend in its own time. The 1992 release Welcome to Wherever You Are was dubbed by critics as the most adventurous INXS venture yet with its samples, world music accents and conceptual ingenuity. The single "Beautiful Girl" became an alternative radio hit. The band's 10th album, Full Moon, Dirty Hearts, featured duets with Ray Charles and Chrissie Hynde,as well as a healthy dose of Stonesy guitar distortion, punk rock bass and U2-heavy rhythms. In 1994 INXS switched from Atlantic to Polygram, and in the spring of 1997 INXS released Elegantly Wasted and enjoyed immediate success with the single of the same name. Anni Layne
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