IN 1977, SIX FRIENDS STRAIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL, MADE THE 4350 KM JOURNEY ACROSS THE AUSTRALIAN INTERIOR. THEY WROTE, REHEARSED AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, BEGAN PLAYING LOCAL HOTELS AND PUBS IN MINING TOWNS. THEN IN 1979 THE FRIENDS, GARRY GARY BEERS (BASS), ANDREW FARRISS (KEYBOARDS / GUITAR), JON FARRISS (DRUMS), TIM FARRISS (GUITAR), MICHAEL HUTCHENCE (LEAD VOCAL), AND KIRK PENGILLY (GUITAR / SAXOPHONE) MADE THEIR LIVE DEBUT AS INXS. LITTLE DID THEY KNOW THAT SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER INXS's LINE-UP WOULD REMAIN UNCHANGED. THEY WOULD HAVE RELEASED 11 ALBUMS, 7 LONG FORM VIDEOS, HAVE MULTIPLE PLATINUM AND GOLD ALBUMS, 5 MTV VIDEO AWARDS, 2 GRAMMY NOMINATIONS, 6 ARIA AWARDS, A BRIT AWARD FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL BAND AS WELL AS NUMEROUS ADDITIONAL AWARDS. BY THE TIME OF THEIR FIRST ALBUM RELEASE IN OCTOBER 1980 (INXS), THE ALBUM CONTAINED THEIR DEBUT HIT SINGLE 'JUST KEEP WALKING'. INXS WERE PLAYING VIRTUALLY SEVEN NIGHTS A WEEK AND SOON BECAME KNOWN AS A BAND NOT TO BE MISSED. AS ANDREW FARRISS SAYS, "INXS GOT SIGNED NOT BECAUSE SOME A&R GUY THOUGHT WE'LL SELL A LOT OF RECORDS, BUT BECAUSE WE SOLD OUT SO MANY VENUES, NO JOURNALIST PICKED US AS THE NEXT BIG THING, THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF KIDS COMING TO SEE US." THEY PROVED THE PUNTERS ONLY HALF WRONG, NOT ONLY HAVE THEY SOLD OUT THOUSANDS OF VENUES AROUND THE WORLD, BUT HAVE SOLD MILLIONS OF RECORDS AS WELL.

IN 1981 PRIOR TO RELEASING THEIR SECOND ALBUM, THE BAND DECIDED TO WORK WITH FAMED AUSTRALIAN SONGWRITER RICHARD CLAPTON. RICHARD PRODUCED THE TOP TWENTY SINGLE 'THE LOVED ONE'. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE BAND RELEASED THEIR SECOND ALBUM 'UNDERNEATH THE COLOURS' AND PLAYED NO LESS THAN 300 SHOWS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. THE ALBUM WAS THEIR SECOND STRAIGHT GOLD RELEASE.

1983 BROUGHT INXS TO AMERICA WITH THE RELEASE OF 'SHABOOH SHOOBAH' FEATURING 'DON'T CHANGE' AND 'THE ONE THING' WHICH HIT THE TOP 30 ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS. IN MARCH OF THAT SAME YEAR THEY BEGAN THEIR FIRST AMERICAN TOUR WHICH INCLUDED A STOP AT THE HISTORICAL "US" FESTIVAL.

IF THE BAND THOUGHT 1983 WAS A BIG YEAR THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS ABOUT TO HIT THEM. IN 1984, THEY RELEASED 'THE SWING' WHICH DEBUTED AT NO. 1 ON THE AUSTRALIAN CHARTS AND ENDED UP GOING DOUBLE PLATINUM. THE ALBUM, PRODUCED BY NICK LAUNAY, CONTAINED THE SMASH SINGLES 'I SEND A MESSAGE' AND ORIGINAL SIN. ORIGINAL SIN PRODUCED BY LEGENDARY PRODUCER NILE RODGERS, GARNERED THE BAND THEIR FIRST NO. 1 SINGLE IN AUSTRALIA AS WELL AS AN UNPRECEDENTED SEVEN AUSTRALIAN COUNTDOWN AWARDS.

THEN IN 1985 THEY RELEASED THEIR FIRST U.S. MILLION SELLER ALBUM. LISTEN LIKE THIEVES WHICH CONTAINED THE SINGLES LISTEN LIKE THIEVES AS WELL AS WHAT YOU NEED WHICH PEAKED AT NO. 2 IN AUSTRALIA AND BECAME THE BANDS BREAKTHROUGH SINGLE IN ENGLAND. THAT SAME YEAR, INXS PLAYED FOR 'LIVE AID' IN AUSTRALIA, A PERFORMANCE THAT WAS BEAMED AROUND THE WORLD AND RELEASED A COMPILATION ALBUM OF DANCE REMIXES ENTITLED DEKADANCE.

INXS SPENT 1986 TOURING THE WORLD IN SUPPORT OF LISTEN LIKE THIEVES. QUICKLY THEIR LIVE PERFORMANCES BECAME TALKED ABOUT AROUND THE WORLD, GETTING THEM RAVE REVIEWS NOT ONLY FROM FANS BUT ALSO THE CRITICS. MUSICIAN MAGAZINES WENT SO FAR AS TO CALL THEM THE "WORLD'S BEST LIVE BAND". AUDIENCES AROUND THE WORLD WERE QUICKLY LEARNING WHAT AUSTRALIAN'S HAD KNOWN FOR YEARS, INXS WERE THE REAL THING AND HERE TO STAY. THAT SAME YEAR THE BAND WAS AWARDED AN ARIA AWARD FOR BEST AUSTRALIAN GROUP.

THEN CAME KICK, PRODUCED BY CHRIS THOMAS, WHO HAD ALSO PRODUCED THE BAND'S PREVIOUS ALBUM LISTEN LIKE THIEVES. KICK IS INXS' BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM TO DATE (SELLING OVER 9 MILLION COPIES WORLD-WIDE) THE ALBUM SPAWNED THE WORLD-WIDE TOP TEN SINGLES: NEED YOU TONIGHT, NEW SENSATION, NEVER TEAR US APART AND DEVIL INSIDE. INXS EARNED A GRAMMY NOMINATION,LANDED 5 MTV MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS AND WERE AWARDED PLATINUM CERTIFICATION FOR THEIR LONG FORM VIDEO 'KICK-THE VIDEO FLICK'. KICK ESTABLISHED INXS AS STARS, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT AT ONCE COALESCED THE SKILLS THEY'D BEEN HONING SINCE THOSE FIRST SMOKY CLUB GIGS BACK IN '77. THEY SOON EMBARKED ON A 16 MONTH MARATHON GLOBAL TREK PLAYING ARENAS AND STADIUMS WORLD-WIDE. IT WAS ALSO IN 1988 THAT INXS RECEIVED 3 ARIA AWARDS FOR BEST AUSTRALIAN GROUP, BEST AUSTRALIAN VIDEO (NEVER TEAR US APART - DIRECTED BY LONG-TIME FRIEND, RICHARD LOWENSTEIN), AS WELL AS AN OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.

THE BAND TOOK SOME TIME OFF FOLLOWING THE HYSTERIA OF KICK AND IN 1989 BEGAN WRITING SONGS FOR THEIR NEXT ALBUM X. WITH CHRIS THOMAS PRODUCING, THE ALBUM LED OFF WITH THE SINGLE 'SUICIDE BLONDE' WHICH FEATURED AMERICAN BLUES GREAT CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE. THE ALBUM ALSO CONTAINED THE SINGLES 'DISAPPEAR' AND 'BITTER TEARS'. X REACHED TOP TEN STATUS ON THE BILLBOARD CHART AND DEBUTED NO. 1 IN AUSTRALIA AND NO. 2 IN THE U.K. AND HAS SOLD OVER 4 MILLION COPIES WORLD- WIDE. THE BAND ONCE AGAIN HIT THE ROAD AND TOURED THE WORLD'S ARENAS AND STADIUMS FOR THE YEAR LONG X FACTOR TOUR.

WITH VIDEOS LIKE WHAT YOU NEED NEVER TEAR US APART, ORIGINAL SIN, NEED YOU TONIGHT / MEDIATE; INXS HAD EARNED A REPUTATION FOR ADVENTUROUS, EXTRAORDINARY AND BREAKTHROUGH VIDEOS, THEREFORE WHEN THEY RELEASED GREATEST VIDEO HITS (1980-1990) IN 1991, IT WAS NO SURPRISE THAT IT BECAME A CERTIFIED GOLD RELEASE.

IT WAS A HOT SUMMER NIGHT IN ENGLAND, JULY 13TH, 1991. EXACTLY 6 YEARS TO THE DATE WHEN THEIR LIVE AID PERFORMANCE WAS BEAMED INTO WEMBLEY STADIUM FROM SYDNEY. WHEN THE BAND REACHED A MILE-STONE IN THEIR CAREER. THEY HAD LINED LONDON'S WEMBLEY STADIUM ON THEIR OWN AND PLAYED IN FRONT OF 74,000 PEOPLE THAT SAME YEAR, IN ADDITION TO RECEIVING AN UNPRECEDENTED 3RD ARIA AWARD FOR BEST AUSTRALIAN GROUP. INXS RELEASED THEIR FIRST LIVE ALBUM LIVE BABY LIVE TAKEN FROM SHOWS IN PARIS, NEW YORK, TORONTO, CHICAGO, LONDON, DUBLIN, GLASGOW, RIO DE JANIERO, MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY. THE ALBUM ALSO CONTAINED A NEW STUDIO SONG, 'SHINING STAR'. IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ALBUM THE BAND RELEASED A HOME-VIDEO OF THEIR LIVE SHOW. FILMED AT WEMBLEY STADIUM AND DIRECTED BY DAVID MALLET, 17 CAMERAS CAPTURED THE SHOW, AND RESULTED IN A 2 HOUR VIDEO CONTAINING A CLASSIC INXS LIVE PERFORMANCE.

IN 1992, THE BAND RELEASED THEIR MOST ADVENTUROUS ALBUM TO DATE. WELCOME TO WHEREVER YOU ARE. CO-PRODUCED WITH MARK OPITZ,WHO ALSO PRODUCED SHABOOH SHOOBAH. THE ALBUM MIXED TRADITIONAL ROCK AND ROLL WITH A 60-PIECE ORCHESTRA ON 'BABY DON'T CRY' AND CONTAINS INXS CLASSICS LIKE 'HEAVEN SENT', 'NOT ENOUGH TIME' AND 'BEAUTIFUL GIRL'. IN FACT, ' NOT ENOUGH TIME', WAS INCLUDED AS PART OF THE OFFICIAL MUSIC FOR THE 1992 SUMMER OLYMPICS IN BARCELONA. THE ALBUM DEBUTED AT NO. 1 IN ENGLAND AND HAS SOLD 2 MILLION WORLD-WIDE. ONE OF THE MOST BIZARRE STORIES OF THE ALBUM WITH THE RELEASE OF THE VIDEO FOR 'TASTE IT',DIRECTED BY BAILLIE WALSH. THE VIDEO WAS CLASSED AS BEING TOO HOT BY VIDEO SHOWS AROUND THE WORLD.

FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF WELCOME TO WHEREVER YOU ARE, INSTEAD OF DOING THE TRADITIONAL TOUR, THE BAND CHOSE TO SPEND ONE HOUR IN A TAXI,24 HOURS FLYING FROM SYDNEY TO LONDON, TWO HOURS DRIVING FROM HEATHROW TO GATWICK, 2 HOURS FLYING TO ROME, 2 HOURS IN A BUS DRIVING TO NAPLES HARBOUR, STRAIGHT ON TO THE FERRY FOR A ONE AND A HALF HOUR TRIP TO THE ISLE OF CAPRI, A 15 MINUTE TAXI TO THE TOWN SQUARE, AND FINALLY A 20 MINUTE WALK UP STEEP, WINDY PATHS TO THE STUDIO AND ACCOMMODATIONS AT CAPRI DIGITAL STUDIOS WHERE THEY BEGAN RECORDING THEIR 10TH ALBUM, FULL MOONS DIRTY HEARTS.

AFTER COMPLETELY RECORDING (OR SO THE BAND THOUGHT), THEY TURNED BACK TO THEIR ROOTS AND STARTED WHERE IT ALL BEGAN IN PERTH, AUSTRALIA FOR THEIR 4 MONTH 'GET OUT OF THE HOUSE TOUR' . THE TOUR SENT THE BAND ACROSS 3 CONTINENTS PLAYING A SERIES OF PUBS, CLUBS, AND SMALL THEATRE TYPE VENUES. IT WAS A TOUR DURING WHICH THEY WERE AWARDED SOME OF THEIR BEST EVER REVIEWS AS WELL AS BEING VOTED CLUB TOUR OF THE YEAR BY PERFORMANCE MAGAZINE. THE TOUR ALSO WAS A CHANCE FOR THEIR FANS TO GET A PREVIEW OF THEIR FORTHCOMING RELEASE, FULL MOONS, DIRTY HEARTS.

ALTHOUGH THE BAND THOUGHT THEY HAD FINISHED RECORDING, WHILST ON CAPRI, THEY HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO RECORD WITH THE LEGENDARY SINGER RAY CHARLES. WHILST RECORDING, THE ALBUM, THEY SUBMITTED A TRACK 'MAKE YOUR PEACE' TO MR. CHARLES ASKING HIM IF HE WOULD JOIN THEM ON THE SONG. IT WASN'T UNTIL LATE SEPTEMBER, WHEN THEY HEARD THAT HE WOULD LOVE TO BE ON THE ALBUM, BUT FELT THE SONG WAS NOT QUITE THE RIGHT TRACK FOR HIM. THE BAND SUBMITTED ANOTHER TRACK, 'PLEASE (YOU GOT THAT...)' AND HE AGREED IMMEDIATELY WITH LITTLE TIME TO SPARE BEFORE THE ALBUMS DEADLINE, MICHAEL FLEW TO LOS ANGELES AND RE-RECORDED THE VOCALS WITH RAY. RECORDED, MIXED AND MASTERED IN LESS THAN 48 HOURS, THE SONG MADE THE ALBUM WITH NO TIME TO SPARE. RELEASED IN NOVEMBER OF 1993, FULL MOON, DIRTY HEARTS CONTAINED 12 SONGS INCLUDING ANOTHER DUET, THIS ONE WITH CHRISSIE HYNDE OF THE PRETENDERS ON THE ALBUM'S TITLE TRACK.

INXS SIMULTANEOUSLY MADE AN ALBUM VISUAL WHICH CONTAINED A VIDEO FOR ALL THE 12 SONGS AND FEATURED SOME OF THE BEST YOUNG FILM MAKERS IN AUSTRALIA, FULL MOON, DIRTY HEARTS- THE ALBUM VISUAL WAS PREMIERED AROUND THE WORLD VIRTUALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE ALBUM'S RELEASE MARKING THE FIRST TIME THAT A BAND HAS LAUNCHED AN ENTIRE ALBUM OF NEW MATERIAL THROUGH BOTH THE TELEVISION, AND RADIO MEDIA. THE VIDEO FOR 'THE GIFT', WON THE BAND AND LONG-TIME COLLABORATOR RICHARD LOWENSTEIN AN ARIA AWARD FOR BEST AUSTRALIAN VIDEO.

NOW IN 1994, SEVENTEEN YEARS AFTER THEIR FORMATION, INXS REACHES ANOTHER MONUMENTAL MILESTONE WITH THE RELEASE OF THEIR FIRST GREATEST HITS ALBUM. THE ALBUM CONTAINS THE BANDS' FAVOURITE SONGS, INXS CLASSICS, AS WELL AS NEW MATERIAL PRODUCED BY CHRIS THOMAS.

THE ALBUM IS NOT ONLY A TRIBUTE TO THE STAYING POWER OF INXS BUT ALSO A TRIBUTE TO THEIR FANS WHO HAVE BEEN WITH THEM SINCE 1977 AND HAVE CONTINUED TO GROW AS THE YEARS GO BY. AS MICHAEL HUTCHENCE SAYS "I THINK THIS ALBUM AND ESPECIALLY THE NEW SINGLE 'THE STRANGEST PARTY' SUMS UP OUR TIME AS INXS SO FAR, IT'S CERTAINLY BEEN THE STRANGEST PARTY I'VE EVER BEEN TO."