47. INXS

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47. INXS

Considering how much Western Pop Culture is inundated with Australians, we would have thought we would have had an Australian act by now. Instead, our first selection from “Down Under” was on the brink of flirting with being the biggest band in the world at one point. It didn’t happen, but it is hard pressed to find anyone who can’t hum an INXS song or two.

It isn’t that difficult to figure out why INXS got so big. Originally starting out as a pub band they incorporated just enough of the New Wave element to fit in with that crowd, but kept enough of their original Rock credo to attract that set. As they evolved, they created a danceable Rock sound that could play on any radio station. Throw in the sultry good looks of the deceased Michael Hutchence and you had an instant recipe for international stardom. The 1990’s Alternative movement put a major dent in their sales and Hutchence’s suicide in 1997 should have put the band on ice. Surprisingly, INXS has managed to soldier on, and is not impossible that they have some excellent music left in them. If they can reemerge with another solid album, they could find their chances for induction greatly improve.

 


FilmStrip Rock.INXS

www.inxs.com

Should INXS be in the Hall of Fame?

Definitely put them in! - 92.8%
Maybe, but others deserve it first. - 4.8%
Probably not, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. - 1.5%
No opinion. - 0%
No way! - 0.9%

The Bullet Points

  • Previous Rank: 2011: #111
    2012: #94
    2013: #86 
    2014: #77
    2015: #69
    2016: #63
  • Eligible Since: Saturday, 01 January 2005
  • Country of Origin: Sydney, Australia
  • Why they will get in: They do have a huge international reputation and had an excellent run.
  • Why they won't get in: Do they really want to induct J.D. Fortune?
  • Essential Albums: The Swing (1984)
    Listen Like Thieves (1985)
    Kick (1987)
    X (1990)
  • Our Five Favorite Songs as Chosen by Each Member of the NIHOF Committee: Original Sin (From The Swing, 1984)
    Kiss the Dirt (From Listen Like Thieves, 1985)
    Guns in the Sky (From Kick, 1987)
    Mystify (From Kick, 1987)
    Suicide Blonde (From X, 1990)

Should INXS be in the Hall of Fame?

Definitely put them in! - 92.8%
Maybe, but others deserve it first. - 4.8%
Probably not, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. - 1.5%
No opinion. - 0%
No way! - 0.9%

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Oct 29, 2022

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Kick
 
Last modified on Sunday, 29 May 2022 21:19
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Comments   

0 #8 Marcia H 2022-01-21 18:31
INXS was the soundtrack of the eighties and remained very relevant into the mid nineties until Michael Hutchence’s untimely death. But with that choice of songs it’s no wonder they’ve been passed by! Their catalog includes so many better tunes/hits than Guns in the Sky and Kiss the Dirt! Where is New Sensation, Need You Tonight, Beautiful Girl, Shine Like it Does, Good Times, The Stairs, Elegantly Wasted, the list can go on.
INXS were inextricably 80’s rock and roll. And MH is arguably the best frontman if all time, and certainly one if the top five. How they’re not yet in the RRHOF is mystifying. Pun intended.
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+2 #7 Mellissa Cross 2018-05-14 21:33
Influential and huge commercial success. GET THEM IN!
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+5 #6 Will Leung 2016-12-20 17:48
Very surprised they aren't actually in the RRHOF let alone higher on this list.

Arguably, Australia's greatest musical export (sorry AC/DC fans) and regarded as one of the great live acts of their, or any, time, INXS's library and musical history should make them an easy choice.
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+6 #5 Bob Ross 2016-04-25 23:09
Another group that should be higher on the list. Like Boston, I think it hurts them their lead singer unfortunatel y committed suicide. It would make it a very bittersweet induction with others singers doing the lead vocals. But in their heyday, they were very big, their sound was unique, and they were big all over the world. I do believe if the story of this band wasn't so sad, they might already be in.
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+6 #4 Michael Tabor 2016-01-29 15:02
Yes They should be in. Late 80s were as big as any band out there! New wave with dance, almost U2 With more of a dance sound!
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+6 #3 Caleb Carr 2014-08-27 06:57
Yes, they should unquestionab ly be in. They can't be called "the best band of the Eighties" (that list of contenders is just too long), but they are certainly in the top ten or fifteen -- and jimmy26's point is totally correct, the committee's choices do not include any of their best-known (or, I would argue, even their best, period) songs. That's a huge factor. Add the touring schedule, making Australian pop global, and a genuinely unique musical formula that included everything from blues to rhythms used by indigenous Australian tribes, and you have to let them in. Plain and simple. So most critics didn't like them: Paul Stanley has had the last word on that consideratio n, i.e., it isn't one.
Let them in!
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+6 #2 mrpauljoconnor82 -0001-11-30 00:00
INXS were the best band of the 1980s and there is no doubt that Hutchence is up there with the best ever frontmen.... .......but that Rock Star reality show has tarnished them a great deal and NO they should NOT induct JD Fortune.
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+7 #1 jimmy26 -0001-11-30 00:00
Yes! Here is why. Look at the list of the songs chosen from the committee above for their fav INXS song? what do you notice? none of their huge hits! so people were aware of this group well enough to listen to the albums and choose songs that were good enough to personalize. How many groups can you say that about? especially with that kind fo cross section? And I have at least 3 INXS songs in my top 300. easily should be in. easily.
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