So supposedly INXS called it quits at a concert over the weekend.

These guys have been nothing but a disaster since Hutchense died but I'm still sorry to see them end. I thought Switch was actually really good and that JD did a good job bridging the gap of an INXS past and future.

I hated to see JD go, but was also really interested to see what they would be like with the new singer. There's no doubt these guys have a ton of talent and the new singer was so radically different that it really piqued my interest (although it may have been the same type of interest as watching a car crash).

I can only imagine either the new material didn't come together at all or they received a terrible reaction to it at the labels (probably more likely). As much talent as they have, they've been equally bad at managing their post-Hutchense career.

So tonight I raise a glass to INXS and celebrate the great music they brought to us...

From INXS.com:

INXS...The touring ends... The music lives on...

Perth, Western Australia, November 11: It ended fittingly where it began 35 years ago, in Perth, when INXS drummer Jon Farriss declared to a 15,000+ capacity house on the opening weekend of the brand new Perth Arena and the final night of the Matchbox Twenty / INXS Australian tour that from this point INXS would bring down the curtain as a live touring band. In a fitting homage to the band, Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas joined the band (INXS) and vocalist Ciaran Gribbin on stage and performed INXS’s signature closer, Don’t Change, in the band’s encore.

The remaining band members of INXS, Tim, Andrew and Jon Farriss, Kirk Pengilly and Garry Beers issued this statement.

“We understand that this must come as a blow to everybody, but all things must eventually come to an end. We have been performing as a band for 35 years, it’s time to step away from the touring arena”

“Our music will of course live on and we will always be a part of that.”

“We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the friends and family that have supported us throughout our extensive career. Our lives have been enriched by having you all as a part of the journey”

INXS forged their reputation as one of the world’s greatest live bands, relentlessly touring the US, Europe, South America, and the Far East constantly throughout the 80’s and early 90’s, fuelled by the success of records such as Listen Like Thieves, Kick, X, and Welcome To Wherever You Are.

That hard earned and hard won live reputation took INXS to the very pinnacle of the live world touring circuit with such memorable performances headlining iconic venues across the world… in the UK [Wembley Stadium 80,000], the US [Texas Stadium 60,000] and Rio De Janeiro [Rock in Rio 120,000].

But with the high, came a bitter and cruel blow… the loss of their charismatic and irreplaceable front man Michael Hutchence in November 1997.

“It’s been 35 years for INXS as a live touring band and unbelievably it’s been 15 years ago since we lost Michael” said Jon Farriss.

“We lived for each other in the trenches and we loved each other. It was the six of us against the world and then suddenly and inexplicably we were but five. We were lost right at the moment we were on top.”

The band struggled to deal with the enormity of it all and the easy solution was to just call it a day.

“We never took a soft option, it was the adversity, the challenge and the struggle that forged us into the live working band we became. And this was as big as it could possibly get when it came to a challenge” said Andrew Farriss, “and in the end we decided for a whole bunch of reasons to march forward. To us there was no other option, families always move forward.”

The bands manager Chris Murphy said, “They believed unconditionally in each other and they also believed unconditionally in the music. People fade, sometimes way too early… that is life whether we like it or not. To live to 80 plus is a life well lived. To lose Michael so young was a tragedy for all of us. But with this band, their legacy, their music was just so damn good, it was always destined to live beyond all of us.”

The last 3 years has seen a resurgence of INXS with their songs being hammered on radio and a rise in audience numbers with the live show. The song Original Sin, with Rob Thomas on vocals, reached number 1 on the Billboard dance charts.

As Jon Farriss says,“INXS’ touring days could never last forever. We wanted it to end on a high. And it has”

End statement.




NB/ The band will be making no further comment

michael hutchence can finally rest in peace.

INXS guitarist and founding member Tim Farriss has undergone two emergency surgeries to reattach a finger severed in a boating accident last month.

Farris was injured on February 24; the band's label - Petrol Records - has confirmed the incident occurred when the guitarist caught his hand in an electric anchor winch.

"Tim has been treated at the Royal North Shore hospital for a week and is now back at home in recovery," says the label. "The accident has caused permanent damage to Tim's left hand and one of his fingers has been severed. He has undergone two extensive operations to reattach his finger. Tim is now at home undergoing further treatment to assist with his recovery."

"Tim is now home from the hospital with his family and undergoing physiotherapy as part of the recovery process," adds band manager Chris Murphy. "He is getting the best possible care and we hope with time he will regain movement in his finger. This was a terrible accident, we are all here to support him.

Our police chief here in Tampa endured the same kind of accident. She had to relearn how to shoot a gun to keep her badge. I believe she changed her trigger finger to her middle finger after a winch accident severed her index finger. I can't imagine the anguish that a guitar player would suffer after that sort of incident. Then again, Django Reinhardt did pretty well using just two fingers on his left hand.

Slightly related: I listened to Kick on the way home this evening, so it's weird to see discussion about INXS here tonight.

Jim

I had a guitar player friend when I was a teenager who lost part of a finger. i don't remember how the playing issue worked out for him.

Apparently this is pretty severe.

Tim has struggled with the pain and I suppose the shock.

Hope he's able to still play guitar though I believe INXS are finished.

I liked his style-very slinky sound, and crafty fills without being complicated.

Devastating news. It's one thing to lose a finger (or its function) on a guitarist's right hand, especially when he mostly uses a pick (Jerry Garcia got by just fine with half of a right middle finger), but on the left hand? That's learning your chords again from scratch.

Tim's always been underrated in my estimation.

And Django didn't play many power chords.