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MUSIC FEATURE

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A defining moment in the career of iconic Australian band INXS, the album that opened the door to the world, Listen Like Thieves , turns 40. STACK spoke with Andrew Farriss. Words Paul Jones I L LISTEN LIKE THIEVES celebrates its 40th birthday T A

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“I can remember when Chris Murphy, our old band manager, called me at home and said, ‘Hey Andrew, how are you doing? I just wanted to tell you that you’ve got a Top 5 hit in the US with What You Need . You should go out and party or something.’ “And I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s fantastic. Thanks for calling.’ I hung up the phone and called Michael (Hutchence) straight away, and he replied, “Yeah, he called me too.” “I asked him how he felt, and he said, ‘Kind of weird.’ And I did too. We were trying to work out over the phone why we felt so weird about it. I mean, it was fantastic, but then the reality

kicked in – we have to do that again! “We were no longer just playing with what Australians did or didn’t like; we were now messing with what the world likes, and that was a whole other ball game.” It’s 1985, and the world is about to change for INXS. The release of The Swing a year before had recalculated the band’s musical ambitions. Post punk and new wave were in the rearview mirror. The Swing ’s breakthrough single, Original Sin , had been cut with funk maestro Nile Rogers, fresh from his work on David Bowie’s Let’s Dance album, at New York’s Power Station. This influence would

profoundly affect Andrew Farriss’s songwriting, evident in lead single What You Need , from the band’s follow-up album, Listen Like Thieves , which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. What You Need was the last single to be cut for the album. The record company were happy with what producer Chris Thomas had in the can already. However, the wily Thomas, imbued with two decades of experience, disagreed. He told Farriss and Hutchence they needed a hit single, and they needed it fast. “I can still remember the cold rush of fear through my bones when he said to Michael and I, ‘We’re all going out now, but you

two guys just stay here – you’re going to come up with that single.’ No pressure, right?’ “That was part of Chris’ production that I really respected. He was like, ‘You asked me to tell you the truth, and you need a really good song that’s a hit.’ “I already had the ( What You Need ) riff and a groove on a demo. The other parts were there too. I had the basic chords of the chorus, but I’ve got to say it was Kirk (Pengilly) who came up with the bridge and that great rising line on the saxophone” Andrew Farriss was initially the

principal songwriter in INXS. A multi-instrumentalist, he would write on whatever he

XX JUNE 2025

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