The hardcore punk outfit the Distillers first came together in late 1998 when Aussie native Brody Armstrong met bassist Kim Chi at work and realized their love for playing. Soon they hooked up with Detroit guitarist Rose Casper and drummer Matt. Signed to Epitaph, the band issued its self-titled debut in April 2000.

Sing Sing Death House appeared the same year, but was re-released in early 2002 thanks to the sudden popularity of "Seneca Falls." By now, Kim Chi had left the group to join Exene Cervenka in her band, the Original Sinners. Ryan Sinn stepped in to replace her; Matt departed to join Chi while Casper left during the height of "Seneca Falls."

By summer 2002, the Distillers were composed of Armstrong, Sinn, and new drummer Andy “Outbreak” Granelli; joint American dates with No Doubt and Garbage were planned for later that fall.

Guitarist/vocalist Tony Bradley joined the Distillers in time for the recording of their third album and major-label debut, Coral Fang, which was released in 2003 by Sire. For the album, Armstrong reverted back to playing under the name Brody Dalle, following her very public divorce from Rancid's Tim Armstrong that same year.

Granelli left the band in early 2005, moving on to play with Darker My Love, and by the summer, Sinn had exited as well, later joining up with Angels and Airwaves.

Despite rumours, the Distillers, now just comprised of Dalle and Bradley, denied that they were breaking up, instead simply going on hiatus. In early 2006, Dalle had her first child, daughter Camille, with new husband Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age.

By the year's end, the two remaining members formally announced the band's disbandment and went on to form Spinnerette together.

Albums:

The Distillers, Epitaph, 2000.

Sing Sing Death House, Hellcat, 2002.

Coral Fang, Sire, 2003.

Source: MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide

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Queens Of The Stone Age

System of A Down

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Rejecting the abrasive guitars of their punk-era contemporaries in favor of lushly romantic synthesizers, Ultravox emerged as one of the primary influences on the British electro-pop movement of the early '80s.

Formed in London in 1974, the group - originally dubbed Ultravox! - was led by vocalist and keyboardist John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh), whose interest in synths and cutting-edge technology began during his school years. With an initial line-up consisting of bassist Chris Cross, keyboardist/violinist Billy Currie, guitarist Steve Shears, and drummer Warren Cann, their obvious affection for the glam rock sound of David Bowie and Roxy Music brought them little respect from audiences caught up in the growing fervour of punk, but in 1977 Island Records signed the quintet anyway, with Brian Eno agreeing to produce the band's self-titled debut LP.

After scoring a minor U.K. hit with the single "My Sex," Ultravox returned later that year with Ha! Ha! Ha!; sales were minimal, however, and Shears soon exited, replaced by guitarist Robin Simon. A third LP, 1978's Systems of Romance, was recorded in Germany with renowned producer Conrad Plank, but no merchandise or t-shirt maker could generate enough excitement for the album, and it too failed commercially. Island soon dropped the band, at which time both Foxx and Simon quit, the former mounting a solo career and the latter joining Magazine.

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At that point the remaining members of Ultravox tapped singer/guitarist Midge Ure, an alumnus of Silk as well as Glen Matlock's Rich Kids; upon signing to Chrysalis, the new line-up recorded Vienna, scoring a surprise smash hit with the single "Sleepwalk," which reached the number two spot on the U.K. pop charts in 1981 and pushed the LP into the Top Five. The album's title track also fared well, peaking at number two on the charts and remaining there for several weeks.

After 1981's Rage in Eden, Ultravox teamed with legendary producer George Martin for 1983's Quartet; their most successful LP in the otherwise impenetrable American market, it launched the minor hit "Reap the Wild Wind." Upon completing 1984's Lament, Warren Cann left Ultravox to forge a solo career.

The remaining members, after adding Big Country's Mark Brzeicki, resurfaced with U-Vox in 1986 before going their separate ways. Currie and Simon re-formed the band in 1993, adding vocalist Marcus O’Higgins; three years later, they released the lack-luster Ingenuity with Sam Blue on lead vocals. The album marked the group's final studio release. 

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Falling between the energetic pop/rock of mod revival and the psychedelic experimentations of Traffic, Ocean Colour Scene came to be one of the leading bands of the traditionalist, post-Oasis British rock of the mid-'90s. Although they had formed in the late '80s and had several hits during the height of Madchester in the early '90s, the band didn't earn a large following until 1996, when their second album, Moseley Shoals, became a multi-platinum success story in the U.K. Their ascent was greatly aided by Paul Weller and Oasis' Noel Gallagher, who both publicly praised Ocean Colour Scene for keeping the flame of real rock & roll burning during the '90s. And, according to one specific definition, they were right, since Ocean Colour Scene was nothing if not rock & roll traditionalists, drawing heavily from British Invasion pop, psychedelia, soul, R&B, and blues-rock to create a reverential homage to classic rock. Their devotion to trad rock may have earned them decidedly mixed reviews, but that was the very thing that earned them a sizable following.

Ocean Colour Scene is comprised of Steve Cradock (lead guitar, keyboards, vocals), Simon Fowler (lead vocals, guitar), Damon Minchella (bass), and Oscar Harrison (drums). Prior to forming in 1990, the members of the band had played in a variety of other groups. During the late '80s, Cradock played in a mod revival band called The Boys. Though they released an independent EP called Happy Days and supported former Small Faces frontman Steve Marriott, the band never gained much of an audience. At the same time The Boys were active, Fowler and Minchella were in a Velvet Underground-influenced group called Fanatics, who released an EP, Surburban Love Songs, on the independent label Chapter 22 in the spring of 1989. Following the release of the single, the group's original drummer, Caroline Bullock, was replaced by Harrison, who had previously played with a reggae/soul band called Echo Base. Shortly after Harrison joined Fanatics, the group split up. Several months after their disbandment, Fowler, Minchella, and Harrison formed Ocean Colour Scene with Cradock, whom they met at a Stone Roses concert.

Appropriately, Ocean Colour Scene was initially heavily influenced by the Stone Roses. After performing a few concerts, the group built a small fan base and signed with a local indie label, !Phfft. Shortly after signing with !Phfft, Ocean Colour Scene became hyped as "the next big thing" by the British music weekly press, as their live shows and debut single, "Sway," earned extremely positive reviews during the first half of 1990. In the spring of 1991, they headed into the studio to record the debut album with Jimmy Miller, who worked on The Rolling Stones' classic albums of the late '60s and early '70s. Instead of concentrating on work, the band essentially drank away their hours in the studio, resulting in a batch of uneven recordings. Unsatisfied by the tapes, the band headed back into the studio with Hugo Nicolson, who had previously worked with Primal Scream.

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By the time they completed the record, !Phfft had been acquired by Fontana Records, who bought the indie with the intent of owning the rights to Ocean Colour Scene. Despite their enthusiasm for the band, the label's head of A&R, Dave Bates, rejected the group's first attempt at the album and asked them to re-enter the studio to re-record most of the album with another producer, Tim Palmer, who had previously worked with Tin Machine. Palmer also remixed the remaining cuts, resulting in a slick, over-produced debut album that was delivered belatedly in the spring of 1992. By that time, the music press had abandoned the Madchester scene that the Stone Roses spawned and, in turn, they rejected the return of Ocean Colour Scene. The public also refused to buy the record and it sank upon its release. The band made some headway on an American tour, but tensions with Fontana continued to increase throughout the year.

Ocean Colour Scene returned to England halfway through the year, planning to record a new album quickly, but Bates rejected their new material. Soon, the band sued to get out of its Fontana contract. By the time it was settled in early 1993, the group owed hundreds of thousands of pounds to the label and they were back on the dole. Ocean Colour Scene continued to rehearse, often supported by their manager (and Steve's father), Chris Cradock, who put the family house up for mortgage. The band converted their rehearsal space into a recording studio and began recording constantly, but their break didn't arrive until they played a gig supporting Paul Weller's new band in early 1993. Weller was impressed with Steve Cradock's playing, and asked him to play on his forthcoming single, "The Weaver." Cradock gradually became part of Weller's backing band, performing on much of Weller's second solo album, Wild Wood. However, the guitarist didn't abandon Ocean Colour Scene -- all the money he was making was funneled back into the band, and he landed Fowler a gig as a backing vocalist for Weller. By the end of the 1993, Cradock, Fowler, and Minchella were all playing in Weller's band.

The next break for Ocean Colour Scene arrived in late summer of 1994, when Noel Gallagher, the leader of Oasis, heard the band's tape in the offices of his record label. Gallagher offered OCS the opening slot for Oasis' breakthrough fall 1994 tour, which provided the group with needed exposure. Soon, the group was subject to a bidding war among several major labels, all of whom wanted the band to change their name. Eventually, the band signed with MCA in the summer of 1995; they were one of the few labels not to insist that the group change their name.

During early 1996, the hype machine began to go into overdrive for Ocean Colour Scene, as Gallagher proclaimed them the best band in Britain in several interviews and Chris Evans, a DJ on BBC's Radio 1, constantly played OCS's comeback single, "The Riverboat Song," essentially using it as his theme song. "The Riverboat Song" entered the charts at number 15 early in 1996. Moseley Shoals, the band's second album, was released in April of 1996, unexpectedly entering the charts at number two. The album was a fixture in the British Top Ten throughout 1996, spending six months total in the upper regions of the charts. Two subsequent singles from the record, "You've Got It Bad" and "The Day We Caught the Train," reached the Top Ten and the album continued to sell strongly throughout 1996, going multi-platinum in the U.K. Ocean Colour Scene also became a popular live attraction in Britain, selling out concerts during their summer tour. Moseley Shoals was released in America during the summer, but it failed to make much of an impact in the U.S.

As they were working on their third album, Ocean Colour Scene released the rarities compilation B-Sides: Seasides & Freerides in March 1997. By the late summer they had completed the album and had released "Hundred Mile City" as a single; it debuted at number two on the U.K. charts. Marchin' Already, OCS's third album, was released in September 1997 and debuted at number one in the U.K., knocking Oasis' Be Here Now off of the top slot.One from the Modern arrived in 1999, followed by Mechanical Wonder and the greatest-hits collection Songs for the Front Row: The Very Best of Ocean Colour Scene in 2001. 2003 saw the release of North Atlantic Drift, followed by Hyperactive Workout for the Flying Squad in 2005. Live Acoustic: At the Jam House arrived in 2006, followed by a collection of all-new material, On the Leyline, in 2007.

artistdirect.com

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Scary, Sporty, Posh, Baby, and Ginger – these are the nicknames of one of the biggest selling and globally successful acts to come out of England since The Beatles.

Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham (Adams) had explosive success with their first single release Wannabe in 1996. The song hit #1 in over 31 countries and launched a global phenomenon of pre-teens girls asserting "Girl Power" and pubescent (and probably not so pubescent) boys’ visions filled with Union Jack mini dresses.

On the back of the immense hype and publicity, the group had two further hits with Say You’ll Be There and 2 Become 1. The group’s management capitalised on the popularity and began brokering sponsorship deals and merchandising. A book, videos and eventually a rockumentary type movie called Spice World were released to feed the somewhat insatiable hunger of fans. 

Their second album, Spiceworld produced their fifth and sixth #1s in the form of Spice Up Your Life and Too Much. But the media and public began to turn on the group claiming oversaturation. In 1998, Halliwell left the group.

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The remaining members returned to the studio to commence work on a third album called Forever. The single Holler hit #1 in the UK however failed to make a ripple in the States. The girls decided to split “indefinitely” in 2001 in order to pursue solo careers.

Each girl had success as a solo artist or remained in the limelight in their own special way. Melanie Chisholm released several successful albums in Europe and North America. Melanie Brown also released moderately successful albums. Geri Halliwell had some big hits in the late 90s and leading into the 2000s. She also became a children’s book author, graced tabloid covers regularly and often did television appearances. Emma Bunton became a popular radio DJ with the Heart FM network. Victoria Beckham (Adams) became a model, WAG and Hollywood fashionista.

Six years later, rumours of a reunion were put to rest when the announcement went out that The Spice Girls would indeed reunite for a world tour. Tickets flew out of the box offices and they performed a total of 47 sell out shows despite cancelling some dates in Asia, Africa and South America. A greatest hits album was also released to coincide with the reunion tour.

Sources: Juanita Appleby; Mary Alice Adams

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Detroit minimalist rock duo (specifically, southwest Detroit minimalist rock duo) the White Stripes -- Jack White, guitar and vocals, Meg White, drums -- formed in 1997 (Bastille Day, to be precise) with the idea of making simple rock & roll music.

From the red-and-white peppermint candy motif of their debut singles, self-titled album, and stage show to their on-the-surface rudimentary style, they succeeded wildly and immediately with that mission. Their first recordings were a mix of garage rock, blues, and the occasional show tune. In frontman Jack (a former drummer for Detroit country outfit Goober & the Peas), the White Stripes have a formidable songwriter, guitar player, and vocalist capable of both morphing between styles and changing the musical styles themselves; ranging from the folk blues of Blind Willie McTell to soaring Kinks-esque pop and narrative pop tunes worthy of Cole Porter and into deepest Captain Beefheart territory within the span of 15 minutes is not an uncommon listening experience with either The White Stripes live show or on record. In drummer Meg, The White Stripes have a minimalist percussionist who seems to sense intuitively exactly when to not play. The White Stripes are grounded in punk and blues, but the undercurrent to all of their work has been the aforementioned striving for simplicity, a love of American folk music, and a careful approach to intriguing, emotional, and evocative lyrics not found anywhere else in the modern punk, or garage rock (or among postmodern "blues" practitioners such as Jon Spencer, for that matter).

While they may have sprung from the Detroit rock scene, The White Stripes quickly gained a national following after two successive tours with indie rockers Pavement and Sleater-Kinney in 1999 and 2000. The White Stripes released their second LP, De Stijl, in 2000 and it further spread the group's reputation. They followed its release with successful tours of Japan and Australia and entered the Memphis studio of renowned producer Doug Easley for 2001's White Blood Cells. The album was a critical smash and The White Stripes soon found themselves, along with The Strokes and The Hives, at the forefront of the new wave of rock & roll bands poised to take over the world. The band certainly did their best to achieve world domination, appearing on Late Night with David Lettterman, being written about in Time, The New Yorker, and Entertainment Weekly, playing the MTV Movie Awards, and having their video for "Fell in Love with a Girl" in heavy rotation on MTV. They also made the tough decision to jump to a major label; White Blood Cells was reissued on V2 in January of 2002 and their first two records followed suit in June. The White Stripes truly became big time rock stars when their "Fell in Love with a Girl" clip was nominated for four MTV Video Awards, including Best Video of the Year (alongside Eminem and NSYNC!), Breakthrough Video, Best Special Effects in a Video, and Best Editing in a Video. That summer the group also played four triumphant shows with the Strokes, two apiece in the bands' respective hometowns. In spring 2003 their fourth full-length, Elephant -- recorded in two weeks at London's Toerag Studio and dedicated to "the death of the sweetheart" -- arrived to nearly unanimous critical acclaim.

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In 2005 the Stripes returned with Get Behind Me Satan, a dizzyingly diverse album that spanned disco-metal and light, marimba-driven pop and was written and recorded in two weeks that spring. While touring that year, the band covered Tegan and Sara's "Walking with a Ghost", which they released as a single at the end of 2005. That year, Jack White and his wife, model/singer Karen Elson, moved to Nashville, TN. White also formed The Raconteurs with Brendan Benson and the Greenhornes' Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler, and spent much of 2006 touring in support of the group's debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers. Early in 2007, The White Stripes announced they were working on a new album; Icky Thump, which included the first-ever Stripes songs with bagpipes and mariachi horns, was recorded in three weeks at Nashville's Blackbird Studio and was released that summer.

Sources: http://www.artistdirect.com; Bruce Walker

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The Christians, are a British soul influenced sophisti -pop band from Liverpool, who had several UK and international chart hits, in the late 80s and early 90s. 

The Christians are known for their politically-conscious, often moral lyrics, and have been labelled as 'socially aware soul'. Musically,comparisons have been drawn to bands such as The Temptations and The Pursuasions.

Formed in 1983 in Liverpool, The Christians started out as 3- piece acappella act, originally comprising of three brothers: Garry (lead vocals), Russell (keyboards, sax, vocals) and Roger Christian (vocals, instrumentalist). In 1986 they were joined by Henry Priestman (whose middle name coincidentally happened to be Christian!), former Yachts and It's Immaterial frontman. Shortly after, Roger Christian left the band to pursue a solo career. The rest of the band continued without him, and in 1987 scored a minor hit with ‘Forgotten town’.

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In 1987 Christians released a self titled album ‘The Christians’, entering the UK charts at no. 2 and eventually going on to sell over 2 million copies. 1988 saw the release of the Isley Brothers cover: 'Harvest for the World'. The single reached #8 in the UK charts, with all proceeds going to charity. They had further success with a charity single: Ferry Cross the Mersey – a collaborative effort including Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson, Gerry Marsden and Stock Aitken Waterman staying at #1 for 3 weeks.

Christians released their second album ‘Colour’ in 1990, yielding the international hit ‘Words’ and the second single off the album ‘I Found Out’. In 1992 'Happy in Hell' was released, producing the top 40 hit single 'What's in a Word'. The band continued to tour in the early 1990s, however, their popularity began to decline. They released a greatest hits album in 1993 ‘The Best of the Christians’, reaching #22 in the charts.

Russell Christian left the band in 1995 to pursue a solo career. In 1998 Roger Christian passed away from a brain tumour. The band reformed in 1999 as a four-piece unplugged act, with guitarist and songwriter Paul Campbell accompanying them on tour. Christians released a further album in 2003 'Prodigal Sons', supported by a UK tour. The line up changed once again in 2005, when Russel Christian no longer wished to tour with the band. The new band comprised of Garry Christian (vocals), Joey Ankrah (acoustic guitar, backing vocals), Stewart Boyle (electric guitar), Bobby Kewley (bass guitar) and Jay Iving (drums). The band is still active today, having recently released a new record in 2009 'Soul from Liverpool' and continue to tour.

Albums:

The Christians, 1987.

Colour, 1990.

Happy In Hell, 1992.

Prodigal Sons, 2003.

Source: Jenny Grib

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The Prodigy might as well be called The Paradigm, their story so closely follows some kind of Spinal Tap rock and roll ideal. Formed around 1990 by driving genius, writer, and producer Liam Howlett, the live act featured a key member of the band whose sole role was live dancer – surely a first – Keith Flint.

Often shortened to “Experience” (the name this article will use), their first album more properly called “The Prodigy Experience” was released in 1992. Echoing the emergence of what was then known as the Pink Floyd sound in the mid-sixties, The Prodigy were already a well established and acclaimed live act on the underground and rave scene in the early nineties. Despite the controversy that surrounds the band, with its drug and drug culture overtones, and the subsequent somewhat irrelevant “Smack My Bitch Up” furore, the live success clearly instilled excellent music and musicianship skills, and some kind of upside down puritan work ethic underscores their development into the band that produced an era defining album in “Music For The Jilted Generation” (1994). If “Experience” brought heavy dance into the mainstream, which it did, “Music For The Jilted Generation” was iconic, and is a landmark album in its own right. Messianically, it charted at #1.

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The Prodigy were on their way to combined critical and commercial Nirvana.

The Prodigy’s third album, “The Fat Of The Land” (1997), has like its predecessor become an acknowledged straight five star album, essential to an understanding of modern rock music, and is frequently listed in the low numbers of the most important album of all time. There is a “Sticky Fingers”/”Beggars Banquet”/”Exile On Main Street”, argument about whether this or “Fat of The Land” is their best to date, and it’s a fair argument, but for me the appearance of Keith Flint elevated from dancer to lead vocalist (echoes of Sid Vicious?) clinches it for “The Fat Of The Land”. With “The Fat Of The Land” like its immediate excellent co-releases, such as “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory” (Oasis). “OK Computer” (Radiohead), “Parklife” (Blur), and of course The Verve’s “Urban Hymns” , The Prodigy peel off killer tracks like some kind of instant “Greatest Hits”. What an era.

Hardly a jilted generation. I will never forget listening to “The Fat Of The Land” for the first time. The hype was so great, and the sound so different, I set aside time to listen to the album for the first time, to make up my mind if it was worth all the fuss , and it was, and how. The Prodigy had defied gravity and had followed what for lesser bands might have been in “Music For The Jilted Generation” a defining album. I made myself revisit “Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned” (2004) and “Invaders Must Die” (2009) as prep for this article. Like Radiohead before them, with "OK Computer" they suffer from an equivalent to they’re not “OK Computer”. But by re-exploring their rave dance roots, The Prodigy have rediscovered themselves as one of the world’s great live acts. Perhaps they’re not as innovative as they were, but who is, and is innovation really relevant in an art form that’s about to be sixty?

My own feeling is that their latest two albums are more than adequate additions to a great stable. The Prodigy’s current status is that they have avoided “The Fat Of The Land” pastiche, and they’ve certainly got at least one more landmark album in them. I suspect more.  

Only the scant legacy that is Joy Division and the seminal The Velvet Underground join The Prodigy in having their complete works on my i-Pod. The Prodigy and Radiohead are by a country mile the most important bands still active from the golden era of Brit Pop, and I await the next The Prodigy album with the same excitement as I awaited the previous two.

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The Yardbirds were a British R&B/Psychedelic influenced band that launched the careers of seminal musicians, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

Their best known songs were gems such as: ''For Your Love'', ''Heart Full Of Soul'' and ''I'm A Man'' and were a highly influential band - their guitar sound - heavy with feedback - was unique at the time.

They celebrated a period in their career of a joint musicianship between Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck but went on to become a quartet for the remainder of their career, despite experiencing many line-ups changes.

The band split in 1968, after the classic ''difference in musical direction'' and played their final gig in July 1968 at the Luton Technical College in Bedfordshire, England.

From the ashes of The Yardbirds emerged the formation of music giants, Led Zeppelin. Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja reformed The Yardbirds in the 1990's - in 2003 the album ''Birdland'' was released.

Nearly all the surviving members from the band attended the induction into the ''Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame'' in 1992, including Beck and Page.

Sources: Wendy Gabriel; Lloyd Hemingway

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Eric Clapton

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UK Punk pioneers X-Ray Spex formed in 1976, as deliberate underachievers; a shambling musical mess of Rebellion and fashion, as main muse ‘Poly Styrene’ danced to her punchy “buzz saw ‘n’ biscuit-tin’ band,” whilst trying to fight off Saxophonist Lora Logic.

Not conventionally attractive, Styrene wore thick braces on her teeth, and once stated that “I am not a sex symbol, and if somebody tried to make me one, I’d shave my head tomorrow” - Which she later did at John Lydon’s apartment, prior to the ‘Rock Against Racism’ concert in Victoria Park, Hackney in 1977. Lydon’s close friend and bassist for his post-punk venture PiL described Styrene as “a very strange girl, who often talked about hallucinating. She freaked John out.”

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X-Ray Spex later went on to record two live sessions for John Peel, at BBC Radio 1, their profile further enhanced by a fortnightly residency at CBGB’s, even though their debut album “Germ Free Adolescent’s,” was not released in America until late 1992. 

However after releasing the album in the UK, along with a number of singles, including the notorious “Oh Bondage, Up Yours” - a track often confused with the riot girl movement some fifteen years later, the band split up in 1979, when Styrene left the band to record a solo album and join the Hare Krishna movement. 

The band had several failed reconciliation attempts, before finally reforming more successfully in 1995 to release a new album “Conscious Consumer.” Although heralded as the first in a trilogy, the album was not a commercial success, Styrene later explained that touring and promotional work came to an abrupt halt,  when she was run over by a fire engine in central London. The group disbanded, but subsequent releases include a compilation of the group’s early records, a live album, and an anthology of all the aforementioned.

Members include Jak Airport (born Jack Stafford), guitar; Paul Dean, bass; John Gun (joined in 1979), saxophone; B.P. Hurding, drums; Laura Logic (born Susan Whitby; left band in 1977; returned in 1995), saxophone; Poly Styrene (born Marion Elliot), vocals; Rudi Thompson (joined band in 1977), saxophone. 

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Labelled one of Australia’s most successful rock exports, INXS rocked the 80s and 90s with a mix of new wave and indie rock music fronted by one of the sexiest men in rock-n-roll, Michael Hutchence. The original line-up of Hutchence, Kirk Pengilly, Garry Gary Beers, and Farris Brothers Tim, Andrew and Jon were responsible for a series of hits including Original Sin, Need You Tonight, Devil Inside and New Sensation.

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Despite the tragic death of Hutchence in 1997, the band have continued to tour and can claim a career of over 30 years with an induction into the Rock and Hall of Fame, over 30 million records sold and countless industry awards.

The origins of the band start in the late-70s when the band formed and performed across Australia. The members of INXS were not from wealthy families, and like other young Australians, they could look forward to careers in factory work, or perhaps getting into a family business selling cheap classic car insurance.  Instead, they followed their passion for music and formed a band that would some day dominate the music charts. By 1980, the band had signed with an independent label run by the former manager of another great Aussie band, AC/DC.

INXS released its first album in December 1980 and it contained the single Just Keep Walking. This song was the first Australian Top 40 single. The band kicked off a series of Australian tours and eventually recorded a song called The One Thing which managed to secure INXS some international interest.

In 1982, INXS signed a deal with labels in North America and Europe. The One Thing was the band’s first video to be aired on MTV.

One year later, the band released the single Original Sin which was to become its first #1.

During 1984, the band embarked on a non-stop global tour and began getting some critical acclaim. The band’s sound was decidedly moving from new wave towards unadulterated rock.

The widely celebrated album Kick was released in October 1987. This album contained the mega-hits New Sensation, Never Tear Us Apart, Devil Inside and Need You Tonight. The band followed with the album X which produced top ten hits in the form of Suicide Blonde and Disappear.

The band released a final album, Elegantly Wasted, with Hutchence in 1997 but it failed to make waves in the charts.

In November 1997, Hutchence was found dead in a Sydney hotel room. The official autopsy labelled it suicide but fans and family staunchly campaign that it was an accidental death.

Throughout the late 90s and 00s, the band has been through two replacement lead singers but following a reality TV show settled on J.D Fortune.

Juanita Appleby

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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