The Styrous® Viewfinder: Never Tear Us Apart

INXS ~ Kick
vinyl LP album front cover
cover concept by Michael Hutchence & Nick Egan
cover photo by Grant Matthews
photo of album cover by Styrous®

Michael Hutchence, born on January 22 1960, was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor who co-founded the rock band INXS. Hutchence was the lead singer and lyricist of INXS from 1977 until his suicide in 1997. According to rock music historian Ian McFarlane, "Hutchence was the archetypal rock showman. He exuded an overtly sexual, macho cool with his flowing locks, and lithe and exuberant stage movements." Hutchence won the 'Best International Artist' at the 1991 BRIT Awards, with INXS winning the related group award.

Never Tear Us Apart from the band's sixth studio album, Kick, is my knock-out song by the group. The staccato strings and slow, echoey glockenspiel-synths set up a sensual, dream-like mood in the intro. In the course of the song, sudden, two-second silence breaks are ended by the languid, echoey "Duane Eddy" guitar and they just grab me every time. During a 1991 concert in Wembley, England, the break was extended to 19 seconds. The crowd went wild (link below).

The sax played in the song by Kirk Pengilly is sublime; I've always been a sucker for the sax. Of course, the vocal by Hutchence is absolutely stupendous!

The song was originally composed on piano as a bluesy number in the style of Fats Domino but producer Chris Thomas suggested the synth-based arrangement instead. Paloma Faith does a superb cover of the song utilizing the original piano-based version backed with strings; it is lush and heavenly (link below).

Paloma Faith ~ Never Tear Us Apart

The single, Never Tear Us Apart, by INXS reached #24 in the UK, and stayed on the charts for seven weeks. In the U.S., it reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

INXS ~ Kick

vinyl LP album back cover

cover concept by Michael Hutchence & Nick Egan

cover photo by Grant Matthews

photo of album cover by Styrous®

Kick is the band's most successful studio album, it is certified six times platinum by the RIAA, and spawned four US top 10 singles, New Sensation, Never Tear Us Apart, Devil Inside and Need You Tonight, the last of which reached the top of the US Billboard singles charts. At the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards, the band took home five Moonmen for the Need You Tonight/Mediate video.

INXS ~ Kick

vinyl LP album gatefold cover

cover concept by Michael Hutchence & Nick Egan

cover photo by Grant Matthews

photo of gatefold cover by Styrous®

INXS ~ Kick

vinyl LP album gatefold interior

cover concept by Michael Hutchence & Nick Egan

interior photo by Grant Matthews

photo of gatefold interior by Styrous®

INXS has sold over 55 million records worldwide and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001.

In November of 1997, Hutchence committed suicide. His coffin was carried out of St. Andrews Cathedral by the remaining members of INXS and his younger brother, Rhett Hutchence, as Never Tear Us Apart was played in the background.

Following his death, the group made appearances with several guest singers and toured and recorded with Jon Stevens as lead singer beginning in 2002.

INXS ~ Kick

vinyl LP record sleeve

photos by Grant Matthews

photo of record sleeve by Styrous®

There has been a film about INXS, Never Tear Us Apart; it is a two-part Australian miniseries about the rock band and was originally telecast on February 9, 2014, then concluded on February 16, 2014. It gives a glimpse into the six-piece group that was formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales, the capital of Western Australia. A review of the film was written by the Northern Star (link below).

INXS ~ Kick

vinyl LP record sleeve

photos by Grant Matthews

photo of record sleeve by Styrous®

A couple of books, Just a Man-the Real Story of Michael Hutchence and My brother, lost boy of INXS, have been written by his sister, Tina Hutchence.

My brother, lost boy of INXS

book cover photo by Michael Putland

There was a huge custody battle over Tiger Lily, the daughter of Michael Hutchence (link below).

INXS ~ Kick

vinyl LP record, side 1

photo by Styrous®

INXS ~ Kick

vinyl LP record, side 2

photo by Styrous®

INXS ~ Kick

vinyl LP album front cover detail track list

cover concept by Michael Hutchence & Nick Egan

photo by Grant Matthews

detail photo of album front cover by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A1 - Guns In The Sky, written by M. Hutchence* - 2:20

A2 - New Sensation, written by A. Farriss*, M. Hutchence* - 3:39

A3 - Devil Inside, written by A. Farriss*, M. Hutchence* - 5:11

A4 - Need You Tonight, written by A. Farriss*, M. Hutchence* - 3:04

A5 - Mediate, written by A. Farriss* - 2:32

A6 - The Loved One, written by Humphries*, Clyne*, Lovett* - 3:25

Side 2:

B1 - Wild Life, written by A. Farriss*, M. Hutchence* - 3:07

B2 - Never Tear Us Apart, written by A. Farriss*, M. Hutchence* - 3:02

B3 - Mystify, written by A. Farriss*, M. Hutchence* - 3:15

B4 - Kick, written by A. Farriss*, M. Hutchence* - 3:13

B5 - Calling All Nations, written by A. Farriss*, M. Hutchence* - 3:00

B6 - Tiny Daggers, written by A. Farriss*, M. Hutchence* - 3:29

Companies, etc.

    Manufactured By – Atlantic Recording Corporation
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – Atlantic Recording Corporation
    Copyright (c) – Atlantic Recording Corporation
    Published By – MCA Music Publishing
    Published By – Woomera Music
    Recorded At – Rhinoceros Studios
    Recorded At – Studio De La Grande Armée
    Mixed At – Air Studios
    Published By – Tol Muziek
    Mastered At – Specialty Records Corporation
    Mastered At – Sheffield Lab Matrix – △18368
    Pressed By – Allied Record Company – B-29252
    Pressed By – Allied Record Company – B-29253

Credits:

    Art Direction, Design – Bob Withers, Ken Smith (10), Nick Egan
    Bass – Garry Gary Beers
    Cover [Cover Concept] – Michael Hutchence, Nick Egan
    Drums, Percussion – Jon Farriss
    Engineer – David Nicholas
    Engineer [Assistant Mix] – Richard Moakes
    Engineer [Assistant Recording] – Paula Jones
    Guitar – Andrew Farriss, Kirk Pengilly, Tim Farriss
    Keyboards – Andrew Farriss
    Lacquer Cut By – TY1*
    Mixed By – Bob Clearmountain
    Photography By – Grant Matthews (2)
    Producer – Chris Thomas
    Saxophone – Kirk Pengilly
    Vocals – Kirk Pengilly, Michael Hutchence

Notes:

Allied Record Company pressing denoted by "-AR" suffix in label matrix and AR etches in runouts.

Recorded at Rhinoceros Recordings (Sydney) and Studio De La Grand Armeé (Paris).
Mixed at Air Studios (London).
Manufactured by Atlantic Recording Corp.
Printed in U.S.A.
All songs Published by MCA Music Publishing, a division of MCA, Inc., ASCAP except:
A6 - Published by Woomera Music

(P)(C) 1987 Atlantic Recording Corporation

*Plating (Processing / Metalwork) was done at Specialty Records Corporation but the record itself was actually Pressed at Allied Record Company.
Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Barcode (Text): 0 7567-81796-1
    Barcode (Scan; Format: UPC_A): 075678179617
    Matrix / Runout (Variant 1, Matrix side B, on label): ST-A-876610-AR
    Matrix / Runout (Variant 1, Runout A, etched): ST-A-876609 A 1-2 SP-AR △18368 B-29252-A
    Matrix / Runout (Variant 1, Runout B, etched): ST-A-876610 B 1-2 SP-AR △18368-X B-29253-B
    Matrix / Runout (Variant 1, Runout both sides, stamped): ɑ TY1 [SRC Logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Variant 2, Side A etched matrix codes): ST-A-876609 A 1-1
    Matrix / Runout (Variant 2, Side B etched matrix codes): ST-A-876610 B 1-4
    Matrix / Runout (Variant 2, both sides stamped matrix codes): TY1 [SRC Logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Variant 3, Side A etched matrix codes): ST-A-876609 A 1-4 SP-AR 0- ∆18368 B-29252-A
    Matrix / Runout (Variant 3, Side B etched matrix codes): ∆18368-X ST-A-876610-B 1-2 SPAR B-29253-B 0-
    Matrix / Runout (Variant 3, both sides stamped matrix codes): TY1 [SRC Logo]
    Pressing Plant ID (On label): AR
    Rights Society: ASCAP

INXS ‎– Kick
Label: Atlantic ‎– 81796-1, Atlantic ‎– 7 81796-1
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Allied Pressing, Gatefold
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Alternative Rock


Viewfinder links:

INXS articles/mentions
Michael Hutchence
Never Tear Us Apart lyrics

Net links:

INXS discography
Michael Hutchence ~ Official Website
Northern Star ~ The untold INXS story on the little screen
Daily Mail ~ The coroner's report

Diffuser ~ The Tragic Story of Michael Hutchence's Death
The CBC ~ Remembering Michael Hutchence 15 Years After His Death