“Without Andrew there would be no music for us to play.” Michael Hutchence

Massive hit singles such as ‘Original Sin’ (first Australian Number One), ‘What You Need’ (first Top 10 in the US), and ‘Need You Tonight’ (huge worldwide smash Number One) were the key cornerstones of Andrew’s much lauded song-writing partnership with Michael Hutchence.

Born 27 March 1959 in Perth, Western Australia, Andrew is the second eldest of the Farriss siblings. It was at Davidson High School that he would meet Michael Hutchence. The two became best friends, with Hutchence joining Andrew’s band, Doctor Dolphin. One year later, The Farris Brothers formed.

Andrew is credited solely with keyboards on the band’s earliest albums, but by 1984′s The Swing, he was listed as also playing guitar. On stage, he also plays harmonica and various hand-held percussion instruments.

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“For it to really work, you have to have a feel for what people like to listen to – you need to know what excites them as well as what excites yourself”. Andrew Farriss

Keyboard, Vocals, Harmonica, Guitars

“I’ve never had any bass lessons. I was learning the guitar for about nine months and was just terrible. I trundled off and bought the first bass I looked at. It was a Maya – a Les Paul copy – which cost me.” Garry Beers. Don’t let the passive demeanour fool you. With elastic-fantastic bass lines a specialty, Garry Beers is anything but a silent participant with INXS. Approaching his bass duties with the thunderous attack of one third of a power trio, but with the unassuming precision of a seasoned session player, Gary makes it all look so easy.

The eldest member of INXS, Garry Gary William Beers was born on 22 June 1957 in Manly, New South Wales. While attending Forest High School (and working at a local petrol station), a fortuitous meeting with Andrew led to Garry joining his band Doctor Dolphin, which led to The Farriss Brothers with Tim, Kirk and Jon, and the eventual name change to INXS in 1979.

Throwing in on band compositions like ‘Just Keep Walking’, ‘Don’t Change’, ‘The Swing’ and ‘Listen Like Thieves’ in the early days of the band kept Garry’s hand in the mix. However it was his innovative single “B-side” tracks like ‘Sweet As Sin’ and ‘Middle Beast’ which exposed his particular talents best.

“Our music was always meant to be a celebration and something personal to share with the world. That’s what it’s all about!” Garry Beers

Bass

"We have very high expectations for ourselves and take what we do very seriously. INXS is a most beautiful gift, and I thank all our fans for supporting us for all these years.” Jon Farriss.

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A drummer’s drummer by any standards, Jon Farriss knows his craft well and has been a prolific writer and producer inside and outside of INXS for many years.  The youngest of the Farriss brothers, Jonathon James Farriss was born August 10, 1961 in Perth, Western Australia. Turning pro at 16, Jon had begun learning the drums at just four years old. As part of cover band Top Cat, he gained invaluable experience with different musical styles including rock and cabaret. A chance jam between members of Jon’s brother’s two bands (Guiness and Doctor Dolphin) led to him joining them to become The Farriss Brothers.

When the Farriss family moved from Sydney to Perth in 1978 with Jon still in school, the entire band followed in order to stay together until he could graduate and play full time for what was to eventually become INXS in 1979. 

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Drummer

Kirk Pengilly was born in Kew, Victoria on July 4th 1958. At the age of 8, he and his family relocated to Cottage Point, a remote “weekender” village nestled in the middle of the Kuringai Chase National Park on the outskirts of Sydney. With no electricity and a 10km dirt road to civilization, Kirk’s early years were spent either outdoors or teaching himself guitar.

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In 1971 while at high school Kirk started a friendship with Tim Farriss. They formed a garage band, Guiness, in which Kirk was the principal songwriter and lead singer. In 1976, Guinness disbanded and less than a year later, The Farriss Brothers was born. Michael Hutchence and Kirk shared lead vocals for a short time but, as Michael didn’t play an instrument, it made sense for Kirk to step down and concentrate on guitar.

More than thirty years on and Kirk has had a definitive place in INXS, being principal backing vocalist, saxophonist and guitarist. Apart from his co-writes with Michael on a number of INXS albums, he has written, produced and performed numerous “B-side singles” and co wrote the song ‘Like It Or Not’, which appears on the album, ‘Switch’.

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Kirk has been one of the key publicity spokespersons for INXS and also holds the distinction of being the band’s archivist, faithfully logging daily entries in diaries that date back to the beginning of INXS. He was heavily involved in the bands only authorised biographical book, ‘Story To Story’, in which he wrote the book’s foreward.

Guitars, Vocals, Saxophone

Michael Hutchence led INXS from height to height during their journey to the top. Like all timeless performers, Michael made the moment – whether it was on record or on stage.

Born January 22, 1960 in Australia and raised and schooled in Hong Kong as a young boy, Michael returned to Sydney in 1972. It was at Davidson High School in Frenchs Forest that he met aspiring musician Andrew Farriss. That friendship would eventually lead to the forming of The Farriss Brothers with Garry Gary Beers, Kirk Pengilly, Tim Farriss and Jon Farriss in 1977. 

Largely co-writing most of INXS’s repertoire of hits and classic songs with Andrew, Michael blossomed into a powerful rock singer and lyricist with a zest to match the bands rich internal musical dynamics. Michael was also a sensitive ‘artist’ with poetic and literary interests – a combination that would serve him well throughout his career.

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1996 brought a new ‘creation’ of Michael’s into the world – a baby daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily. Together with her mother Paula Yates, Michael was starting a new family and things were good. Band activities resumed with writing, recording and touring through 1997 until something terrible happened. On November 22, while about to start a tour of Australia with INXS, Michael tragically died. 

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After Michael’s sudden death, time was needed to make sense of what remained. Michael’s wish to finish his long-delayed solo album would be fulfilled by those involved and brought to release in late 1999 (2000 in the US). Called Michael Hutchence, the album combined a different sensibility of musical approach than that of his INXS output. Utilizing loops and moods to convey atmosphere (similar to Massive Attack or Portishead), the record is a tantalizing experiment – a piece of art. The pumping rock track ‘A Straight Line’ was released a single to international markets, and Michael’s legacy has continued unabated since then with compilations of his most important work with INXS.

Lead Vox

As integral as he is to the band, Tim Farriss is also its biggest fan, thoroughly enjoying everything the band did with an infectious glee. A guitarist of considerable skill – and a man with wit and wisdom to match – Tim is the heart of INXS in many ways…

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Born 16 August 1957, in Perth, Australia, Tim is the oldest of the three Farriss brothers. Music was always a big part of Tim’s life, learning guitar at an early age. Attending Forest High School in Frenchs Forest, Tim fortuitously met Kirk Pengilly and soon put together a band with him called Guiness. After a time, Tim and Kirk combined with Andrew, Michael, Garry and Jon to form The Farriss Brothers (which later became INXS).

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Tim initially managed the band, getting the gigs and handing out the money with Kirk. He is looked upon by his band members as a father figure and, along with Kirk and Michael, handled most of the publicity assignments up through 1997.

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“Initially it was only Tim who believed we could go somewhere. He was always the car salesman, the one pushing us, getting us gigs and talking about us. We all just sat back and thought how good it was that we were living in a house together, playing gigs and getting free beer.” Garry Beers.

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Within the band, Tim exudes a kinetic energy that is so important to everything INXS. Songs like ‘Don’t Change’ and ‘Devil Inside’ all bear the unmistakable mark of Tim Farriss. Although Tim is not the main songwriter for INXS, he has contributed some amazing single B-side compositions over the years such as ‘Phantom Of The Opera’, ‘I’m Coming (Home)’ and ‘11th Revolution’, which have delighted fans with their powerful playfulness.

“Taking it as far as it can go has always been what INXS is about – and I love that!” Tim Farriss

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Guitars