INXSOn February 19th of this year, we passed the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Brit Awards. As expected, it was a big year for Oasis, who were riding high off the back of their (What's The Story) Morning Glory? album, and ultimately took out British Album Of The Year and British Group.
However, it was the presentation of the award for Best British Video that made headlines.
As INXS frontman Michael Hutchence invited the group to the stage in honour of their Wonderwall clip, Liam Gallagher accepted the award by referencing an apparent feud the two acts had been involved in.
Noel Gallagher, however, was far more overt in his sentiments, with his cut-from-broadcast comments seeing him famously claim that “has-beens shouldn't give awards to gonna-bes.”
Three decades later, and both acts were in contention for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
For Oasis, it was their third nomination, having received their first nod back in 2024, while INXS received their first.
This week, the final results came in, and it was announced that alongside the likes of the Wu-Tang Clan, Iron Maiden, Phil Collins, Sade, Joy Division/New Order, and more, Oasis had made the cut.
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INXS, however, were relegated to the ‘better luck next time’ pile, joining the likes of Jeff Buckley, Shakira, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, The Black Crowes, and more.
However, INXS were in with a good chance. After all, the annual fan vote had them ending in sixth position of the seven highest-voted acts.
While New Edition won the poll with 1,022,683 votes Phill Collins, Pink, Shakira, and Luther Vandross all followed behind, with INXS scoring 645,021 votes – beating out Sade.
Sadly, these fan votes don’t have any bearing on the final list of inductees – as evidenced by the fact that Oasis and Joy Division/New Order were found third and second-to-last, respectively.
Of course, criticism has been levelled at the Rock Hall over the years as to whether inductions even matter, whether it’s simply a case of popularity reigning supreme instead of technical proficiency, or something else entirely.
Then there’s the acts who are outspoken in their derision of the Rock Hall. One notable example this year is Liam Gallagher, who has been rather vocal in his feelings about the musical institution.
“Fuck the Rock n Roll hall of fame its full of BUMBACLARTS,” he wrote on social media in early 2024, before urging fans to not vote for the group in the public poll. “Don’t waste your time as much as it’s appreciated it’s all a load of bollox”.
“I honestly feel there’s something very fishy about those awards,” he later added. “You know it I don’t need some wank award by some geriatric in a cowboy hat”.
Compare and contrast with INXS, who reflected on the nomination in a diplomatic chat with Billboard recently.
“I think everybody in the band is thrilled and excited to be nominated, and obviously we’re very much honored to have something like that,” said Andrew Farriss “It’s something, I guess, that goes into the history books, whatever they are.
“I never started writing songs and playing music to be in a hall of fame; that’s not why I started doing it — but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it. I’m a little philosophical about all that; I think when something’s meant to happen, it’s going to happen in your life, whether you realize it or not.
“I probably wouldn’t be the first person to say I’m just amazed to be able to be in a situation like this; it comes as a surprise, believe it or not,” he added. “You’re not entitled to anything; you’re kind of lucky, whatever comes your way. I’m grateful.”
The rules of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame state that an artist become eligible 25 years after the release of their first record. For INXS, this means they’ve officially been eligible since 2005 – eight years since the untimely passing of Hutchence in 1997.
The same year that Hutchence passed, Australia received its first showing in the Rock Hall, with the Bee Gees – the familial group founded by the Gibb brothers who flourished in Australia after emigrating from the UK.
It would be another six years before Australia received another inductee, with Sydney rockers AC/DC making their way in.
Since then, no other Australian acts have made their way into these venerated ranks – or even been nominated. (One exception, however, is the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea, who was born in Melbourne prior to relocating to Los Angeles.)
However, maybe it’s time that the wider – for lack of a better word, ‘mainstream’ – music world paid attention to the contributions of Australian acts?
Though history tends to indicate that acts who are nominated will eventually find their way into the Rock Hall (especially if they do so well in the fan vote), it’s a case of when that may be. It took INXS 21 years since becoming eligible to receive a nomination, while this year marks 25 years since they were inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame.
But are they worthy of induction?
Well, if we consider the historically US and UK-centric focus of the Rock Hall, one would likely need to assume that any act that is worthy of induction would need to have made an impact on the global stage.
If one looked at Aussie acts who have topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, we’re left with the likes of the Bee Gees (including Andy Gibb as a solo act), Helen Reddy, Olivia Newton-John, Rick Springfield, Air Supply, Men At Work, Savage Garden, Air Supply, Iggy Azalea, Sia, The Kid LAROI, Gotye, and – of course – INXS.
Of these, all but Gotye, Iggy Azalea, and The Kid LAROI are eligible for inclusion, but only INXS has so far received a prior nomination.
INXS received their first major showing on the US charts when Listen Like Thieves hit No. 11 in 1985, with Kick peaking at No. 3 two years later, and X reaching No. 5 in 1990. At home, they topped the charts three times, with The Swing, Listen Like Thieves, and X, while Kick peaked at No. 2.
In 1987, their single Need You Tonight topped the US chart, with Devil Inside and New Sensation both reaching No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, while Never Tear Us Apart would reach No. 7.
In Australia, the group never topped the singles chart, though Suicide Blonde and Good Times (their Easybeats-covering Jimmy Barnes collaboration for The Lost Boys soundtrack) both peaked at No. 2,
INXS received three Grammy nominations (one of the local few acts to do so), and toured the world multiple times. If anything, it’s hard to find an Australian band whose impact is more pronounced on a global stage that is worthy of being recognised by an institution like the Rock Hall if not INXS.
Though it remains to be seen whether they’ll receive another nomination next year, or at some other point in the future, it’s likely that INXS will remain Australia’s best shot at representation in the Rock Hall for some time.
However, as Farriss told Billboard recently, he knows that whatever the case, he’s certain that the likes of Hutchence would simply be happy the group were even mentioned as nominees.
“I know he’d be honored with this,” Farriss told the publication. “One thing he said very early on in our career is, ‘One day I’d like to think whatever we did mattered.’ That’s something he said. I think this shows that it did. That’s pretty cool.”
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
