May 2000

May 29, 2000:

Undercover reports that Paula Yates will inherit £400,000 ($AUD 1,041,143) after an out of court settlement was reached over the will of Michael Hutchence. Paula and Michael's daughter Tiger Lily is the main beneficiary with £2,000,000 ($AUD 5,205,717) going to the little girl. Payments from the will have been held up for years while the family carried on a search for a missing £4m believed to have been hidden in offshore investments. The INXS star's family had sued Michael's accountants for the missing millions made from his assets and royalties. The case was started by Michael's mother Patricia and his sister Tina. They claimed Michael's financial advisor Colin Diamond and his executor Andrew Paul hid the money offshore to save tax. Tiger Lily is 3 years old now, and will collect her inheritance at age 25.

The settlement over Michael Hutchence's estate was unlikely to thaw hostilities between the Hutchence family in Sydney and Paula Yates, his father Kell Hutchence said today. The deal is said to have incensed Ms Yates, who claims she was not consulted. "As far as we are concerned there is no settlement... there has been no consultation with us whatsoever," Yates' friend Belinda Brewin was quoted as saying in London's Sunday Express newspaper.

May 26, 2000:

INXS live at the Metro, Sydney Ð Thursday, May 25 Ð Fan Report #2:
I've forgotten how good it is.
There was a living, breathing thing on stage tonight at the Metro. It was the INXS of old, back with a heady exhilaration.
But what was it that made it so good? Was it the non-stop pace, hit after hit? These guys meant business, so much to cram in, time to make up for. Was it the audience, long-starved of their favourite high, responding with a fervour that goes beyond the sentimental? Unable to resist the pull of the soundtrack most of us have grown up on, pumped out with a live synergy long missing. The mutual admiration society happening on stage - "f*ckin' great singer", "f*ckin' great songs!"
Was it the two Jons in their black singlets, with duelling bare biceps to die for? Even Tim's outrageous pants, where does he shop? The Australian-ness of it: Jon Stevens slotting right in, totally acceptable, bringing his own charismatic style to it while remaining faithful to the songs. Like the rest of us, he's been witness to the glorious wave of history that was INXS, the world-conquering band - it's part of us all. His own subtle deference to it - changing the lyric to "These are the words he speaks." The words themselves, almost prophetic in places, and still relevant.
Was it the unspoken tribute to an absent friend.. Kirk and Andrew doing "Shine Like It Does", with Kirk happily admonishing the cheering audience, "Shut up, you'll make me nervous", and finishing with an exuberant kiss on Andrew's cheek. The almost continuous ear-to-ear grins on the faces of the guys. Kirk's whimsical humour: "Are you having fun?" (Audience: a rousing yes!) "We're not!" Not half! The old torturous wait for an encore, knowing more of the best was yet to come, not wanting it to finish. The palpable relief and joy of the group hug at the end. Walking out with your ears ringing, your heart singing, that irresistable buzz coming from having seen the best concert in years.
After so long being off-balance, something was very right tonight. It was a feast for sore hearts and a tantalising springboard for the future. Long live INXS! (thanks to karen lobb)

ONYA! Award Nominations
An Excess of INXS has been nominated for an award in the Australian Online Music Awards (ONYA! 2000), sponsored by OzEmail Internet and Microsoft. The ONYA! Awards were created to honour innovation, pioneering & excellence in the creation, presentation, delivery and commerce of music and music technology via the Internet. This is the second straight year inxsweb.com has been nominated. Public voting has started and will end on July 15. Please click on the logo to the right to submit your vote! Only one vote per person is allowed, and every Australian voter will also be in the running to win an Apple iMac computer! Thank you all for your kind support.

In addition to An Excess of INXS, nominated in the "Australian Fansite" category, two related sites have been nominated in the "Australian Artist Site" category that honors achievements in official sites. INXS.com and MichaelHutchence.org have both received nominations for the first time in this category. Please support these excellent websites by casting a ballot on their behalf.

May 25, 2000:

INXS live at the Metro, Sydney Ð Thursday, May 25 Ð Fan Report:
Words cannot justify the feelings felt at this memorable concert, INXS for two and a half hours played as tight as they played at their peak in the early nineties. Pelting out all the songs that made them great, without a blink could you tell a three year absence from the stage had been versed. Mr. Jon Stevens was welcomed on stage by INXS, and at many times the man standing in front could have been none other than the great one himself. INXS seemed very comfortable with Mr. Stevens, they seemed very comfortable being back on stage, unwilling to trade their wide smiles for anything else this world has to offer. The Metro, sold out, with an audience that could not let INXS party on their own, evolved into an electric-centric mother of all concerts. I have seen many bands perform at the Metro, but INXS not only lifted the roof, but lifted all souls within it. INXS is the worlds greatest live act, from the duo performance of Kirk and Andrew on "Shine Like It Does" with Kirk taking the lead, to the roaring energy of "Kick." From the awesome power of Jon Farris beating his drums on a creatively inspired rendition of "What You Need" to the curtain closers "Don't Change" and "Suicide Blonde," I had a tear run down my cheek. Two encores, five INXS members, a great friend in Jon, INXS's home crowd, emotion, elation, and Mr Michael Hutchence who I am sure was there. INXS, welcome back on stage, it was more than a pleasure. (thanks to allan ranola)

"Behind the Music" re-airing
VH-1 has announced it will re-air its special "Behind the Music: Michael Hutchence" program in the United States on Thursday, June 8 at 3pm (ET/PT). (thanks to joe)

"Elegantly Wasted" and Fatboy Slim
One of the rarest INXS mixes in existence is a remix of "Elegantly Wasted" created by Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) in 1997. Cook's assistant engineer, Simon Thornton, recently offered this comment about the remix on a Fatboy Slim email discussion list: "Only two people in the world have this mix. Norman and me. The definitive answer is: YES, we did this, but no, I doubt it'll ever come out. I doubt anyone that says they've heard it (apart from me and Norman, obviously) actually has. Sorry! Simon." (thanks to rich davis)

Richard Blade retires from KROQ radio
KROQ fixture Richard Blade recently retired after 18 years at the influential Los Angeles radio station. While playing some favorite songs and reminiscing about bands and artists on his final day, he had a few funny things to say about Michael Hutchence. One of the more memorable recountings was that Richard felt Michael Hutchence was the one person he would gladly have traded places with back in the old days. "He had everything, good looks, talent, the rock star life, and so much charisma that if he walked into a room and took your girlfriend away from you and had sex with her, you almost wouldn't mind because that's Michael, it's cool..." (thanks to rstreeting)

May 18, 2000:

INXS add second show
INXS will play another gig with singer Jon Stevens at the Metro in Sydney on Thursday, May 25. Tickets on sale from Friday, May 19 through Ticketek.

Photos of Melbourne show
Photos of the Mercury Lounge gig are up at Photoloft.com. (thanks to Jon Mayland)

INXS to tour again?
InMusic&Media reports that INXS members are eager to tour again, after a May 14 show at the Mercury Lounge in Melbourne with guest singer Jon Stevens, formerly with Noiseworks. What's more, at least three tour promoters - including Frontier Touring managing director Michael Gudinski, who co-owns the Mercury Lounge - have signalled their interest. The 90-minute set was the first "real" one from INXS since the death of singer Michael Hutchence three years ago. An audience of 1,000 people - some from other states, three flew in specifically from the U.S. - packed into the club, and called the band back for three encores. INXS has played two other shows since Hutchence's death - with Jimmy Barnes at the Mushroom 25th anniversary concert in October 1998 and with Terence Trent D'Arby at the opening of Stadium Australia last year. But as close associates of INXS say, Stevens was the best of the three surrogate vocalists. At the start of the show, Stevens - who a year ago was in Los Angeles working with former Guns N'Roses guitarist Slash - sauntered out onstage to see that the other members had stuck a "L" plate (for Learner). Halfway through the show, Tim Farriss changed it to "P" to denote "Probationary", that he'd passed his (driving) test. Stevens and the band had only two rehearsals, but as the singer told them, "I've been such a fan, I know all the words anyway". The set took in all the best known songs - "Suicide Blonde", "Kick", "Devil Inside", "Don't Change" - with the band playing with old fervour. Backstage, the mood was "emotional but definitely exhilarated. INXS definitely want to go back on the road," says an associate. But whether it's with Stevens or a group of guest vocalists remains to be seen. (thanks to Kerry Bergh)

May 15, 2000:

INXS live at the Mercury Lounge, Melbourne Ð Sunday, May 14 Ð Fan Report:
Basically, it was an inspiring event. Having seen the band on numerous occasions in the past I was a bit unsure of what to expect. Nobody could ever be Michael, nor would anyone dare try to be so I was anxious and curious to see what would happen.
Jon Stevens is reasonably well known here in Oz. He was lead singer of a band called Noiseworks which were around in the late 80's early 90's. Since then he's tried his hand at a solo career and even played a part in the Australian version of Jesus Christ superstar but I'd imagine the rest of the world has never heard of him.
The band were in blistering form. Jon & Tim were in brilliant form, both of them looked like 2 little kids let loose in a candy store with shitloads of money and no parents around to tell them what to do ! It was incredible to see just how dynamic these (old) guys were. You would never guess that it's been nearly 3 years since their last club gig.
Interesting to note that Jon didn't play with as many drum sequences (backing tracks) as he has in the past. The majority of the drum sounds were raw.. another reason why it was so impressive.
INXS absolutely rocked !! I think it took me about 5 minutes to even notice that Michael wasn't there. On the several occasions throughout the night, Jon Stevens made a point of reminding the crowd that it was INXS on stage (almost as if to say "can you believe it ?") and just how good it was and also how honoured he felt to be asked to play with the guys.
At one stage Tim told the crowd how Jon had to learn 22 songs in 2 weeks and Jon responded that it wasn't that hard, he already knew most of them anyway!
They played the following songs (in no particular order): Guns In The Sky, New Sensation, Devil Inside, Need You Tonight, The Loved One, Taste It, Heaven Sent, Original Sin, Shine Like It Does (Kirk sang this acoustic), Elegantly Wasted, Time, Suicide Blonde, Disappear, Bitter Tears, What You Need, Kiss The Dirt, Kick, Mystify, Never Tear Us Apart, and Don't Change
It would be a great tragedy if the guys didn't go on, it's amazing that after all these years INXS are still capable of delivering such a powerful performance. They remain a powerful live band.
As for Jon Stevens, he rocked !!! He had one of the most difficult jobs to do and he did it admirably. I bet he was as scared as hell and to his credit he did himself proud.
If I can leave you with an observation that I made/felt..it seemed that the band had set out to play a gig with a different singer, it did not set out to replace or erase the memory of a truly great one. There will only ever be one Michael Hutchence!! (thanks to gil from melbourne)

May 8, 2000:

Promoters SEL, who've had a streak of box office smashes with "The Main Event", "The Sound Of Music," and "Grease", admit that their tribute to Sir Timothy Rice - featuring INXS, David Essex, Kate Ceberano and Bachelor Girl - has been a box office disappointment down under. SEL hoped to do 20 arenas with an average of 15,000 capacities, but are only doing 12. The show takes in songs from Rice's legacy including excerpts from "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Evita," and "Joseph And The Technicolour Dream". SEL's Tony Cochrane admitted to "The Australian" it was a risk to tour the show in Australia before taking it to Europe. (InMusic&Media)

May 4, 2000:

INXS to play full show
INXS has announced they will be performing a one-off gig in Melbourne's music club "Mercury Lounge" on Sunday, May 14. Jon Stevens of the Australian band Noiseworks will be the singer. Tickets will be on sale on Monday, May 8 from Ticketmaster for $35 plus booking fee. For further information check the official website.

 
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