The Loved Ones Trivia Quiz

Answer: Original Sin

The producer of this 1983 single was the legendary Nile Rodgers and his fingerprints on the recording left an indelible mark. Originally titled "Brand New Day", Rodgers changed it to "Original Sin" and had the band alter the lyric from "white boy, white girl" to "black boy, white girl" (and vice versa). His view was that the biblical reference coupled with attitudes that still prevailed in respect to segregated relationships in the 1980s would have a deeper psychological impact.

He was on the money. The single gained the band some serious attention despite being banned by numerous radio stations across the United States. The song, which deals with how the beliefs of the parents are handed down to their children, peaked at number one on the Australian ARIA charts and rose to number 58 on Billboards' Hot 100.

Answer: Never Tear Us Apart

Andrew Farriss composed the music for this song in 1986 as an up-tempo blues number and sought Michael Hutchence's opinion of it. Hutchence felt that the tune had potential and a lyric had come to his mind early, however, he needed Farriss to slow it down a number of times to accommodate the words.

Of the lyrics, in a 2020 interview with Songfacts, Farriss confided that the words came surprisingly quickly to Michael and, that because of the toughness he was able to instill into them, remained one of his proudest achievements. The irony, or, perhaps it should called the artistry, of the words, is that they speak of a union between two lovers that had created an unbreakable bond, had come from a man who'd had passionate relationships with Kylie Minogue and Helena Christensen, but was unable to commit to any long term partnership.

The song, which was played at Hutchence's funeral, has been covered numerous times and, in 2014, was adopted as the unofficial theme song of the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). It is played for 60 seconds just prior to the official bouncedown at Port's home games as a nod to the difficulties that the club endured while trying to establish themselves in Australia's premier football league.

Answer: Elegantly Wasted

"Elegantly Wasted", released in 1997, was the last single that INXS would release while Michael Hutchence was still alive. In some respects, this adds a morbid quality to the lyrics, written by the same man. The words appear to be semi-autobiographical, coming from the heart of a young man who was surrounded by the trappings of fame and struggling to keep himself grounded. Hutchence would pass away some eight months later, by his own hand.

Harking back ten years, two bands, U2 and INXS, would release seminal albums, "The Joshua Tree" (U2) and "Kick" (INXS), that would catapult both bands to super-stardom. Both bands had charismatic front-men in Bono and Michael Hutchence respectively and, both of them struggled with the sudden adulation. Fortunately, for U2, Bono was able to come to grips with his issues, sadly, Hutchence remained traumatized.

Answer: Mediate

"Need You Tonight" is the fourth track on INXS' groundbreaking album "Kick" (1987). It immediately segues into "Mediate".

Segues into songs were not a new concept. You only needed to look at Steve Miller Band's "Space Intro" which kicks into "Jet Airliner" (1977), the Beatles with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" warming into "With a Little Help From My Friends" (1967) and Elton John's "Funeral for a Friend" drifting into "Love Lies Bleeding" in 1973 to be aware of this. After realizing that "Need You Tonight" and "Mediate" held the same tempo, producer Chris Thomas, suggested the segue idea to the band.

The lyrics, written by Andrew Farriss, are, essentially, fifty words and phrases, that rhyme with the word "ate" ("depreciate, fabricate, emulate, the truth dilate") cobbled together. The video for the song, shot by Richard Lowenstein, shows Michael Hutchence in an industrial alleyway, tossing cue cards that reveal the next lyric, in much the same way that D.A. Pennebaker treated the film clip to Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" (1965).

(Footnote) The Dylan clip would provide Pennebaker with the opening segment to his 1965 documentary "Don't Look Back".

Answer: Good Times

The original version of this song was released by the Easybeats in 1968. In accord with its title, it was such a boisterous, rollicking number that, upon hearing it on the radio for the first time, Paul McCartney contacted the station and requested that they play it again.

In a similar manner, the INXS/Jimmy Barnes version (1986) is just as exuberant and infectious. Produced to promote a series of concerts called "Australia Made", that were held across the nation between Boxing Day 1986 and Australia Day (January 26, 1987), it peaked at number two on the Australian ARIA charts and had great success in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada. In the United States, it rose to number 47 on Billboards' Hot 100.

Answer: Suicide Blonde

In an article published in the newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald (Andrew Hornery, 23 November, 2011), Kylie Minogue spoke of her relationship with INXS' front-man Michael Hutchence. She joked about Michael claiming that his favourite hobby was "corrupting Kylie", however, she also acknowledged that without his influence, she would never have made the transition from the innocent "pop princess" to the "sensual siren" that would become her trademark.

Her change during this time was so extraordinary that her fans barely recognized her when she appeared at the premiere of her film "The Delinquents" (1989) with a bleached blonde hairdo and thigh high dress, while draped across the arm of Michael. In jest, she labelled the hair colour "suicide blonde". The term struck a chord with Hutchence and provided the inspiration for this 1990 song.

The track became the lead single for the band's 1990 album "X" and, whilst not a critical success, proved to be a substantial seller and heralded a small change in direction for the band. To put your mind at ease, the song does not deal with suicide and, despite its title and the manner of Michael Hutchence's death, the band had no qualms in playing the song at live shows after his passing.

Answer: What You Need

INXS were the darling of the Australian music scene in the mid 1980s and whilst they'd gained some notoriety in the United States market, to this point, they'd not made a significant impact. Their follow-up album to 1984's "The Swing" was "Listen Like Thieves" (1985), the album that was supposed to change all that.

After the band had completed the album, producer Chris Thomas informed them that they had a strong product, but it was devoid of a hit single. That evening Andrew Farriss pulled out an old demo tape that he'd labelled "Funk Song No. 13". Thomas loved the groove and within a day the band had assembled "What You Need". The funk rock track, which was built around a massive chorus, was a huge hit in Canada and New Zealand and peaked at number five on Billboard's Hot 100. The band were on their way.

Answer: Pretty Vegas

After the death of their charismatic front-man, Michael Hutchence, INXS went through a withdrawal phase while searching for a new lead singer. Various artists, including Terrence Trent D'Arby, were tried without being able to generate the same chemistry. Jon Stevens, formerly of Noiseworks, filled the role with some success between 2000 and 2003. At one stage a female was considered, with a formal offer being made to Suzi DeMarchi, lead singer of their contemporaries the Baby Animals. Eventually they pinned their faith on using a reality TV series "Rock Star: INXS" in 2005 to resolve the issue.

The programme brought together 15 contestants to vie for the privilege of being the band's new lead. This was whittled down to eight, at which point the contestants were divided into two teams of four, given a melody by Andrew Farriss and tasked with the job of creating a set of lyrics for the tune. The eventual winner, J.D. Fortune, an Elvis impersonator, clashed with his team and decided to "go it" alone. He appealed to the band with a set of lyrics that reflected the darker side of Las Vegas, his own stomping ground.

Released as the lead single off the band's 2005 album "Switch", the song peaked at number 38 on Billboard's Hot 100 and provided the band with their first Top Ten hit on Australia's ARIA charts in almost 14 years.

Answer: Don't Change

This is a song that reeks of defiance and positivism and, one that songwriter Andrew Farriss described as being born from the view that "nothing lasts forever, despite us wanting the contrary". A melancholic synthesizer rolls out the track and sets a downward mood before a rush of guitars lifts it and heralds the opening to one the band's most beloved songs.

Launched on the band's third album, "Shabooh Shoobah" (1982), "Don't Change" became a potent live staple for INXS and, somehow, became a symbolic final call for the band when they decided that their time was done. That day was November 11, 2012, appropriately Remembrance Day in Australia, at the Perth Arena in Western Australia where they were the opening act for Matchbox 20. Andrew Farriss announced to a stunned crowd "this is our last gig" as Rob Thomas, the Matchbox 20 front-man, assisted with a rousing curtain call of "Don't Change".

Answer: Need You Tonight

This is the song that almost didn't happen for INXS.

Andrew Farris and Michael Hutchence, the band's two main songwriters, had planned to spend two weeks locked away in a studio in Hong Kong, to concentrate on writing songs for their new album "Kick" (1987). This was a critical recording for the band. They had spent the previous four years getting themselves noticed in the most important music markets across the globe. This album would either make them or leave them sitting with the pack as "could-have-beens".

While Farriss was waiting for his cab to take him to the airport, the rhythm for this track suddenly occurred to him. The cab arrived. What to do... does he go to the airport or does he do something about it. Figuring the beat had potential he convinced the taxi driver to wait while he raced inside and recorded a demo. Arriving in Hong Kong he presented the track to Hutchence who took an instant liking to it. An hour later he'd completed the lyric to the song that would catapult the band to super-stardom.