Kitch's Top 10 Classic Australian Rock Songs - #8 "Never Tear Us Apart"

"Never Tear Us Apart" – INXS

Writer(s): Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence

Album: Kick

Released: 1988

Peak Chart Position: #14

As much a part of the fabric of INXS as any other song the powerhouse writing combo of keyboard maestro Farriss and lead singer Hutchence has ever put down on paper, this haunting, epic ballad was played at Michael Hutchence’s funeral, and is most remembered for Kirk Pengilly’s saxophone solo. Hard not to get the chills when you hear this. It’s definitely the song I think of when someone mentions INXS.

A song that got better with age – and per chance was more warmly regarded following it’s appearance during Michael Hutchence’s funeral – it peaked at 14 on the ARIA Charts in August of 1988, and actually charted higher in America, where it rose to the seventh slot on the Billboard 200 all-genre charts. Kick was the album that really launched INXS onto the world stage and, for a time, they were arguably the biggest band in the world. Their downfall, though, was tragic.