It was supposed to be the album that cashed in on all their hard work.  INXS had come off the road from successfully promoting their previous record Listen Like Thieves, and they were ready to take the momentum they’d built up to create the album of their career.

The Australian band’s popularity had grown steadily since their stateside debut in 1983 with the single “The One Thing.”  But rock in the ‘80s pretty much belonged to Mötley Crüe, Guns ’n’ Roses, and Def Leppard and the like.  And this group from down under was regularly mixing dance grooves and laying down funky rhythms with their crunchy guitars.  That had their record company worried.

INXS’ manager remembered playing their new album for the record execs.   “They just stared at their feet and grumbled,” he recalled.  And according to Billboard, the label’s president offered them $1 million to erase the tapes and start over.  His message to their manager was definitive:  “INXS are rockers, and this isn’t rock.”

But as with any good rock and roll story, INXS went on to prove them all wrong.

The name of that rejected album was Kick.  And when it finally saw the light of day, intact and unchanged, its four Top 10 singles (including the band’s first #1) helped INXS sell more than 20 million copies.

Join Great Moments in Vinyl when we chart the rise of INXS from their scruffy bar band beginnings to the stadiums and concert arenas around the world where they eventually made themselves at home.  There are plenty of tales to tell about how they got there, and we’ll fill an evening with them and play you plenty of their most beloved songs.  Because when you know the stories, you hear more in the music.