Since INXS first jumped out onto the music they have been the center of scandal, tragedy and great music.
With their rise to fame in the 80′s and 90′s with iconic albums such as Listen Like Thieves, Kick, X and Welcome to Wherever you are, INXS catapulted their sound out of Australia and into the stereos of people the world over. Fronted by enigmatic and over-the-top singer Michael Hutchence, the band had it all, a great sound, catchy riffs and a handsome lead singer who could rock the house while melting the ladies hearts all at the same time.
But then tragedy hit.
In 1997 Michael Hutchence was found dead in his Australian hotel room at the age of 37 to what the coroner determined was the result of suicide but what his family, wife and fans still deem as an accidental death.
After twenty years with the band, INXS had a hard decision to make; do they continue on without the face of INXS or do they close the book on a band they all poured their heart and soul into?
After a year of hibernation the band came back onto the scene and took on a barrage of singers from Terence Trent D’Arby to Jon Stevens, but never really realized the amount of success they had attained with Hutchence.
In 2005 the band decided to do something drastic, they were going to take a make it or break it decision on finding a new lead singer and let the public have a say. Joining forces with the CBS reality series Rock Star, INXS took The Bachelor approach to finding a new front man, which ultimately lead them to Mississauga, Ont. native JD Fortune.
Living in his car previous to the Rock Star:INXS competition, JD’s fortune smiled upon him and he quickly became the most talked about star in music news.
But his fortune was only short lived.
After touring for two years on the band’s successful double platinum selling album Switch, JD found himself kicked out of the band and abandoned at in an airport in Hong Kong. He told Canada’s Entertainment Tonight, “I was in an airport (in) Hong Kong and literally got a handshake. They said, ‘Thank you very much.’ I found myself really alone because I had traveled with these guys for 23 months. I don’t know where I am going from sofa to sofa, from night to night. I am trying to get through my life.” Fortune also candidly admitted that he believed the departure was due to his cocaine addiction.
INXS denied the rumours that they had abandoned Fortune and said that it was a mutual parting of ways and were “baffled” at the reports of the Hong Kong airport scandal.
One year, and a few smoothing conversations later, JD Fortune is back, clean and ready to tour again with INXS on their 12th studio album Original Sin.
Featuring guest artists such as Rob Thomas, Ben Harper, John Mayer and JD Fortune, Original Sin is an album of some of INXS’ greatest hits re-worked and re-imagined in many different ways. “We’ve re-invented these songs. Some have been done by an orchestra, some [are] stripped down and some tracks may take you [a while] to recognize what it is,” Jon Farriss told Triple M’s Home Brew earlier this year.
With a new album, new outlook and sobriety for Fortune and a new tour, INXS are bound to be in the music center once more, this time without the scandal or the tragedy.
Check out the making of Original Sin below:
This is a great article about both the band and the remaking of Original Sin. I think a lot of people do not understand why INXS chose to re release this album with different singers. Both your accurate article and these fantastic videos of INXS explaining their motives and then JD singing The Stairs were very enjoyable. THANK YOU!!
Thanks for this very fair article. I love JD’s version of The Stairs, he puts so much passion and emotion into every note!
Yes JD is with INXS! They did great shows in 2010 – The Olympics, THe AFL Grand Finals, The Sucrogen Races in Townsville AU – shows in USA, Canada and Australia.
JD’s songs The Stairs and the bonus track Love Is on the album Original Sin are fantastic songs and i am looking at the album as the beginning of forward movement. Taking the past great music, putting a “new” to it and then, i hope moving forward with more new music.
All the best to INXS and To JD Fortune!
They saved the best for last! JD Fortune performing ‘The Stairs’ is my fav. song on the cd. JD rocks that song, his smoky vocals and spoken words at the end add a je ne sais quoi to the track!! It’s amazing, and I agree ‘Love Is’ bonus track rocks it out of the ball park-unfortunately only availalble online and not on the cd.
Thanks for posting this article. I’m very happy to see that JD and the guys in INXS found a way to get past their differences and move forward. JD’s contributions to the Original Sin album are superb.
What I am especially looking forward to an album with JD and new music. I really liked Switch and I hear the guys are already working on some music for another CD. Can’t wait to hear it.
So glad to have JD Fortune with singing with INXS again. JD’s two songs on Original Sin (The Stairs and Love Is), are absolutely the best ones on the album. His powerful vocals raise both songs to new heights and the spoken word portion of The Stairs has a real emotional punch.