Before worldwide fame, INXS were already moving with serious purpose.
Zephyring 46 years ago, on October 13, 1980, INXS unleashed their rowdy spectacular self-titled debut album.
Long before Kick, “Need You Tonight” or stadium-sized fame, the Sydney six-piece were still grinding through local pubs, playing relentless live dates and figuring out exactly what kind of band they wanted to become. Their first album catches that process in motion: new wave, rock, ska and post-punk edges all pushing against each other while Michael Hutchence and company begin sounding unmistakably like INXS.
INXS: 1980
The debut before the world caught up.
INXS arrived with a restless mix of new wave, rock and ska, led by the first Australian Top 40 single “Just Keep Walking.”
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Recorded After Gigs, Sometimes From Midnight Until Dawn
The record was made under conditions that sound almost absurdly romantic now. According to the band’s official history, INXS recorded the album during midnight-to-dawn sessions between 1979 and 1980, often after already playing two local pub gigs in a day around Sydney.
That explains some of the record’s lean, wired energy. It does not sound like a band arriving with a polished master plan. It sounds like six musicians testing where they can go next — and doing it while still carrying the momentum of the stage into the studio.
“Just Keep Walking” Became Their First Australian Top 40 Hit
The album’s early breakthrough came with “Just Keep Walking,” released as a single in September 1980. The track became INXS’ first Australian Top 40 hit and remains one of the clearest snapshots of the band before the sleek global pop-rock machine fully clicked into place.
There is already plenty of what would eventually become familiar: Hutchence’s cool, controlled frontman presence, Kirk Pengilly’s saxophone in the mix, the Farriss brothers locking into a restless rhythmic framework and Garry Gary Beers giving the songs their low-end propulsion. But this is still INXS before the refinement — rougher around the edges, more angular and more openly tied to the Australian pub and new-wave scene they came out of.
The Debut Was Only the Beginning
The self-titled album reached the Australian Top 30, but it would be another few years before INXS truly broke internationally. Their second album, Underneath the Colours, followed in 1981, then Shabooh Shoobah in 1982 began pushing them beyond Australia. By the middle of the decade, they were no longer a promising Sydney band — they were on their way to becoming one of the defining rock acts of their era.
Still, there is something especially fun about hearing and seeing them at this stage. The ingredients are already there, but nothing is fully polished yet. This is INXS before the mythology, before the MTV domination, before the giant stages — just six guys moving fast and figuring it out.
Revisit INXS’ “Just Keep Walking” From Their 1980 Debut Era
INYIM revisits early INXS as the band’s self-titled debut marks 46 years since its October 13, 1980 release.
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Sources: INXS official site; INXS official YouTube.
