INXS Unveiled: Untold Stories Behind the Iconic Michael Hutchence 1985 Rolling Stone Cover

‘Behind The Rolling Stone Cover’ is sponsored by Shure, affordable, durable, and exceptional-sounding microphones you can rely on. Available to watch and listen on Rolling Stone AU/NZ, and to stream on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major podcast platforms.

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In Australian music history, there aren’t many artists more iconic than INXS frontman Michael Hutchence. 

Born in Sydney in 1960, Hutchence was the co-founder of Aussie rock band INXS which became a global phenomenon, selling over 95 million records worldwide. 

In 1985, INXS were at the height of their fame. They had just released their critically approved album Listen Like Thieves, and early the next year they would have their first taste of US fame with “What You Need”. 

Image: Toby Creswell, 1985 Rolling Stone Australia Editor

There was nobody better to write about Hutchence during this time than Toby Creswell. Creswell would go on to write Hutchence’s biography Shine Like It Does: The Life of Michael Hutchence in 2017, but in October 1985 he was marking a place in Australian music history with his Rolling Stone Australia cover story on Hutchence. 

In the latest episode of ‘Behind The Rolling Stone Cover’, sponsored by Shure, Rolling Stone AU/NZ Editor-in-Chief Poppy Reid sat down with Creswell to find out the story behind the cover.

Creswell and Reid talk about where INXS sat in music culture in the mid-80s and the band’s late manager Chris Murphy. 

Creswell, who was the Music Editor of Rolling Stone Australia at the time, tells Reid how momentous it was to have Hutchence as the first local act on the cover of the mag, and his experience interviewing the band, seeing them play live and later, partying with them. 

Image: Michael Hutchence from INXS on the 1985 Rolling Stone Cover

Creswell also reflects on journalism today, his thoughts on the future of AI in journalism and creating longform pieces, plus he takes Reid through his own history, including where he was when news hit of Hutchence’s untimely death in 1997. 

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