More than nine years after it was first released, INXS’ 2011 retrospective, The Very Best of INXS, has become the latest record to enter the pantheon of best-selling releases in the country, celebrating its newfound Diamond status.
Originally released in October of 2011, it was the latest in a long string of compilation releases from the group, though it would soon become the most successful since 1994’s The Greatest Hits. Initially reaching #39 on the ARIA charts, sales increased during promotion of the Never Tear Us Apart mini-series, with the album topping the charts in February of 2014.
Since then, the record has spent 430 weeks in the ARIA Top 100 albums, with 315 spent in the top 50, and seven at #1. In January of 2020, ARIA’s End of Decade charts saw the record named as the Australian Album of the Decade, cementing its place in history.
Now, the record’s success has once again been recognised, with the announcement of it being certified Diamond, for sales in excess of 500,000 copies – an incredible feat in the era of digital streaming. The announcement was made at last week’s ARIA Awards, where Tim Farriss and Kirk Pengilly presented the award for ‘Best Band’.
“It’s very hard to express the pride and joy I have at this moment,” explained Petrol Records Founder and Chairman, CM Murphy. “It is now 10 years since returning to INXS and with their highest selling album having achieved a Diamond Award and now voted by the people as Artist of the Decade, it brings me to tears!”
INXS have currently been inactive since the end of 2012, though the group’s influence has never left the spotlight. In 2019, the Mystify documentary, about late frontman Michael Hutchence aired, while Murphy recently signed a development deal with Sydney producer Michael Cassel (Hamilton) to develop a major live musical production for Broadway and the West End.
