OK, so we all know the how the story goes; Aussie rockers INXS tragically lose charismatic
frontman and all seems lost. A variety of singers step into the late Michael Hutchence's shoes but none seem to be striding around in them all that comfortably.
The guys then decide to take the unusual step of searching for a new vocalist via a reality tv show. A disaster waiting to happen? Well if the new album
'Switch' and their triumphant return to the stage is anything to go by, then the answer is a resounding NO!
As the countdown clock on the curtain ticked ever nearer to showtime, anticipation level of witnessing what for many would be there first glimpse of their newly re-energized heroes was rising.
Suicide Blonde opened proceedings and set the bands stall out for the next two hours.
A brand new track' Devil's Party' soon followed as new boy J.D Fortune banished any lingering doubts any of the
crowd may have had over this new incarnation. He has a definite star quality about him and performed with such
craft that it looked as if he had been doing it his whole life. He seems to have studied the "History of frontmen"
book from cover to cover and lifted from the best without becoming a parody.
His vocals on occasion sounded very close to David Bowie but make no mistake there is only one J.D. Fortune.
More new songs taken from the album 'Switch'; Afterglow, Pretty Vegas, Hungry, Never Let You Go, more than held their own against the classics; By My Side, Disappear, Mystify and Need You Tonight.
At the end of the evening there wasn't a single member of the audience left in any doubt whatsoever that this was a new dawn for the band. And although the shadow of Hutchence will always be present, hovering above anything the band do and will
be mentioned in every interview and review (including this one) the stage and the band are in safe hands and fortunes are definitely on the up.
INXS are back in the UK next summer:
Tues 5 Bristol Colston Hall
Wed 6 Nottingham Royal Centre
Tue 12 Glasgow Clyde Auditorium
Thu 14 Manchester Apollo
Fri 15 Newcastle City Hall
Sun 17 Brighton Dome
Mon 18 Birmingham Symphony Hall
Thu 21 London Hammersmith Apollo
Mon 25 Sheffield City Hall
Tue 26 Cambridge Corn Exchange
24 hr ticket hotline: 0870 735 5000
Online booking: www.bookingsdirect.com
Official website: www.inxs.com
INXS collectors store: INXS collectors store
