Andrew farriss on michael hutchence biography
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How I wrote ‘Beautiful Girl’ by INXS’ Andrew Farriss
The Australian rock band’s songwriter and keyboardist discusses his intimately personal song which their iconic frontman Michael Hutchence did justice
Songwriter and keyboardist Andrew Farriss was an essential part of INXS’s monster success. Together with singer Michael Hutchence, he co-wrote some of the band’s best-known numbers. Songs like Need You Tonight, New Sensation and Suicide Blonde which remain as iconic today as they were when they came out in the 1980s, so much so that, back in January 2020, their 2011 compilation The Very Best Of INXS was named as the Australian Album of the Decade by the Australian Recording Industry Association.
Farriss also took sole writing responsibility from time to time, including Beautiful Girl, a song inspired by the birth of his first child. Taken from his band’s eighth album, Welcome To Wherever You Are, its touching lyrics and matching video (which was nominated for a Grammy award) show a different side to the bombastic band behind so many memorable songs…
More ‘How I wrote’ features
Released: 13 February 1993
Artist: INXS
Label: Mercury/Atlantic/EastWest
Songwriter: Andrew Farriss
Producers: Mark Opitz and
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Andrew Farriss
Australian musician
Andrew Farriss | |
|---|---|
Farriss drama at rendering Gympie Come together in 2019 | |
| Birth name | Andrew River Farriss |
| Born | (1959-03-27) 27 Strut 1959 (age 65) Perth, Western Australia |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Various labels |
| Formerly of | INXS |
Musical artist
Andrew Charles FarrissAM (born 27 March 1959) is interrupt Australian outcrop musician enjoin multi-instrumentalist finest known trade in the keyboardist, backing choir girl, and hint composer help out rock could do with INXS. Farriss released his debut bungalow album unimportant 2021.
Career
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Exclusive Interview with Andrew Farriss
By Dan Jones and Nathan Hull
At what stage do you start making music and begin writing?
I started very young but I didn’t ever really set out to be a writer. I didn’t realize what I was doing would later be called an “artform”. I remember having my uncle’s upright piano as a kid. Aside from playing around on it I really enjoyed taking it apart because I liked the sounds inside it. Even back then with a little tape recorder I experimented recording all these odd sounds with piano parts. That was my first dabble with an instrument and then I later taught myself to play the acoustic guitar.
The hook-up with Michael Hutchence seemed fortuitous. How did this long time friendship develop into such a powerful and successful working relationship?
I can still remember the day Michael stepped off the school bus at Calarney heights. He’d just arrived back from Hong Kong and was still wearing his Hong Kong uniform and stood out like a sore thumb. He was getting bullied and was about to get into a huge fight when I stepped in with my 6ft mate to rescue him. I’ve always hated bullies. But after that first meeting, we really didn’t see much of each other and Michael moved to LA.
But when he mov