DATE: Saturday, September 13, 1997          TAG: 9709120044

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SUE VanHECKE, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   75 lines

POPULAR '80S BAND BLENDS OLD WITH NEW

A FEW YEARS OFF did wonders for INXS, the Aussie pop group whose 10th studio album, the vibrant ``Elegantly Wasted,'' is earning critical raves for its unapologetically '80s sound.

``I'm very proud of it,'' said a hoarse Michael Hutchence. INXS was in Cleveland, and Hutchence, the lead vocalist, had just gotten out of bed.

``This is the best situation when you've got an album that you feel great about. It makes it all worthwhile.''

The six-man outfit, which plays tonight at the Boathouse, cracked the States in the early '80s with the quirky, post-new wave ``Shabooh Shoobah'' and ``The Swing.'' But it was 1987's ``Kick'' - and its funk-lite smash singles ``Need You Tonight'' and ``New Sensation'' - that lofted INXS to bona fide global superstardom.

Later albums, some critically admired, others definitely not, found the band losing commercial momentum.

After some time apart to recharge from 1993's ``Full Moon, Dirty Hearts,'' Hutchence and keyboardist/guitarist Andrew Farriss began tunesmithing again.

``The songs came quite easily,'' Hutchence said.

``(We wrote) anywhere we were, Andrew and I. We'd get together a weekend here, a week there. This is when Andrew was living in the country in England and I was living in London.''

Nine months later, the rest of the band joined up for rehearsals, then recording.

``This album was a breeze,'' Hutchence said, ``the best time we've had in a long time making a record. Most of it is really just the recordings from the demos because they sounded so good. In the past, the demos wouldn't sound as good.

``It only took eight days to record 16 tracks in the studio. It's ridiculously fast, but this time was certainly a joy.''

Of the album's sound, which is gleefully reminiscent of early INXS, Hutchence said, ``We've tried all kinds of styles over the years, but I guess it's the stuff that comes the easiest to us, the kind of brash, funky pop stuff. So half the album's more like that.''

These days, INXS enjoys a far more diverse audience than the throngs of screaming teen-age girls who scrambled after sex-symbol Hutchence last decade.

``Now our audience is pretty wide, all kinds of people,'' he said. ``At the very beginning when we toured the States, we weren't used to playing to people under 18. We had pop culture shock, really. We'd just played the pubs in Australia where you had to be 18 to get in.

``We just laughed a lot. We didn't really relate to it at all. I guess we kind of shook it off a bit and moved on.''

In addition to music, Hutchence has also dabbled in acting, starring in the late '80s indie film ``Dogs in Space.'' He recently returned from Los Angeles where he was looking over scripts and meeting with movie industry types.

But Hutchence's most significant project of late has been daddyhood. Last year his girlfriend, Paula Yates, ex-wife of Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof, gave birth to their daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily.

``I love it, I really love it,'' he said of the new role. ``She's a wonderful kid. She doesn't cry or anything, she's a weirdo. She's just like a little friend. The other day in London she rang the police. She just loves the telephone - she rang 911 and soon there was flashing lights outside.''

The new father finds it hard to believe that 20 years have flown by since he and five of his good chums launched INXS in the land down under.

When asked the secret to keeping the same lineup together for so long, Hutchence said, ``In some ways, I think the fact that we're so different. We're friends from way back. We have our fights . . . (but) we give each other enough rope. I don't think we ever wanted this to be some kind of life sentence.

``And we've worked on stuff on the side over the years. You just let people kind of grow and do their stuff. But basically, we still like getting in a room and making a noise.'' ILLUSTRATION: WANT TO GO?

Who: INXS with the Honeydogs

When: 9 tonight

Where: The Boathouse, Norfolk

Tickets: $17.50 plus service charge; order at 671-8100

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu