INXS:Never Tear Us Apart

Part One charts the early years of INXS -- how they meet at school and form a band, the Farriss Brothers. We start in Perth in 1979 where they vow to play their own music, their own sound and return to Sydney to find a new manager and a new name. By the mid-eighties, they've become one of the biggest bands in Australia. A new sound for a new era and INXS lives up to its name -- playing hard and partying even harder. INXS plan to conquer the world. America beckons but just as they are about to break big time, their US record company refuses to release their latest and best album. Its 1987 and the album is Kick but the Americans reckon it should be kicked into touch. They are offered one million dollars to go away and record a new one. It's a critical moment for INXS - is their dream over? No - INXS launch an all-or-nothing secret plan to self-fund a US Kick tour. Everything hangs in the balance. But the mad plan works. The fans love the new album and INXS rockets to even greater success.

Some people say that the moment you get what you've always wanted, that's when things start to fall apart. Kick is No.1 everywhere. INXS has made it - Australia's number one music export, more popular than U2, Michael Hutchence is a gold-plated rock star and they live in a world of superstars -- Kylie Minogue, Helena Christensen, Bono. But their worldwide success doesn't last long. The parties, planes, drugs and girls soon take their toll. Lifelong friends become overnight enemies; Michael pulls a knife on Garry Beers, record sales fall, best mates fight and the band's manager leaves. Michael finds a new love, Paula Yates, and starts a running battle with the British tabloid press. The other members of INXS retreat and look to relaunch the band's career off the back of a major Australian tour. They just have to convince Michael to come home and do what they do best -- play live. It's November 22, 1997 and INXS are rehearsing at the ABC studios in Sydney for their upcoming tour. Michael is late - he is always late. But then the phone rings and INXS will never be the same...