Remember When: INXS Played Their Final Concert with Michael Hutchence in 1997

On September 27, 1997, INXS played at the Star Lake Amphitheater in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. The show was part of the band’s 20th anniversary tour, supporting their tenth album Elegantly Wasted, and would be their last concert together with frontman Michael Hutchence, who died nearly two months later.

Though no clear footage of the band’s final show exists, there is audio from the night, which kicked off with the band’s more recent “Elegantly Wasted.” In a July 1997 interview, Hutchence said the band was returning to a “style” they created throughout the years with the new album.

“In some ways, we return to the style we invented over the years, that funky power-pop stuff with big riffs, which we haven’t done in a while,” said Hutchence, who described INXS’ sound adding, “It’s original, an original sound we developed, that white boy funk thing.”

Elegantly Wasted was peppered into the set with “Girl on Fire,” and another track during the encore, but the band’s night in Pennsylvania was mostly charged by their 1987 breakthrough Kick, kicking off with “New Sensation.” More would come from Kick throughout the show with”Never Tear Us Apart,” “Devil Inside,” “Mystify,” “Mediate,” and “Need You Tonight,” along with their 1990 release X—”Disappear” and “Bitter Tears”—before they closed on Listen Like Thieves hit “What You Need.”

Returning for an encore, the band started off with “Don’t Lose Your Head” from Elegantly Wasted before going further back in time, to their 1982 album Shabooh Shoobah with earlier anthem “Don’t Change.” Hutchence took a moment toward the end of the song to thank the band’s crew. “They’re f–king wonderful,” said Hutchence. “They put up with us.

The band then moved into a pulsating take on their 1990 hit “Suicide Blonde,” which would become the last song they would ever perform live with Hutchence.

20th Anniversary Tour in Australia: 1997

After INXS wrapped up their world tour in November of 1997, they began rehearsing in Sydney, Australia ahead of their upcoming 20th-anniversary shows in Australia, which was set to kick of on November 23. The band rehearsed on Friday, November 21. The next day Hutchence was found dead in his hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Sydney.

[RELATED: One of Two Never-Released Songs by INXS’ Michael Hutchence, “One Way”]

In 2005, the remaining members of INXS were featured in the reality series Rock Star: INXS, where they found a new lead singer, J.D. Fortune. They continued touring, and Fortune was later replaced by Ciaran Gribbin before ending the band in 2012.

The Last Show

INXS played their final show on November 11, 2012, in Perth, Australia, where the band first shaped their sound together in 1977.

“All things must eventually come to an end,” read a statment by the band following their last show. “We have been performing as a band for 35 years, it’s time to step away from the touring arena. Our music will of course live on and we will always be a part of that.”

The statement continued, “We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the friends and family that have supported us throughout our extensive career. Our lives have been enriched by having you all as a part of the journey”

Setlist: INXS at the Star Lake Amphitheater, Burgettstown, PA

1. Elegantly Wasted
2. New Sensation
3. Taste It
4. Time
5. I’m Just a Man
6. Mystify
7. Heaven Sent
8. Searching
9. Disappear
10. Never Tear Us Apart
11. Need You Tonight
12. Mediate
13. Bitter Tears
14. Girl On Fire
15. Kick
16. Devil Inside
17. What You Need

_____Encore

18. Don’t Lose Your Head
19. Don’t Change
20. Suicide Blonde

*Setlist sourced from Setlist.com

Photo: Michael Hutchence of INXS performs at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California on July 11, 1997. (Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)