INXS “What You Need”

INXS “What You Need” released 35 years ago today, August 26th 1985. The lead single from their fall ‘85 release Listen Like Thieves is still a fantastic dance track all these years later. It was their big breakthrough to the US market, hitting #5 on the US charts; it went to #2 in Australia and #51 in the UK. This 12″ single has “What You Need (remix)” which adds in extra saxophone (🙄oh 80′s I miss you!), bigger drums and some vocal effects that were also super popular in the 80′s – similar to what Robert Palmer used on his hits around that same year. The b-side has a couple of my favorite songs from their ‘84 album The Swing (my overall favorite INXS LP): “Melting in the Sun (12″ Version),” which has more synths-new wave dance effects than the original track, and the anthemic new wave “Burn For You (12″ Version).” The single version of “Burn For You” was a single release in Australia and went to #3 there in ‘84.