INXS “Kick” released 35 years ago today, October 19th 1997 (however, some sources, like Wiki, put the date as October 12th but some, like Billboard say the 19th – I’m going with today!). INXS’ sixth LP was a monster smash and catapulted the band from underground status (alternative kids like me in the 80’s were totally listening to INXS for a few years before Kick) to Top 40 rock stars: it reached the Top 10 in all major markets (#3 US, #9 UK and of course #1 in Australia). It also spawned a swath of hits including the sexiest single of all-time, “Need You Tonight.” That song came out about a month before the record (September ’87) and became their first (and only) #1 single in the US and its video received MTV’s Video of the Year award in ’88. The rest of Kick is iconic mid-80’s awesomeness, full of sex, swagger and funk (and don’t forget about the saxophones). The suggestive single “Devil Inside” hit #2 in the US, the upbeat, highly danceable “New Sensation” went to #3, the slower, waltzing and sultry ballad “Never Tear Us Apart” got to #7 and the final single, “Mystify” fared a bit less well, only getting to #17 on the Album Rock Tracks chart. Many of the non-single tracks are almost as strong: the opener “Guns in the Sky” is a tough rocker and politically scathing (it critiqued the ridiculous Reagan-era Star Wars defense system which at the time was totally unfeasible), “Wild Life” and “Calling all Nations” are both exuberant parties and the title track “Kick” is also a good time. I loved Kick when it came out and have continued to listen to it for the past 35 years.