INXS the first time
When: November 9, 1985
Where: Warfield Theatre, San Francisco
What: Caught the band going into the venue about 20 minutes before the show. Our tickets had been stolen, so Jon took pity on us and let us in.
And: This was the first time I met the band — and that meeting was brief but memorable. I was lucky enough to get a photo with the late, great Michael Hutchence. (Can you tell I was happy?)
INXS the second time
When: August 28, 1986
Where: Outside the Clift Hotel, San Francisco
And: After my first 60-second meeting with the band a year and a half before, I was over the moon to have a chance to meet INXS again in a less hectic environment.
But first: Their show the night before had been just phenomenal. Michael Hutchence’s picture should be included in the dictionary as the definition for “stage presence.” Crazy. A friend helped me get up in the front seated section, so I got to be right up by the stage at the Concord Pavilion show.
Someone behind me was throwing flowers to the band, and one landed at my feet instead. I picked one up and leaned way over when he came to my side of the stage… and that’s how I got to give Michael a rose in front of a few thousand people.
The next day, I headed into SF on a quest to meet the band. And I don’t know quite how I managed it — or really, how everyone else didn’t — but I was the only fan there. I was talking to Garry (who was so friendly and easygoing) when Michael came back from getting a newspaper. Mr Beers was kind enough to facilitate my photo op, and took the above picture of me with Hutch.
Afterward, Garry took my camera on the bus and snapped a couple more photographs for me: a shot of Tim and Kirk, and one of Jon.
Garry (and a guy who I believe was the tour manager) invited me up to the Sacramento show that night. I told them I’d love to go if I could. The problem was, I didn’t drive yet (!) and so had to locate someone who not only had a license and a car, but who liked the band enough to drive an hour-plus to see the show.
Every one of my friends was out of town apparently, but I did manage to find one girl I sort of knew from school. She was nice, and open to the adventure. Alas, we missed the entire concert. But… we went out back with about 30 other people and caught up with the band there. My buddy and walked over to the hotel with Garry (there was a pack of women surrounding Michael) — didn’t know quite what we were going to do, but whatever it was, it was better than just going home!
The night was unusual in a very good way. We ended up hanging out with Garry in his room — and no, stop thinking that, it was all very innocent — watching TV and talking about everything from our parakeets to the fact that he would be turning 30 the following year (ancient!) but assured us, and himself, that “you’re only as old as you feel.” (It was actually all so tame that my friend started to fall asleep on the bed.) We were there about an hour and a half before we had to head home.
That was quite a day.
Michael Hutchence in San Francisco
A minute after I took the picture with Michael shown above, I snapped this photo of him just before he got on the tour bus.
Since I contributed this picture to Wikipedia many years ago, this has probably become my most famous photo, and is the main image of Michael Hutchence on his Wiki page.
The version there was cool by early 2000s standards, but technology has improved! So here’s a high-res version of my photo from 1986, scanned from the negative in 2023.
- Shrink-wrapped
- Audio CD – Audiobook
- English (Publication Language)
- 10/15/2002 (Publication Date) - Atlantic Catalog Group (Publisher)
![Kick (B&MEX) [ATL75]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Ts2vPrHrL._SL160_.jpg)
![The Very Best Of INXS [CD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41uJA4IsxLS._SL160_.jpg)
- Audio CD – Audiobook
- 12/10/2024 (Publication Date)
- Audio CD – Audiobook
- English (Publication Language)
- 06/14/2011 (Publication Date) - Universal Uk (Publisher)
Old INXS band pictures
Here are some more INXS photos from August 1986 — one I took of Garry, and the others that Garry took for me on the tour bus with my camera:
Garry Gary Beers
Tim Ferriss (with Jon on the left)
Kirk Pengilly
Autographs from them Tim and Kirk:
INXS onstage: Live in 1986
INXS tour dates (1985 & 1986)
Both of these were from the INXS fan club in ’86-’86
1980s INXS band questionnaires
These old handwritten questionnaires are from the band’s fan club in the mid ’80s.
Michael Hutchence
Garry Gary Beers
Jon Farriss
Tim Farriss
Kirk Pengilly
Andrew Farriss
8 Responses
Nance — oh gosh do I remember these! I think I still have the copies that you had sent me afterwards. 🙂 I always look back fondly on those days…meeting INXS was probably the highlight. The guys were always such sweethearts. Michael will truly be missed by this fan.
Nance, I still have that photo of you & Michael in my photo album with all of your other photos of you that I’ve kept over the years! 🙂 Oh my god do I remember those big paisley shirts we all used to wear. Did you put the big pin at the collar like we did in Chicago?? Those were the days of big shirts, black leggings, big teased hair, tons of Aqua Net hairspray… and great music!!
I distictly remember Mr. Hutch. walking down Pier 39 in San Francisco after a violent gang fight that day. He arrived in a black limo and walked straight through the violence by himself- no body guards. Me and my future wife watched the fight and were mystified(no pun intended) by his walking through the crap happening. There were police everywhere and he just walked to the end of the pier without a bit of concern. He seemed to be almost floating as he walked which was very weird considering the circumstances that were around him. It was very cool and you could tell he either had a death wish or knew he was above it all. Amazing.
That Kirk autograph is pretty rare! He only used to sign like that in the 80’s ie the little man – nowdays his signature is very different.
I totally dig this picture as well. Too bad he is gone. Michael Hutchence is my 2nd favorite front man of all time after Dave Gahan. Man Michael had it all going for him, voice, stage presence, look, charm, all………..he is missed! Thank you for putting all these amazing pictures up that take me back to better music and more enjoyable times.
Those were definitely the days. I wrote songs for INXS, Duran Duran, and many other bands. In fact, it is not Hutch’s daughter that is named Heavenly Haarani Tiger Lily, but a nickname Hutch gave me. In ’84 introducing The Reflex in concert, Simon Lebon held up a stuffed tiger and said, “This is about our little friend…”
how cool! thanx you for sharing
Hi! wow girl! so lucky! I need your help, if you can. I was also at the INXS concert in Sac that August. That awesome intimate venue that was also, or had once been a theatre. blew my mind! anyway, time being unkind as it is, and the internet only listing the Sac concert as “Unknown Venue” can you remember (or still have ticket stub) the name of the place where it was held? The friend I went with that night her name is Nancy too! small world. really funny story from that night I sent recently to Richard Lowenstein on Facebook Messenger in case he thought it was funny enough to include in the movie about Michael.
Many thanks,
Dari