Making the journey from Sydney’s Northern Beaches to the Rock Hall in Cleveland wasn’t something INXS’ Garry Gary Beers had on his bingo card for 2026.
It’s not a pipe dream.
The new wave legends are finally nominated for the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, some 21 years after the Australian act was initially eligible. Despite the long wait, Beers is chuffed with the recognition.
“So a lot has been happening in my world in the last week or so. I guess the big one is the R&R Hall of Fame nomination,” he writes on his social pages. “I’ve always downplayed the importance of this to me for a few reasons- the main being that there were always other artists more deserving etc etc. So time has passed and here’s the nomination and I have to say I’m pretty proud of us Aussie boys from the Northern Beaches getting nominated to be in such amazing company.”
Formed back in 1977, INXS would go on to climb rock’s highest summit. The sextet of Andrew (keyboards), Jon (drums), and Tim Farriss (lead guitar), along with Beers, Kirk Pengilly (guitar/sax), and the late frontman Michael Hutchence, went on to sell more than 50 million records worldwide, landing five top 20 albums on the Billboard 200, and a No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with Kick’s “Need You Tonight.”
In the United Kingdom, the band scored six top 10 albums, including a No. 1 with Welcome To Wherever You Are from 1992, plus a BRIT Award in 1991 for best international group.
In their homeland, INXS has won six ARIA Award and were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001.
Following Hutchence’s untimely passing in 1997, aged 37, the band pushed on with a cast of singers, including Noiseworks’ Jon Stevens, J.D. Fortune (from the reality TV competition Rock Star: INXS) and Ciaran Gribbin, but was were unable to recapture the magic of their heyday.
INXS performed their final concert on Nov. 11, 2012, though several shrewd syncs and film projects, and tireless support from superfans, has ensured their music lives on. Last July, the classic 1987 song “Never Tear Us Apart” came in at No. 1 on triple j’s inaugural poll of the greatest Australian songs of all-time.
“We are honored to be included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list of nominees for 2026,” Pengilly recently wrote on Instagram. “INXS family of fans and friends, we wouldn’t have been nominated without you… We are up against some incredible Artists.”
As the band enters its 50th anniversary, INXS is one of 10 first-time nominees on Rock Hall ballot, a 17-strong tally includes Phil Collins, Iron Maiden and Pink.
Fans have until April 3 to cast votes on the Rock Hall, after which the Class of 2026 will be unveiled.
