INXS is this year’s recipient of the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music.
The prestigious honor will be presented at the 2026 APRA Music Awards, set for Wednesday, April 29 at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion.
With over 75 million albums sold worldwide, and a slew of international awards from their peers and fans, INXS is one of the most popular bands to emerge from the land Down Under.
They’re “not just part of Australia’s musical history,” reads a statement from APRA AMCOS, “they helped write the global playbook.”
Formed back in 1977, INXS would go on to climb rock’s highest summit, a stadium act whose posters were attached to teenagers’ walls everywhere. The sextet of Andrew (keyboards), Jon (drums), and Tim Farriss (lead guitar), along with Garry Beers, Kirk Pengilly (guitar/sax), and the late, legendary frontman Michael Hutchence, landed 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.
“INXS are truly one-of-a-kind,” remarks Jenny Morris, chair of APRA. “Performing with them in the 1980s, at Wembley Stadium opening for Queen to the Listen Like Thieves tour across Europe, North America and Latin America, I saw firsthand the love and adoration they generated. From their compelling and timeless songwriting to their intoxicating performances, few bands have ever left people happily gasping for more the way INXS do.”
Hutchence, who passed in 1997, aged 37, “is as much of a presence in our lives today as the day we lost him,” Morris continues, “and of course the same goes for the band. The legacy of INXS lives on. They remain as relevant as ever, continuing to inspire new generations and bring that unmistakable Aussie spirit to fans around the world.”
INXS called it a day in 2012, with a collection that includes six APRA Music Awards, six ARIA Awards, induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001, and a bank of hits, including “Don’t Change”, “Original Sin,” “Mystify” and “What You Need.”
The group’s music lives on through shrewd syncs and multi-media projects, from Super Bowl to Toy Story 5, and through tireless support from superfans. 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, counted down last July.
The Ted Albert Award is one of the Australian music industry’s highest decorations, and is decided by the APRA board of writer and publisher directors.
Previous recipients include the late Mushroom Group chairman Michael Gudinski, Paul Kelly, The Seekers, Cold Chisel, former Alberts CEO Fifa Riccobono, Colin Hay of Men at Work and last year’s recipient, Kylie Minogue.
On the night of the 2026 APRAs, guests will be treated to a series of special performances, including a tribute to INXS, a “landmark occasion” that celebrates 100 years of APRA. Confirmed performers include BARKAA, BOY SODA, Ecca Vandal, Ngulmiya, Playlunch, Rob Ruha and more.
The Ted Albert nod will be a bonus for INXS, which was nominated for the 2026 Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, but whose name wasn’t called on Tuesday. Another opportunity awaits for the Rock Hall next year, when the band turns 50.
As previously reported, Amyl And The Sniffers, Tame Impala spearhead Kevin Parker, first-time shortlisters Keli Holiday and Ninajirachi, plus Paul Kelly with his nephew and first-time nominee Dan Kelly, are in the hunt for APRA’s song of the year, the top honor at the annual APRA Music Awards.
The APRAs this year counts 52 first-time nominees, seven of whom are up for two awards.
For more information on the APRAs, visit apraamcos.com.au/apramusicawards2026,
