Australian rock band INXS, one of the world’s biggest acts throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, have confirmed their retirement after 35 years.
The band, whose original frontman Michael Hutchence committed suicide 15 years ago, said media reports of their demise were true.
“We understand that this must come as a blow to everybody, but all things must eventually come to an end,” said band members Tim, Andrew and Jon Farriss, Kirk Pengilly and Garry Beers.
“We have been performing as a band for 35 years. It’s time to step away from the touring arena. Our music will of course live on and we will always be a part of that.”
INXS played at the annual Foreign Correspondents’ Club ball in Hong Kong last month.
The band, which formed in 1977 and has sold more than 30 million records, played to stadiums across the globe at their peak but the death of the charismatic Hutchence hit them hard.
He was found dead in a Sydney hotel room in 1997, leaving behind a daughter, Tiger Lily, from a relationship with British TV presenter Paula Yates, who died of a heroin overdose in 2000.