INXS Uncover Lost Concert, Unreleased Demos for ‘Listen Like Thieves’ 40th Anniversary Set

INXS will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Listen Like Thieves with a new box set featuring an array of previously-unreleased tracks and a newly discovered live recording. 

Released in 1985, Listen Like Thieves marked a major moment for INXS, with the Australian band enjoying significant international success in the U.S. and U.K. after steadily building momentum domestically with their first four albums. Listen Like Thieves also helped pave the way for INXS’ smash follow-up, 1987’s Kick, which they also made with producer Chris Thomas. 

In a statement, INXS’ Andrew Farriss called Thomas “one of the most talented and exciting producers we ever had the privilege to work with,” adding of Listen Like Thieves: “From the moment we met, there was no doubt he would bring a new dynamic to our music, his drive and determination helped [late frontman] Michael [Hutchence] and I deliver a smash hit in ‘What You Need.’”

The new 40th anniversary edition of Listen Like Thieves will feature a new stereo mix of the album helmed by the band’s executive music producer Giles Martin and Paul Hicks. The bonus material, meanwhile, includes an array of unreleased outtakes and demos that capture the band’s creative process, which — as Hutchence explained to Rolling Stone in 1985 — largely took place during rehearsals. 

“Everybody had ideas in their heads, but not many of the songs were written before we rehearsed, and we wrote one song in the studio,” he said. “It wasn’t the kind of album where you put tracks down bit by bit. We’ve done the album like a live show, and what is there is there. We want to present this record as a band — the idea of six people playing together and using traditional sounds.”

As for the new live disc, it captures INXS’ June 1986 concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which was recorded by the BBC and only recently uncovered. The show marked INXS’ first gig at the legendary venue and the audience that night included Mick Jagger, as well as members of the Cult and Psychedelic Furs. 

“It’s been such an honor to work on this pivotal album from INXS’s career,” Martin said in a statement. “It’s a collection of recordings masterly produced by Chris Thomas, which helped the band define their own style and reach a massive global audience. It’s an iconic rock album of its age.”

Farriss added, “Forty years on, Giles and Paul captured the original raw energy we felt when we first recorded the album and created a sonic depth to give the record an entirely new dimension that we couldn’t be prouder of.”

The 40th anniversary edition of Listen Like Thieves is available to pre-order and will arrive May 9 in two different formats. The three-CD/vinyl LP “deluxe edition” containing the new mix of the album, the unreleased outtakes, Live From Royal Albert Hall, London, 1986, and a new interview with the band by writer Paul Sexton. Meanwhile, the two-CD “extended edition” will contain a new mix of the album and a disc of selected b-sides, remixes, and live recordings.