Andrew Farriss AM | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Farriss performing at the Gympie Muster in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Andrew Charles Farriss (1959-03-27)27 March 1959 (age 66) Perth, Western Australia |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Formerly of | INXS |
Andrew Charles FarrissAM (born 27 March 1959) is an Australian rock musician andmulti-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist, backing vocalist, and main composer for rock bandINXS. He released his debut solo album in 2021.
Andrew Charles Farriss was born on 27 March 1959 inPerth, Western Australia, to Dennis and Jill Farriss, and is the second oldest of four children: he has two brothers,Tim (born 1957) andJon (born 1961), and a sister, Alison.[3] At the age of five years, Farriss, and his family had a holiday in London where they saw a performance by The Beatles.[3] In 1971 the Farriss family relocated to Sydney, where he attendedDavidson High School. With Tim taking up guitar lessons, Farriss "had instinctively taken to playing piano", and Jon played drums.[3] At school Farriss metMichael Hutchence after preventing a fight with another student.[3] The two became friends and in 1976 Hutchence, on lead vocals, joined his band, Doctor Dolphin.[3][4] The line up included two other classmates, Kent Kerny and Neil Sanders and, from the nearbyForest High School a bass guitarist,Garry Beers, and Geoff Kennely.[4]
Farriss is credited solely with keyboards on the band's earliest albums, but by 1984'sThe Swing, he was listed as playing guitar as well. On stage, he also plays harmonica and various hand-held percussion instruments.
While INXS' early albums credit the band as songwriters, by their third album,Shabooh Shoobah, the team of Farriss as composer and Hutchence as lyricist was well established for most of the band's material. While there were some INXS songs written by other members of the group, or by Farriss alone, it was this Farriss-Hutchence duo that brought INXS the majority of their international success in the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, Farriss co-wrote all but one of the band's top-40 hits in the US.
Despite extensive writing, recording and touring commitments with INXS, Farriss collaborated with many other Australian artists in a songwriting or production capacity. His most significant early collaboration was withJenny Morris, a New Zealand singer who had sung back-up vocals on INXS' 1985 hit album,Listen Like Thieves. Farriss has also co-written and produced with the AustralianAboriginal bandYothu Yindi, Australian country singerTania Kernaghan and Scottish rockersGun. At theARIA Music Awards of 1990 he wonProducer of the Year for his work on the Jenny Morris albumShiver.[5][6]
In 2005, INXS launched a reality TV show,Rock Star: INXS, a worldwide search for a new lead singer. While all of INXS knew it would be impossible to replace Michael Hutchence, who died in 1997, they wished to carry on bringing their music to the world.
In 2016, Farriss was inducted into the Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame.[7]
In 2019, Farriss released his debut solo single "Come Midnight".[8] In January 2020 he released his second single "Good Momma Bad".[9] He has performed solo at the Hay Mate drought relief concert, the Gympie Muster, the Tamworth Country Music Festival, and the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. On 28 August 2020 Farriss released his single "All the Stars Are Mine" and announced his EPLove Makes the World, which was released on 2 October 2020.
On 26 January 2020 Farriss was awarded with the Member of theOrder of Australia.[10]
Farriss released his debut, self-titled album in March 2021.
In June 2024, Farris released "Something Stronger" and announced the released ofThe Prospector, his second solo album, scheduled for release in 2025.[11]
Farriss married Shelley Blanks on 22 April 1989. The couple have three children.
In the official INXS autobiographyStory to Story, Farriss describes his dislike of touring and being away from his family.
Farriss married Marlina Neeley in October 2013. The couple live on a cattle farm in the Tamworth Region of New South Wales.[12]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS country [13] | ||
| Andrew Farriss |
| 9 |
| The Prospector |
| TBA |
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Love Makes the World |
|
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Come Midnight"[8] | 2019 | Andrew Farriss |
| "Good Momma Bad"[16] | 2020 | |
| "All the Stars are Mine"[17] | Love Makes the World | |
| "Love Makes the World"[18] | ||
| "Run Baby Run"[19] | 2021 | Andrew Farriss |
| "Apache Pass"[20] | ||
| "You Are My Rock "[21] | 2022 | |
| "Someone for Everyone"[22] | 2023 | |
| "Something Stronger"[11] | 2024 | The Prospector |
TheAPRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by theAustralasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982.[23]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | "Break My Heart" by Dua Lipa (Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence, Dua Lipa, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Ali Tamposi, Andrew Watt) | Song of the Year | Shortlisted | [24] |
| Most Performed Pop Work | Nominated | [25] | ||
| Most Performed Australian Work | Nominated |
TheARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres ofAustralian music.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Andrew Farriss forShiver byJenny Morris | Producer of the Year | Won |
The Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 2004 to honour the lifetime achievements of some of Australia's greatest songwriters.[26]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Himself (with Michael Hutchence) | Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame | inducted |
Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcasterABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazineTV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.[27]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Himself (withMichael Hutchence) | Best Songwriter | Won |
TheWest Australian Music Industry Awards (WAMIs) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on annually by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM).[28]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Farriss Brothers (Andrew,Tim andJon) | Hall of Fame | inducted |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
