INXS's new frontman is an Irish songwriter who sang backing vocals with Snow Patrol. Ciaran Gribbin has been tapped to join the Australian hard-rockers, replacing JD Fortune, a Canadian singer who was recruited via a 2005 reality show. "The most amazing part of my musical journey is about to begin," Gribbin said. "I know that as a fact."
Gribbin is INXS's fourth singer since 1977, the best-known being Michael Hutchence, who killed himself in 1997. Gribbin's predecessor, Fortune, was hired and fired twice in six years; in a recent press release, INXS refer to him only as their departed "special guest singer".
Gribbin is hoping to avoid such an ignominious exit. A veteran songwriter, the 35-year-old's credits include the soundtrack to Killing Bono, Madonna's song Celebration, and lots of work under the name Joe Echo. He also appears in the choir for Snow Patrol's 2006 album Eyes Open. "I've worked hard and … grown in confidence, grown in ability," Gribbin told Billboard . "In a way I'm slightly nervous, and in another way I'm unbelievably excited."
INXS guitarist Andrew Farriss was the one who found Gribbin, meeting him at a party in Sydney in 2009. By the end of the night, Gribbin recalled, he was "sitting on a balcony, singing Mystify with the guy who wrote it". The recruitment was "organic", Farriss said. "I just enjoyed the guy's company and really enjoyed his voice and listening to his songs, his music."
The new INXS are already in studio, with six tour-dates booked in November and December. "A baptism of fire is the best way to describe the live shows," Gribbin admitted.
The band's last album, 2010's Original Sin, did not chart in the UK. Maybe this time, Snow Patrol can help.
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