INXS: Live Baby Live – Wembley Stadium cinema and soundtrack releaseGigslutz

I’d always assumed INXS as packing nothing much of a live in concert punch. Yes their studio material is some of the best Australian pop to explode from the land of Vegemite and Crocodile Dundee but to think Michael Hutchence and co would be able to hold court successfully might seem a thing of imaginations thoughts running wild.

With record sales now into 50 million worldwide, 23 hits in the UK, 6 consecutive top ten albums plus 2 Brits awards to boot, this band have an adoring fan base which is more than evident on the new cinematic release of Live Baby Live Wembley Stadium due to screen at cinemas on November 27^th 2019. The film has been gloriously restored in widescreen from the original 35mm print featuring a lost track in a brand new dolby atmos mix by famed The Beatles remixer Giles Martin and Sam Okell.

INXS manager Chris M. Murphy has made this all possible by searching high and low for the original master tapes, luckily he didn’t give up on his quest because with the film release comes the soundtrack from the event via a limited edition 3 x 180g vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with 6 x printed inner bags and 12 page booklet plus a 2 x CD plus 20 page booklet plus digital packages are also up for grabs via Universal Music. This really is a magnificent celebration of a great live band at the peak of their powers at the front of 74,000 eager fans at the then mostly all standing arena.

Launching into Guns in the Sky the band had clearly been in some seriously practice. Infact the gig came after a decade and a half on the road which is evident with their almost super human playing and showmanship. What is also evident from the film is the crowd are merely lit up from the lights within the stadium, nothing too spectacular, apart from the light show from the stage but the sheer energy and enthusiasm is palpable, arms and legs flailing all over the place, especially the likes of New Sensation and Need You Tonight are ripped into on stage.

The band are on the launch pad and lift off without fault on each song, the various band members all move about the stage confidently and assuredly as they play the gig of their lives. The overall shining light is Hutchence. Bouncing about the stage, carefree and exhilarated by the event, his numerous stage outfit changes do little to stop him stalking the stage like a more elegant Bono, without the shades, just his voice echoing into the hearts of the audience significantly on Never Tear Us Apart, teasing the throngs as he knows he’s struck gold with this dynamite performance.

The overall feeling from this show is how a band at the height of their powers with a feeling of what if. What if Hutchence was still around, no doubt they would have gone onto reach rocks pinnacle, , but nonetheless they came, they saw and truly conquered Wembley Stadium on a night no one in attendance and for those that will now view this richly detailed new version will ever forget how brilliant INXS were.

Tickets for the UK cinema showing can be purchased via INXScinema.com. The soundtrack can be purchased from the INXS website