INXS Receive Ted Albert Award At APRA Awards 2026

INXS have been honoured with the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music at the 2026 APRA Awards in Sydney, with Jenny Morris delivering a deeply personal tribute reflecting on the band’s global impact and enduring legacy.

by Paul Cashmere

INXS were formally recognised with the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music at the 2026 APRA Awards held in Sydney, as longtime collaborator and vocalist Jenny Morris delivered an emotional tribute to the band’s legacy. The honour places INXS among a select group of Australian artists acknowledged for their cultural and international influence on contemporary music.

Watch the Jenny Morris INXS speech:

Jenny Morris, who shared stages and studio environments with the band during their ascent, used the moment to reflect on their artistry, chemistry, and global reach, describing INXS as “extraordinary” and recalling her view from “the riser, the wings, the front of house, and the stage door”.

The award recognises INXS’s decades-long contribution to Australian music, from their early pub-rock foundations to global superstardom driven by albums such as Kick. The ceremony highlighted not only their commercial success but their structural impact on how Australian bands are perceived internationally.

For APRA AMCOS, the Ted Albert Award remains one of its highest honours, reserved for artists whose influence extends beyond chart performance into songwriting legacy and industry transformation. INXS’s recognition underscores their role in shaping Australia’s export identity in modern rock and pop.

Jenny Morris anchored her tribute in lived experience, telling the audience, “People ask me what made INXS different. The honest answer is everything.” She described the band as intensely creative and disciplined, shaped by a “brotherly connection” that allowed them to function as a unified musical force.

Reflecting on their global touring years, Morris said she witnessed the band from multiple perspectives and noted their connection with audiences was immediate and physical. “The power, intelligence, and visceral effect of the music couldn’t be ignored,” she said.

She also acknowledged the band’s ability to attract high-profile admiration, referencing collaborators and admirers including Nile Rodgers, Ray Charles, Chrissie Hynde, Tom Jones, Bruce Springsteen and Dua Lipa, noting that their songwriting attracted reinterpretation while rarely being bettered outside the original recordings.

A significant focus of her tribute was the band’s 1987 breakthrough album Kick, which transformed INXS from a hard-working Australian touring act into global headliners. Morris noted that by that point, it was their sixth album, stating the band had completed their “apprenticeship” and entered a new creative phase that produced four US Top 10 singles, including the Billboard No.1 Need You Tonight.

She also highlighted individual members’ contributions. Andrew Farriss was described as a “master craftsman” with an ability to balance innovation and accessibility, while Kirk Pengilly was credited for his distinctive melodic and stylistic contribution, including the enduring emotional resonance of Never Tear Us Apart.

Jon Farriss was acknowledged for his technical precision and live performance energy, with Morris referencing praise attributed to Arif Mardin and others within the industry. Tim Farriss was recognised as foundational to the group’s formation, with Morris noting his 21st birthday as the symbolic beginning of the band’s trajectory.

Michael Hutchence was remembered with particular warmth. Morris described him as modest and present, someone who engaged directly with people rather than elevating himself above them. She recalled his belief that “there is an integrity to INXS in the music that makes it worthwhile,” framing his perspective as central to the band’s identity.

INXS formed in Perth in the late 1970s and rose through Australia’s pub-rock circuit before signing internationally and relocating their operations to the global touring stage. Their early albums established a hybrid sound of rock, funk, and pop precision, but it was Kick in 1987 that cemented their worldwide status.

Managed by Chris Murphy, the band were strategically positioned for international breakthrough at a time when Australian acts were increasingly entering US and European charts. Kick produced multiple hit singles and became a defining late-80s record, helping reshape perceptions of Australian rock abroad.

Following Michael Hutchence’s death in 1997, the band’s legacy entered a reflective phase, with periodic reformations and tribute performances. Across decades, INXS have remained a consistent reference point for Australian music’s global ambitions.

While INXS are widely celebrated, their legacy is often discussed through two lenses: their extraordinary commercial success and the personal challenges that followed peak fame. Hutchence’s death remains a defining and sensitive moment in the band’s history, and public discourse around INXS frequently revisits the pressures of global celebrity.

Within industry analysis, some commentators have also noted that post-1990s iterations of the band could not replicate the cultural impact of their classic lineup. However, APRA’s recognition through the Ted Albert Award focuses specifically on songwriting achievement and long-term contribution rather than era-specific output.

The 2026 APRA honour reinforces INXS’s place in Australian music history as a band whose reach extended far beyond national boundaries. Jenny Morris’s tribute framed them not only as chart leaders but as a tightly connected creative unit whose work continues to resonate across generations.

As the APRA Awards continue to evolve alongside Australia’s music industry, the recognition of INXS serves as a reminder of the enduring power of songwriting partnerships forged through consistency, collaboration, and performance intensity.

The 2026 APRA Awards complete winners list is here.

Watch the Jenny Morris Noise11 interview: