INXS LISTEN LIKE THIEVES (40TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION)

Michael Hutchence —  “We decided to write the album in a rehearsal situation, 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.  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.” Rolling Stone Magazine, October 1985

Listen Like Thieves was a hugely significant and pivotal album for INXS. Having already built a reputation for their unique sound, incredible live shows (built out from an unmatched global touring schedule) alongside growing but maybe pocketed success (in the grand scheme of things) with their previous four albums – INXS (1980), Underneath the Colours (1981), Shabooh Shoobah (1982) and The Swing (1984) – it was the release of Listen Like Thieves in 1985 that saw them become one of the biggest and captivating bands of a generation.

Paul Sexton – “This lavish remounting of Listen Like Thieves is a testament to a band whose resolute focus on achieving international renown was rewarded that year with serious sales, a heavyweight hit single and their consecration as flagbearers of the MTV generation. Forty years on, this staging post album – their first in a fruitful relationship with hallowed producer Chris Thomas – is there to be savoured by original fans and new admirers alike.”

Listen Like Thieves (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) is a deep dive celebration into the album. Releasing on May 9, it is available as a Deluxe Edition 3CD/LP set containing a brand new 2025 remix by Giles Martin and Paul Hicks on CD and vinyl, extensive previously unreleased outtakes and demos, a rare BBC Recording, Live From The Royal Albert Hall, London, 1986 and a brand new interview with the band by acclaimed writer Paul Sexton. The Extended Edition 2CD contains the new mix, whilst the CD-2 has a selection of B-sides, remixes and live recordings; the 1LP 40th Anniversary Edition vinyl contains the new 2025 mix. Pre-order HERE.

Giles Martin (INXS’s executive music producer) and Paul Hicks’ brand-new stereo mix was done in partnership with the band. Built from the ground up using the original masters, they have been able to find new layers of sonic depth and a fresh dimension, giving fans a new listening experience with the record.

Giles Martin – “It’s been such an honour to work on this pivotal album from INXS’s career.  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.”

Andrew Farriss – “Chris Thomas was one of the most talented and exciting producers we ever had the privilege to work with.  From the moment we met, there was no doubt he would bring a new dynamic to our music, his drive and determination helped Michael and I deliver a smash hit in ‘What You Need’.  40 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.”

Martin has also curated the trove of session tracks, outtakes and demos that give a compelling chronicle of the music in development. Live At The Royal Albert Hall, London, 1986 is a gem the BBC forgot they had. Recorded in June 1986, this BBC radio broadcast recording originally aired later that year and was the first time the band played at this iconic venue. It was an incredibly special evening for the band and the crowd; amongst them, rock alumni Mick Jagger, The Cult, Psychedelic Furs and more, were buzzing with anticipation, demanding a double encore, and the band were more than happy to oblige. It was a poignant night for INXS, who, in hindsight, were just getting started on their path of global dominance – five years later, they headlined Wembley Stadium – and knowing what we know now, this was the show that started the UK’s INXS love affair.

Kirk Pengilly’s diary entry dated June 24, 1986, “Royal Albert Hall – Sold Out! Fantastic gig, 2 genuine encores and all concerned, happy! Mick Jagger came with Matt Voss……. his favourite song was ‘Biting Bullets.’”

Initially released in October 1985, Listen Like Thieves garnered four singles, including the album’s opening track “What You Need,” “an irresistible amalgam of the rock and funk instincts that made INXS unique,” as Paul Sexton so succinctly put it, catapulted the band to global fame, breaking into the top five and surpassing the chart success of their previous three releases. The album peaked at No. 1 in Australia and No. 11 on the United States Billboard 200, spending over a year on the chart. By 1988, the album had achieved Platinum status, and as a measure of its enduring appeal, it was Double Platinum by 1997.

Listen Like Thieves (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

Track list

3CD/1LP

LP + CD1: Listen Like Thieves (2025 Mix by Giles Martin and Paul Hicks)

1. What You Need
2. Listen Like Thieves
3. Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)
4. Shine Like It Does
5. Good + Bad Times
6. Biting Bullets
7. This Time
8. Three Sisters
9. Same Direction
10. One x One
11. Red Red Sun

CD2: Demos & Outtakes

1. “We’re rolling, it’s 1985” – Studio Chat
2. Funk Song #11 – Take 2 (Working Title of What You Need)
3. “Press the blue and red button” – Studio Chat
4. Kiss The Dirt – Demo
5. Listen Like Thieves Track Commentary
6. Listen Like Thieves – Demo
7. Listen Like Thieves Radio Intro
8. One X One – Demo
9. This Time – Demo
10. Shine Like It Does – Demo
11. Good and Bad Times – Alternate Take
12. Red Red Sun – Rehearsal Fragment
13. Red Red Sun – Alternate Outtake
14. Same Direction Track Commentary
15. Funk Song #9 (Working Title of Same Direction) – Studio Demo
16. What You Need – ‘Calvin Bell’ Home Demo
17. Shine Like It Does – Home Demo
18. Listen Like Thieves – Home Demo
19. Kiss the Dirt – ‘Calvin Bell’ Home Demo

CD3: Live From Royal Albert Hall

Live in London, UK – June 24, 1986

1. Intro
2. Same Direction
3. Soul Mistake
4. Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)
5. Biting Bullets
6. Burn For You
7. Do Wot You Do
8. Original Sin
9. Different World
10. Shine Like It Does
11. Listen Like Thieves
12. One x One
13. What You Need
14. Red Red Sun

2CD

CD1: Listen Like Thieves (2025 Mix by Giles Martin and Paul Hicks) 

 

1. What You Need
2. Listen Like Thieves
3. Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)
4. Shine Like It Does
5. Good + Bad Times
6. Biting Bullets
7. This Time
8. Three Sisters (instrumental)
9. Same Direction
10. One x One
11. Red Red Sun

 

CD2:  B-Sides, Remixes & Live Recordings  

 

1. Listen Like Thieves (Extended Remix)
2. Begotten
3. What You Need (Nick Launay Remix)
4. I’m Over You
5. Sweet As Sin
6. Six Knots
7. Listen Like Thieves (Instrumental Remix)
8. Same Direction (Live)*
9. Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain) (Live)*
10. Biting Bullets (Live)*
11. Shine Like it Does (Live)*
12. Listen Like Thieves (Live)*
13. One X One (Live)*
14. What You Need (Live)*
15. Red Red Sun (Live)*
16. Red Red Sun (Live)*

*Previously Unreleased

1LP

Side A 

1.  What You Need

1.  Listen Like Thieves

1.  Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)

1.  Shine Like It Does
2.  Good + Bad Times

 

 Side B 

1. Biting Bullets

1. This Time

1. Three Sisters

1. Same Direction

1. One x One

1. Red Red Sun