The dawn of 1985 found INXS already five albums into a single-minded evolution that began in the pubs of Australia and would blossom in the stadiums of the world. Three brothers and three mates with ample helpings of real life under their belts, they lived by a particular maxim. Whatever’s clever, they always said, as a go-with-the-flow reminder to treat good times and bad with the same equanimity. And things were about to get very clever indeed.

This lavish remounting of Listen Like Thieves is 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.

In a brand-new stereo mix by INXS executive music producer Giles Martin and Paul Hicks, the album radiates a raw energy that goes far beyond mere remastering. Martin and Hicks went back to the original masters and built the mix from the ground up to put us in the studio with the band. It creates new layers of sonic depth and an entirely fresh dimension, even for listeners who have been living with the album since the day it emerged.

Martin has also curated a new trove of session sketches that grows into a compelling chronicle of long-loved music in development, a canvas of sounds and sketches as they get ready to explode into full bloom. Then there’s the further bonus of the live recording the BBC forgot they had: the Royal Albert Hall show of June 1986 that captures a new frontier in the band’s British conquest, bringing a generous selection of these songs to life alongside favourites from an already expansive catalogue.

1LP + 3CD + 20-page book + poster

Label
USM
Genre
Pop & Rock LP: Listen Like Thieves (2025 Giles Martin Mix)
What You Need
Listen Like Thieves
Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)
Shine Like It Does
Good + Bad Times
Biting Bullets
This Time
Three Sisters
Same Direction
One x One
Red Red Sun
CD1: Listen Like Thieves (2025 Giles Martin Mix)
What You Need
Listen Like Thieves
Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)
Shine Like It Does
Good + Bad Times
Biting Bullets
This Time
Three Sisters
Same Direction
One x One
Red Red Sun
CD2: Demos & Outtakes
"We're rolling, it's 1985" - Studio Dialogue
Funk Song #11 - Take 2 / Working Title of What You Need (Alternate Take)
"Press the blue and red button" - Studio Dialogue
Kiss The Dirt (Studio Demo)
Meaning of the song "Listen Like Thieves" - Interview Excerpt
Listen Like Thieves (Studio Demo)
INXS SA FM Radio Spot
One X One (Studio Demo)
This Time (Studio Demo)
Shine Like It Does (Studio Demo)
Good and Bad Times (Alternate Take)
Red Red Sun (Studio Jam)
Red Red Sun (Alternate Take)
Recording of Same Direction
Funk Song #9 (Working title of Same Direction)
What You Need (Studio Demo)
Shine Like It Does (Home Demo)
Listen Like Thieves (Home Demo)
Kiss the Dirt (Home Demo)
CD3: Live from Royal Albert Hall - 24th June, 1986
Introduction by Pete Drummond (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
Same Direction (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
Soul Mistake (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
Kiss The Dirt (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
Biting Bullets (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
Burn For You (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
Do Wot You Do (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
Original Sin (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
Different World (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
Shine Like it Does (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
Listen Like Thieves (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
One X One (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
What You Need (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)
Red Red Sun (Live from Royal Albert Hall 1986 - London, UK)

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