Rob Thomas cuts track with INXS

Thomas gets a 'Kick' out of recording with INXS
Thomas gets a 'Kick' out of recording with INXS (Image credit: John A. Angelillo/Corbis)

Matchbox Twenty singer Rob Thomas recently hooked up with INXS in Australia and laid down vocals for a newly recorded version of that band's 1988 hit Never Tear Us Apart.

Thomas, still a member of Matchbox Twenty, is currently promoting a brand-new solo album called Cradlesong.

INXS, on the other hand, are currently without a lead singer - this after reality TV show winner JD Fortune quit/talked his way out of the band under rather bizarre circumstances earlier in the year.

For Rob Thomas - no stranger to guest shots (witness Smooth with Carlos Santana) - it's not the first time he's tackled an INXS number. On Matchbox Twenty's tour of Australia last year, the group played a couple of INXS tunes, including Never Tear Us Apart (with INXS drummer Jon Farriss sitting in, see video below) and Don't Change.

INXS are in the process of recording a new CD with various singers reinterpreting their greatest hits. There is no word on when the album will be released - and even less word on the band's search for a singer to replace Fortune.

Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar WorldGuitar PlayerMusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.