Suicide Blonde

Infobox Single
Name = Suicide Blonde


Cover size =
Border =
Caption =
Artist = INXS
Album = X
A-side =
B-side = "Everybody Wants U Tonight"
Released = 1990
Format = 7" single
12" maxi
CD maxi
Recorded =
Genre = Pop rock
Length = 3:55
Label = Mercury, XPRO
Writer = Andrew Farriss
Michael Hutchence
Producer = Chris Thomas
Audio sample? =
Certification =
Last single = "Mystify" (1989)
This single = "Suicide Blonde" (1990)
Next single = "Disappear" (1990)
Misc =

"Suicide Blonde" was the name of the first single from the INXS album "X". It reached the top 10 on the US Hot 100 (#9) and Australia in 1990 and reached a peak of #11 in the UK.

Writing and recording

The song was written by Michael Hutchence and Andrew Farriss of the group INXS, after the band had gotten back together after a year-long sabbatical during 1989. The title track (a term not originating with this song) was named after a woman who had bleached her own hair because she had "dyed" by her own hand and who was "love devastation." It is rumoured that Hutchence's then-girlfriend, Kylie Minogue, gave him the inspiration for the title whilst working on her 1989 film "The Delinquents". Minogue was required to dye her hair platinum blonde for the role and was quoted by Hutchence in an interview in '89 as saying "I'm going suicide blonde today".

The recording of "Suicide Blonde" showed some new influences on INXS. Jon Farriss' drums show the influence of dance music especially the acid house sounds popular in the UK. Similarly, the blues harp intro on the track, performed by Charlie Musselwhite, was sampled rather than recorded live.

The track became poignant after Hutchence committed suicide on November 22, 1997 and his lover Paula Yates died of an overdose on September 17, 2000 after attempting suicide in 1998. The lyrics of the song do not refer to Yates who did not enter a relationship with Hutchence until the mid 1990s, but (as above) in reference to Kylie Minogue, whom he was dating at that time.

Kym Wilson (with her then boyfriend Andrew Reyment the last people to see Michael alive) also became known as the "Suicide Blonde" in the tabloids.

Garry Gary Beers's ex-wife Jodie can be heard laughing on the track.

Chart performances

The track was released in September 1990 throughout the world. In the US, the track reached a peak of #9 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and topped both the mainstream and modern rock charts. A dance remix of the track received wide airplay on US top 40 stations reaching the top 10 of the dance charts. In the UK, the track reached a peak of #11 while it reached #3 in their homeland of Australia¹ and #1 in Canada.

While "X" was not as successful as "Kick", it went double platinum in both Australia and the US. The band remained a popular live act playing sold-out concerts at Wembley Stadium in the UK and Madison Square Garden in the US.

Track listings

; 7" single : Mercury / INXS 14 (UK)
# "Suicide Blonde [7" mix] " — 3:53
# "Everybody Wants U Tonight" — 5:09

; 12" maxi : Mercury / INXS 1412 (UK)
# "Suicide Blonde [devastation mix] " — 6:19
# "Suicide Blonde [milk mix] " — 5:40
# "Everybody Wants U Tonight" — 5:09; CD single : Mercury / INXCD 14 (UK)
# "Suicide Blonde [demolition mix] " — 6.53
# "Suicide Blonde [7" NIK mix] "
# "Everybody Wants U Tonight" — 5:09

; CD maxi : Atlantis
# "Suicide Blonde" (7" mix) — 3:54
# "Suicide Blonde" (earth mix) — 5:39
# "Suicide Blonde" (devastation mix) — 6:19
# "Suicide Blonde" (milk mix) — 5:40
# "Suicide Blonde" (demolition mix) — 6:53
# "Everybody Wants U Tonight" — 5:09

Charts

{|class="wikitable sortable"!align="left"|End of year chart (1990)!align="center"|Position
-
align="left"|Australian Singles Chart [1990 Australian Singles Chart [http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1990.htm aria.com] (Retrieved September 17, 2008)]
align="center"|42
-

References

* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:9uarqokeojaa Allmusic.com song article on Suicide Blonde]
* [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1430358/19971124/story.jBillboard Magazine", February 16 1991]

* "INXS: X Marks the Spot" "Rolling Stone" Issue 590 1 November 1990 page 85

(1) US chart details from [http://www.Allmusic.com Allmusic.com] UK chart details from [http://www.Everyhit.com Everyhit.com] , Australian chart details from ARIA and Wikipedia INXS article.