Album · INXS
Listen Like Thieves by INXS
Listen Like Thieves is an album by INXS, released in 1985. 6 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 126 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “What You Need”, on 65 lists with a best position of #7.
Listen Like Thieves, INXS's fifth studio album, came out on 14 October 1985, and it's the record where the band stopped knocking on the door and kicked it in. It was their first work with producer Chris Thomas, the start of a partnership they kept coming back to, and he gave their new wave a hard, glossy punch.
Michael Hutchence is out front, all smoulder and swagger; Andrew Farriss plays guitar and keyboards, Tim Farriss electric guitar and Jon Farriss drums, Garry Gary Beers holds down the bass, and Kirk Pengilly plays guitar and sax and sings backup. The grooves are tight and muscular, the guitars chop and stab, and the choruses are built for arenas. "What You Need" struts on a stomping beat, "This Time" is a ringing, heartsick pop song, and the title track has a sly, low-slung menace.
It spent two weeks at number one at home, reached No. 11 in America, 24 in Canada and the top 50 in Britain, and "What You Need" became their first US top 5 single, with a video that won Best Video at the Countdown awards. In 2025 it got a 40th anniversary edition, remixed in Dolby Atmos and remastered by Giles Martin.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Listen Like Thieves on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What You Need | 65 | #7 | – | 1985–2025 | |
| 2 | This Time | 25 | #8 | – | 1985–2014 | |
| 3 | Listen Like Thieves | 27 | #44 | – | 1986–2021 | |
| 4 | Kiss The Dirt ( Falling Down the Mountain) | 5 | #34 | – | 1986–2003 | |
| 5 | Shine Like It Does | 2 | #378 | – | 1996–2002 | |
| 6 | Same Direction | 2 | #1609 | – | 2002–2003 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.