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Song · INXS

“Bitter Tears” by INXS

From the album X (1990)

“Bitter Tears” by INXS appears on 18 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1990 and 2022. It was first released in 1990 on the album X. Its best result is #64 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #175 alternative song of 1990 and #1,068 alternative song of all time.

18countdowns

4stations

#64best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1990–2022years charted

Watch

INXS - Bitter Tears (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (INXS Videos). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Bitter Tears" came off INXS's 1990 album X, and Andrew Farriss wrote the music and Michael Hutchence the words during the sessions for that record. It went out as a single in February 1991, timed to land alongside the band's headlining show at the SummerXS concert at Wembley Stadium that July, a night captured on the Live Baby Live DVD. It climbed to number 30 in the UK and number 36 at home in Australia.

Chris Thomas produced it and David Nicholas engineered, and it's all tight funk-rock snap: three electric guitars from Andrew Farriss, Tim Farriss and Kirk Pengilly, Garry Gary Beers on bass, Jon Farriss on drums and keyboards, and Pengilly's saxophone and backing vocals behind Hutchence's lead. The single came with a couple of extras, Pengilly's "The Other Side" and Andrew Farriss's "Soothe Me", plus a live "Faith in Each Other".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

#1,571 of the '90s

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1990	64	KROQ Los Angeles, CA	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990	107
1991	90	KROQ Los Angeles, CA	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1991	107

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1999	718	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
2000	719	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	719	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	719	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2002	1396	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)	2002
2003	719	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2004	719	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2005	719	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2007	849	CD101	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)	2008
2008	799	CD101	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)	2009
2009	819	CD101	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)	2010
2010	840	CD101	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)	2011
2011	867	CD101	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)	2011
2013	919	CD101	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)	2012
2014	956	CD101	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)	2013
2022	776	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s	900

Charting alongside it in 1990

Best songs of 1990 →

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