“Devil Inside” by INXS

"Devil Inside" came from Kick, INXS's 1987 album, and it's the Australian band at their most sly and slinky. Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence wrote it, and Hutchence sings it with a knowing sneer, stalking around a groove that swaggers more than it rocks.

Farriss adds keyboards and shares guitar with Tim Farriss and Kirk Pengilly, who also plays the saxophone, while Garry Gary Beers's bass and Jon Farriss's drums lock into a tight, hip-shaking pulse. Chris Thomas produced it, David Nicholas engineered, and Bob Clearmountain gave it the gleaming mix. Every part is placed with precision, and the result sounds dangerous and polished at the same time.

It came out as a single in February 1988 and climbed to number two on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for two weeks. It went to number two in New Zealand, three in Canada and six at home in Australia. In the running order of singles it came after "Need You Tonight" and before "New Sensation".

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