New Sensation


"New Sensation" is a song by the Australian rock group INXS. It was the third single from their 1987 album Kick. The music was written by Andrew Farriss and the lyrics by Michael Hutchence. The song reached no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, no. 9 in Australia, no. 25 in the UK, and no. 8 on the Album Rock Tracks in the US.
The song features a signature Kirk Pengilly sax solo and lyrics about a partying lifestyle. The first line "Live, baby, live", was later referenced in the title of the bands' 1991 release Live Baby Live.
The video for the song was filmed on the roof of Municipal House in Prague and directed by Richard Lowenstein.
INXS and J.D. Fortune performed the song at the 2010 AFL Grand Final along with "Suicide Blonde". The song was also the first track to be performed at the London Astoria. It was later covered by Welsh band The Automatic at the final performance at the venue in 2009.
In February 2014, after the Channel 7 screening of "INXS: Never Tear Us Apart" mini-series, "New Sensation" charted again in Australia via download sales. It peaked at no. 56 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "New Sensation" was ranked number 44.

Track listing

7": Atlantic / 7-89080 (US)

  1. "New Sensation" – 3:38
  2. "Guns in the Sky" – 2:20
  1. "New Sensation" – 3:40
  2. "Do Wot You Do" – 3:16

    12": Atlantic / 0-86572 (U.S.)

  3. "New Sensation" – 6:28
  4. "Guns in the Sky" – 6:00

    12": Mercury / INXS 912 (UK)

  5. "New Sensation" – 3:40
  6. "Do Wot You Do" – 3:16
  7. "Love Is "
  8. "Same Direction"

    12": WEA Records / 0-258016 (Australia)

  9. "New Sensation" – 6:28
  10. "Guns in the Sky" – 6:00
  11. "New Sensation" – 3:40

    Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Covers

band Snow Patrol covered the song for their compilation. Their rendition was received positively by Hot Press magazine, which wrote that the song had been "well and truly patroled". The song was featured on a radio station in the 2014 re-release for Grand Theft Auto V on the station Non-Stop-Pop FM.