Suicide Blonde


"Suicide Blonde" is the first single from the INXS album X. It reached number two in Australia, number nine in the United States, and number 11 in the United Kingdom. In Canada and New Zealand, the single peaked at number one for two and three weeks, respectively. At the APRA Music Awards of 1991, "Suicide Blonde" won the award Most Performed Australian Work Overseas.

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 in 1989. The 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 while working on her 1989 film The Delinquents. Minogue was required to dye her hair platinum blonde for the role.
The recording of "Suicide Blonde" showed some new and older influences on INXS. Jon Farriss's 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 main riff in the song is a simple rework of the driving funk riff in the band's 1984 single "Original Sin," produced by Nile Rodgers - same key, same riff. This has come to be known as Rodgers' signature riff and can be heard from the 1970s heyday of Chic to the mid 1980s Duran Duran pop hit "Notorious," also produced by Rodgers.

Chart performance

The track was released in September 1990 throughout the world. In the United States the track reached a peak of number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, and it topped both the Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. A dance remix of the track received wide airplay on US top-forty stations, allowing it to reach the top 10 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. On the UK Singles Chart the single reached a peak of number 11, while on the Australian Singles Chart it reached number two. In Canada and New Zealand, "Suicide Blonde" reached number one for two and three weeks respectively.

Track listings

7" single – Mercury / INXS 14
  1. "Suicide Blonde "—3:53
  2. "Everybody Wants U Tonight"—5:09
12" maxi – Mercury / INXS 1412
  1. "Suicide Blonde "—6:19
  2. "Suicide Blonde "—5:40
  3. "Everybody Wants U Tonight"—5:09
CD single – Mercury / INXCD 14
  1. "Suicide Blonde "—6.53
  2. "Suicide Blonde "
  3. "Everybody Wants U Tonight"—5:09
CD maxi – Atlantic
  1. "Suicide Blonde" —3:54
  2. "Suicide Blonde" —5:39
  3. "Suicide Blonde" —6:19
  4. "Suicide Blonde" —5:40
  5. "Suicide Blonde" —6:53
  6. "Everybody Wants U Tonight"—5:09

    Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications