Are you ready for a new old sensation?

I've just been looking back at all the albums released in 1987... It was a pretty major year, wasn't it? Sign "O" The Times, Appetite For Destruction, The Joshua Tree, Bad, Paid In Full and, sneaking in during the last week of the year, Sinitta's debut album.

But the one that meant most to me at the time was INXS's Kick: A strutting colossus of leather-trussed rock hits. I was just 12 years old, so Michael Hutchence screaming "it's a load of shit" on the anti-war opener Guns In The Sky made me feel incredibly daring and rebellious (it was a more innocent time).

Kick spawned five hit singles in the UK - Need You Tonight, New Sensation, Devil Inside, Mystify and Never Tear Us Apart. Credit is partly due to the vibrant, spacious mixes by Bob Clearmountain, who stripped out all the clutter that makes Def Leppard's Hysteria (also released in 1987) sound so dated these days. Kick has more pop and crackle than a bowl of electric rice krispies.

So apologies if I get a little excited about the four-disc, 25th anniversary re-release, which has just been announced. It comes with an 80 page art book featuring Hutchence's handrwitten lyrics (I'm looking forward to seeing the drafts of Mediate).

There is also a DVD, which promises unseen footage of the band recording and touring in 1987. Amazon's product page spills a few extra secrets about the content.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait for the thrilling "chapter five". Unfortunately, the set isn't out until 17 September. Until then, here's a teaser video the band have put together (apparently using the free Windows DVD Maker programme - times must be hard).

INXS - Kick 25th Anniversary

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