10 Things You Didn’t Know about Tim Farriss
Tim Farriss is an Australian musician who is best-known for having been the lead guitarist of INXS. In recent times, interested individuals might have seen his name come up in entertainment news because of the reveal that he suffered a “career-ending injury” in a boating accident that happened in 2015.
1. Born in Perth, Western Australia
Farriss was born in the city of Perth in the state of Western Australia. It is interesting to note that Greater Perth is home to more than 2.1 million people, which is enough to make it the fourth most populous of the cities that can be found in the country. For context, the state of Western Australia is home to more than 2.6 million people, meaning that most of them are concentrated in said region. This is particularly striking because the state is huge. After all, Western Australia is a very literal name, as shown by how it encompasses the western 32.9 percent of the country.
2. Has Three Siblings
In total, Farriss’s parents had four children – Tim, Andrew, Jon, and Alison. Interested individuals might be familiar with Farriss’s two brothers Andrew and Jon, seeing as how both of them are founding members of INXS who have managed to make names for themselves in the music industry.
3. Classically-Trained in the Guitar
Some guitarists taught themselves. In contrast, other guitarists are classically-trained. Farriss is an excellent example of the latter because he was classically-trained in the guitar from the age of eight to the age of twelve, which helped him pursue his career as a rock star. On top of this, it should be mentioned that his teacher was Peter Fredericci, whose name isn’t particularly well-known but whose skills are nonetheless undeniable because he played with the Australian Symphony Orchestra. Suffice to say that people without the necessary skills don’t make it into such organizations.
4. Suffered from Hereditary Multiple Exostoses
Farriss is known to have hereditary multiple exostoses, which involves the formation of multiple bone spurs on the ends of long bones in either the upper limbs or the lower limbs. Generally speaking, the bone spurs are benign. However, a small number of people with hereditary multiple exostoses can wind up with sarcomas. In any case, the “hereditary” in hereditary multiple exostoses is there for very good reasons, as shown by how Farriss’s brother Jon is also known to have the disorder.
5. Founding Member of INXS
Moving on, it is interesting to note that Farriss went to high school in Sydney. As such, it should come as no surprise to learn that INXS was founded in said city. To be exact, Farriss and his schoolmate Kirk Pengilly were known to play as either a duo called Kirk and Tim or as a four-piece band called Guinness. Later, the two joined up with Farriss’s brothers Andrew and Jon as well as Andrew’s band-mates Michael Hutchence and Garry Beers to create the Farriss Brothers. This was the band that would become INXS.
6. Started Out Supporting Midnight Oil
Amusingly, the future INXS winded up moving to Perth and then moving back to Sydney, which was necessary because of the Farriss parents bringing Jon with them on their move to Perth. Later, the band got the chance to support Midnight Oil as well as other Sydney-based bands because of Farriss’s chance meeting with Midnight Oil’s manager Gary Morris. It took some time for Midnight Oil to get off of the ground. However, the band’s staying power can be seen in the fact that it is active in the present time, though it was inactive for most of the 2000s as well as some of the 2010s.
7. Got the Name INXS from Gary Morris
Speaking of which, it is interesting to note that Farriss and the rest of the rock band got their band name from Gary Morris. To be exact, a member of the Midnight Oil crew came up with the band name. After which, Morris passed it on, with the result that Farriss and the rest of the band took it for their own. Despite this closeness, INXS was never managed by said individual. Apparently, what happened was that Morris wanted to turn the band into a Christian band. INXS didn’t have anything particularly against that, as shown by how they considered the proposal for a time. However, in the end, the band decided to go with something else. This can be seen in how they hired Chris Murphy, who played a critical role in getting them a five-album record deal with an independent record label in 1980.
8. “Father Figure” of the Band
Amusingly, other INXS band members have been called Farriss the “father figure” of the band in the past. In considerable part, this was because he was the first one to get married as well as the first one to have children. For those who are unfamiliar, Farriss got married to his high school sweetheart in 1981, with whom he went on to have two sons. Besides this, it seems safe to say that Farriss’s role in the band played a role in his reputation as well. After all, he was reportedly the one who kept the band grounded. Furthermore, Farriss was said to have played a huge part in keeping INXS united while also providing a practical perspective on everything.
9. Very Into Physical Activities
Interests-wise, Farriss seems to be very into physical activities. To name some examples, he is fond of everything from swimming and scuba diving to cricket, golf, and tennis. Moreover, Farriss also apparently enjoys working on the family farm situated in Kangaroo Valley, which he bought off of his brother Andrew.
10. His Guitar-Playing Career Is Over
INXS hasn’t been active since 2012. However, it seems that Farriss will never be able to resume his guitar-playing career. In short, he suffered a boating accident in 2015, which resulted in the severing of a finger. At the time, it was unclear whether Farriss would be able to play again. Now, his court battle has revealed that he hasn’t been able to play anything other than a few beginner-level chords on the guitar ever since the boating accident. The court battle is still ongoing, so interested individuals might want to keep a watchful eye out for further news to come in the days ahead.
