Listen Like Fans- For The Love Of INXS
Listen Like Fans is a podcast made by INXS fans, for INXS fans — for the love of INXS.
From deep cuts to defining moments, personal stories to passionate debates, this is where fans from around the world come together to celebrate the music, the legacy, and the magic of one of Australia’s greatest bands. Whether you’ve been there since the early pub gigs or discovered INXS years later, this podcast is about connection, community, and keeping the spirit alive.
No gatekeeping. No egos. Just pure love, memories, and a shared obsession with the sound that still moves us.
Listen Like Fans- For The Love Of INXS
Episode 3: INXS Superfans Unite; Memories, Collecting & Calling All Nations
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On this week's episode of Listen Like Fans, Bee is joined by two incredibly passionate members of the global INXS fan community — Danyelle and Andrew.
Danyelle has been an adoring fan since she was just 14 years old, carefully collecting fan club letters, memorabilia, and creating scrapbooks filled with treasured INXS memories. She first connected with Bee during the INXS Access All Areas podcast days with Haydn Murdoch, quickly becoming a valued patron and an important part of the team, helping behind the scenes with newsletters and social media.
Andrew also brings a lifetime of fandom to the conversation. Bee, Danyelle, and Andrew first connected online during the creation of the fan book Calling All Nations in 2023 — a project celebrating the global INXS community. Andrew has been collecting rare INXS treasures since the early days and continues the hunt today, all while running a B&B on a remote island off the UK and lending a helping hand behind the scenes whenever needed.
Together, they share stories of fandom, collecting, friendships formed through music, and the incredible passion that keeps the INXS community thriving.
And make sure you check us out on Patreon — because there’s a special competition coming soon about this episode, where one lucky listener will win something very special.
https://patreon.com/ListenlikeFans_fortheloveofINXSBackstageLegends?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
So sit back, turn it up, and Listen Like Fans. 🎙️
And don't be shy, leave us a comment
Become A Backstage Legend and join the INXS Fan Community
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Website: https://www.inxsaccessallareas.com/
Okay, Grooves.
SPEAKER_02Welcome to Listen Like Fans for the love of Inex. I'm Bee, and each week I'll be joined by a different co-host as we dive into the songs, the stories, and the moments that made us fall in love with this most iconic fan on the planet. Let's go. Hey, today's episode is a special one because it's all about the fans behind the scenes and who keep this in Excess flame alive. First up, Danielle. Danielle has been a fiercely devoted In Excess fan since she was just 13. The kind of fan who didn't just listen to the music, she lived it. Fan club letters, carefully saved, scrapbooks filled with memories, moments treasured and protected, the real deal. She first reached out to me during my previous podcast with Hayden Murdoch and became a patron, and before long, she was part of the heartbeat of what we were building on the In Access Access All Areas podcast. Danielle worked tirelessly behind the scenes, crafting newsletters, posting on socials, and helping keep our global fan community connected and thriving. And then there's Andrew. Andrew and Danielle and I really connected online during the making of Calling All Nations, a book about the fans, a beautiful fan-driven project we'll dive into later in the show. Like so many of us, Andrew has been a passionate fan since the early days, and his collecting hasn't slowed down one bit. He's still uncovering rare treasures and stories, all while somehow finding time to run an Airbnb on a remote island of the UK and generously helping me behind the scenes whenever needed. Thanks, Andrew. Both Danielle and Andrew represent what this community is truly about: loyalty, passion, friendship, and the enduring magic of in excess. So I'm so proud today to have them here with me.
SPEAKER_00Thanks so much for having me on. Much appreciated you asking me to come on and help you be. So I'm um yeah, very privileged to be here. Thanks for thanks for having me on.
SPEAKER_02No privilege, no egos. It's all about community and fun. And we've had quite a lovely little meeting there behind the scenes as well. So it's all cool. And Danielle, you're uh we've done it. We've we've we've broken away for in excess access all areas for a while. And we've got um a little show here that we're very proud to give to people.
SPEAKER_01I'm so excited to be here with my beautiful B and calling all nations Andrew uh in our corner. So super stoked about listen like fans. Can't wait to dive into a wider community of fans and the love of NXS. So excited to be here and thank you for my intro. Come from the deep wells of my heart of love. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02We're gonna start with a fun little part of this episode with show and tell. We'll give Andrew the the ball on this one. Hey, Andrew. So, what have you got under the desk?
SPEAKER_00So I I hate to break it to you, but I actually don't have anything to show you. Oh, and that is because my my wife has decreed that all of my collection must stay in storage crates, hidden away. And not take up any space in the in the house. I mean, as you mentioned there, we we run a bed and breakfast on the the west coast of Scotland, on a on a little island off the west coast of Scotland. So half of the house is sort of dedicated to to guests and the guest rooms and the guest living room, and then we're on the other side. So space is at a bit of a premium. So all my collection, if you like, is all hidden away in in crates under the stairs and in cupboards and in the loft, which which one of these days, when I knock this bed and breakfast on the head, I'll turn one of the rooms into my in excess room. I'll have the walls covered in all the posters like you guys have behind you, and I'll have all my CDs and vinyl and all the stuff all out on display. So I don't have anything to show you, but I was sort of having to think about if I was to kind of pick one thing from my collection, if you like, what what would I, what one thing would I pick to show you? It's a difficult one to to kind of pick one thing, um, given the stuff that I've got hidden away. So it could be something that was really rare, something that was a one-off, something that was signed by the band. But I thought I would pick something that has sort of sentimental value. It's something you could probably pick up for 50p in a charity shop, but it's sentimental to me because it's where it all began. And it's the first cassette that I bought, which is Kick, of course, which I'm sure will be the same for countless thousands of other fans. But that's where my journey began. It began because I was up late one night listening to the US chart show, which they played in Scotland, I think about 11 o'clock to one in the morning. And I stayed up to listen to the US charts in I think it was March 1988, on what would come on in XS and Devil Inside. And I remember thinking, well, who's this? I've never heard of this crowd. You know, in the UK in 1988, it was all, I don't know, George Michael and Madonna and Michael Jackson and all that sort of stuff. I'd never heard of NXS, so I made a mental note, and then at lunch the next day at school, I went down to the local Woolworths, which was like a little ladin's cave of a shop, to see if I could find this band called In Excess. And if you can picture the record stores of the old days, when you went into a record shop and looked on the wall, the sort of the top shelf was numbers one, two, three, four, five, and then it went down, you know, six to ten and eleven to fifteen, and then right on the bottom shelf was this solitary cassette tape of in excess kick. And I picked it up, and there it was devil inside. This is the what I'm after. Problem was it was four pounds ninety nine, and I only had a pound. Oh I had to uh I had to.
SPEAKER_02Did you have to sing outside with your cap?
SPEAKER_00What I had what I did was I I didn't want to risk asking my parents to buy it for me because the door already turned me down for the Guns N' Roses appetite for destruction cassette with its parental advisory on it. So I thought, right, I'm not gonna risk this being something I shouldn't be listening to. I ended up saving my lunchtime money a pound each. In fact, it was 90p each, I'd spend 10p on a packet of crisps, and so I'd have 90p saved up. So after what's after five days, I had I had enough money to buy it, and then when I went down to the Woolworths to put it up by another pound, so I had to wait another day to go and get it.
SPEAKER_01So you've lost weight because you're not eating because you're saving money, and they've gone up in price.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I couldn't believe it. That's dedication. That is dedication to the band from the start.
SPEAKER_00That's lost in the story. I was so excited to go down to the shop and pick up this cassette that they put up by a pound. I was like, you absolute buggers, and then and then there, and then I always remember I remember when I when I got the cassette and I took it home, sort of hidden away in my school bag, and I went to my room and I played it. And I remember putting a cassette in and opening up the liner notes to read the um the lyrics to Guns in the Sky, which is of course is track one on side one. But when I pressed play, the first song that came on was Wildlife. So that's track one, side two. So I like to think that whoever was in Woolworths seeing this skinny little 12-year-old kid going in looking at this cassette every day, was like, What's this kid looking at this cassette for? And had played it and had clearly got through side one and thought, no, it's not for me, and put it back.
SPEAKER_02So I knew that you were coming in to get it, bless them.
SPEAKER_00I've still got that, and that's kind of where it began.
SPEAKER_02That was very sentimental, yeah.
SPEAKER_00That was behind zero for me. So that would be that would be one. I mean, it's not flashy, and it's not Michael Stars and Striped trousers or Kurt's red suits, or you know, um a guitar or a silver shirt, this stuff that I know you ladies have got, but it's it's it was where it began for me, so I would pick that.
SPEAKER_02I love that. I love that. That's awesome. But you you do have rarer items, don't you?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, you know, I uh for me, you know, I started at 12 years old and and I'd buy the you know the UK singles, if you like, and that period for me lasted 88 to 89, and that was my sort of initiation into in XS. But come 89, it all went kind of quiet, and why the guys went off to do X, and so I I'd sort of moved on, um, and I discovered sort of UK dance music at the time, which was big in the early 90s. So I I had a phase where I had paused my NXS fandom for other avenues, but then it all came back after watching Top of the Pops in 1993, and the gift came on, and it and it and it all changed that evening, seeing that. And I think the next couple of weeks or so, I went back to the same Woolworths by by Full Moon Dirty Hearts, and it was at that point, listening to that album, that it became like full-blown. Let's start collecting all the gaps, everything I'd miss before, or the Welcome to Wherever You Are stuff, all the X stuff, and I'd go back and I'd fill in all the all the gaps, and it's never really ended, it's never stopped. Um, you know, picking up the UK singles were was the first thing, and then the US stuff, and then the Australian stuff, and then the Japanese stuff, it's never stopped. And from that point on, it's now like, right, what's the rare stuff? What's the stuff that you know is really hard to find that's worth getting? So for your listeners out there, I'm sure some of the collectors would have their own opinions on what holy grail is, but I could give you I could give you what I think are the holy grails of in excess collecting, which uh some of your listeners might find interesting. Um, if you're happy, I can I can give you some some pointers.
SPEAKER_02Okay, well, do you wanna do you wanna part that and we'll come back to to the holy grail later? That sounds uh I was just thinking though, earlier when you said that your wife wouldn't allow you to put any of this up. Why don't you just build yourself a shed?
SPEAKER_00We've got a big garden here to my side, and there's plenty of space to build a little a little uh man cage or something, and and I could put it all in there. People have this image of me, you know, it with my separate room sitting in a big, you know, leather sofa, surrounded by all this stuff, all meticulously laid out, and uh it's not it's not true, it's all it's all in storage, you know.
SPEAKER_02It needs to get on the walls, like I can see with Danielle. Look at Danielle. Although I can see that you've got is that the original Sin Tiger behind you?
SPEAKER_00No, that's on my my wife's an artist, and this is her artist desk, and that's that's a that's a photograph actually from um a guy that's that grew up here on on the island and has gone on to be uh quite a famous um photographer and videographer of world.
SPEAKER_02Looks just like open cover. That's what I thought it was. And Danielle, you've managed to get yours on the walls and on the shelves now. Over the years I've known you.
SPEAKER_01Yes, it's uh I'm like Andrew. It's um things have been in crates and buckets and numerous moves over the years. I will say my collection did take a pretty big hit um in the middle of the 2000s very by a very unfortunate flood. So I lost all my original um concert t-shirts that I, you know, got. So my collection has been restarted over the years. I still have a lot of things, but there's some, you know, some things that I miss. So, yes, what you see on my walls is probably nothing compared to what I would love for one day for B and I to make it to that remote island in Scotland and go sit in the bed and breakfast and surround ourselves by with all of Andrew's collection that is on my list, that is on my list. We're gonna be in the shed, Danielle, but that's okay.
SPEAKER_02As long as the level sofa, I can I can you'd both be welcome.
SPEAKER_00You'd both be very, very welcome. And it would give me an excuse to get it all out from storage and set it all up.
SPEAKER_01So we we can help with that. We can we can frame, we can put stuff up on walls.
SPEAKER_02So um so before you do your show and tell, just tell everybody. Well, I must mention also both of these gorgeous people. Oh no, Andrew, you haven't got an in excess hat on. I thought it was. There's a bit of an X going on there. There isn't no, but Danielle is sporting her in excess hat, which is from oh, that's that's from the collection album, isn't it? I think so.
SPEAKER_01I have several different hats. I'm not quite sure where Andrew, what logo? It's clearly got the the logo that they've been using sort of in recent years, so it'll be from like 97 on the it may have came with like a limited edition album I'd have bought or something, or you know, something like that over the years.
SPEAKER_02But just to explain what you've got on your walls at the moment behind you.
SPEAKER_01Um, I have got most of the posters that you see up on my walls actually came through the um fan club. Oh, great. When I was part of the official, in fact, they still are folded pretty well. I wrote to the official NXS fan club in the United States in 1988. I still have my very first card. My number was 1773. Thank you very much. So that's what's on my wall. And then you really can't see behind me unless I move, but I've got my t-shirts, my albums, my CDs, my cassettes, my jewelry, uh, guitar picks. But out of that entire collection, the one that means the most to me is a drumstick from John Ferris that came from the concert I attended uh February 8th, 1991, in Atlanta, Georgia at the Omni. Now, for the record, I did not catch said drum drumstick. But the reason why it's so special to me is my father, in traveling two months after this concert, came across this drumstick while he was in Atlanta and kept it surprised for me. And when I got home from school, said drumstick was sitting on the kitchen table. And for my father to know how much in excess meant to me, which is where my love of music came from, is my father. He wasn't a big feels man. So for him to find this, bring it home to me, a used drumstick, uh, you know, splintered and everything, that has been my biggest show and tell of everything I have. Um, my father is no longer with us. He died probably six years after. So yeah, that that's that's my my favorite piece of memorabilia that I have. Surprising, it's not anything Michael Hutchins. I know, surprising. Um yeah.
SPEAKER_02But um it's more sentimental because it's from your dad as well. It's from the feels, isn't it? It's how you like Andrew was saying about you know, there's there's such a big story behind just picking up kick. So to a lot of people, a lot of us have got kick, but that story that you know it meant so much that he he had to starve to get it. And the fact that your dad, you know, wasn't really good on the emotional side, yet he knew this would mean a lot to you. Beautiful guys, that's so nice. And for both, you can't put those under glass, can you?
SPEAKER_01They have to be held. Yeah. And and for me, it was the first thing that I I held in my hands that a member of the band had touched, you know, that wasn't sent through the mail, through the fan club. It was I actually held in my hand something that John Ferris touched himself and threw into the crowd. So that made it even more special to me. Well, he made music with it. Exactly.
SPEAKER_02The music with it. Okay, so that was when you were like very young, both of you. How do you feel about your fandom now? How do you think 15-year-old, like, you know, you're still a big fan now? How's that feeling? Are you the feels are still the same or or has it got bigger over the years?
SPEAKER_00Like I said, for me, I came on board in March 1988. That was that was me for the next 12, 18 months, but then there was a there was a gap after the kick era, and so I I sort of lost touch and had moved on and became a wannabe cool kid raver and immerse myself in UK dance music at the time. So 1990 to 1993, that was me, 15, 16, 17 years old. So if you to go back to me at 15 and say 35 years from now, you're gonna be a massive in excess fan, more so than you were when you first heard them, and you're gonna have this big collection of stuff, and you're gonna be involved in books and then on podcasts. And I would have said, No, I'm not, I wouldn't have believed you. I often wonder if I hadn't watched that episode of Top of the Pops, and if I hadn't watched the gift video that particular night, would I have found in excess some other way? Would it have come to me in some other means? I'm not so sure, you know. I think that had quite a big impact, and that that led to this 30 30 odd year career of collecting stuff. So I don't think I would have believed it if you said to me at 15 this is where you're gonna end up, I'd I'd have said, no, I'm gonna be I'm gonna be a DJ somewhere, I'm not gonna be in a bed and breakfast on in Tobamori on the Isle of Mull doing podcasts and collecting an XS stuff. I wouldn't have believed you.
SPEAKER_02And it seems that you've been quite a big music fan, all these different bands and artists, right in XS.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I've I've asked myself that my introduction to music was probably like 84-85, when my brother handed me down some cassette tapes, and it was Duran Duran, and it was Spando Bali, and it was the Thompson Twins, and it was Tears for Fears, and it was all these you know 80s bands, and so 85-86, that's what I listened to, Duran Duran, and what have you, and then they sort of disappeared, and then in 86-87, it was all um, like I said, George Michael and Michael Jackson and Madonna and and all that, and that wasn't my sort of cup of tea. And I think I was sort of looking for something different and something new, and I liked the idea of NXS being a band, you know, there were six of them, and there was brothers, and they were from Australia, and nobody had heard of them, and I liked that. And then I think one of the reasons why I sort of fell out, if you like, with NXS was what leather trousers is Michael wearing and the whole Kylie thing. And I wasn't so much into that, and it became sort of less cool in 1990. Yeah, it just became a little, you know, it was all about Michael, which I get, I understand that, you know. But for 15-year-old me, that's kind of not the scene I wanted to sort of pursue. So the dance thing came along, that was more me at that age because it was massive in the UK, and I still listen to dance music even now or these years later. I love it. And so by 1993, I think I burnt myself out with dance music because it takes a lot, a lot of late nights, a lot of this and that. And I kind of thought, I'm done with it now, it's time to move on to something new. And sort of grunge was happening, and uh, and I wasn't so much a fan of Nirvana. I think they're the most overrated band with the most overrated singer and the most overrated album with the most overrated song of all time. Just not a fan. And so I was, you know, I need something kind of new, not quite into Nirvana, and then like I said, along comes in XS, my old favorite with a new song with a more of a gritty edge and a fantastic video. So it just reignited it all again. It was like, here we go. I'm back in love with with in XS. Yeah, on the one hand, it's great to be back with them, but on the other hand, I felt slightly sad that I'd missed out those previous three years. Yeah, you know, that was a whole you know, two albums I'd missed out. So I spent the next couple of years going back and buying everything I could to kind of make up for that lost time.
SPEAKER_02Good on you, good on you. Yeah, that's awesome. I think I've sort of I was trailing behind you a little bit because um I stayed with in XS right through the kick and the X album, and then it was like you say, that slightly polished version of InXS that oh, they're not a secret anymore, everybody loves them and they're so polished now. It's a shame that we let that slide in because it should have been just about the music. But living in the UK as well, we were yeah, we didn't know the band enough to get underneath them. So we yeah, I'm I'm with you there that I lost track of them, and then yeah, dance music was massive in the UK, yeah, massive, and brick pop as well. There was a lot going on. That type of music, the the band from the 80s, they really slid under for a while, didn't they?
SPEAKER_00I think I was I think I wanted to kind of be that kid in school that had found something new. I didn't want to be the kid in school that followed Michael Jackson or Madonna, who whatever it was, the flavor of the month. I wanted to be, you know, the kid that found something new. And then when NXS became this massive global hit and there was always a tension, I think I sort of pulled back a little bit and it was like, okay, we'll let the the army of ladies scream after Michael and I'll go and stand in the field listening to dance music. So I think it was just a case of right, the antidote is to kind of do something a little bit different. But I'm glad they came back because like I said, I've never looked back from from that particular Thursday night watching Top of the Pops.
SPEAKER_02There you go. All right. We're excited you came back too. Yeah. Oh wow. Yeah, just definitely. Okay. Hand the mic to Danielle.
unknownOh.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, 15-year-old you too, where you are now.
SPEAKER_01Uh, 15-year-old Danielle is still in shock of where 50-year-old Danielle is now. You know, my my love for NXS started in September of 88. So I was a little late to the party, but from the the first minute my friend Tammy put the Walkman headphones on my ears on the school bus and I heard never tear us apart, never looked back. I've never faltered. In fact, I almost feel like there's Danielle and then there's NXS Danielle. If that sounds weird, I know, but I almost feel like NXS have become a part of my identity in a strange sort of way. I'm still, like I said, in shock that I am now friends with people on Facebook that were photographers that took these pictures that covered my walls and some of these posters that are hanging up. And so, you know, how I met my husband was he knew exactly who I was talking about on my vanity plate on my car, you know. So there wasn't a time in my life that in excess weren't playing. Um, of course, I've had other musical interests and I've gone to see, you know, lots of other people. But yeah, I just feel like in excess has always been a part of my life. They're always going to be a part of my life no matter what. Um, and I was just so completely grateful in May of 2020 when I heard this, heard this, this podcast, and it was all about in excess and you know, reignited my passion that was already there. And to meet people like B and like Andrew, to know that I wasn't alone has meant the world to me. You know, 15-year-old Danielle is pretty happy with uh her her current situation.
SPEAKER_02And we got to meet last May, which is your 50th celebrations festival. There was uh a host there for you as well when you arrived, wasn't there? Yes. Um quite exciting when you walked into the room and met Kirkley.
SPEAKER_01Oh gosh. I still, when I look at pictures, I still pinch myself and going, yeah, that's me standing next next to Kirk Bengilly.
SPEAKER_02And it wasn't just meeting him, you parted with him.
SPEAKER_01Did you have a dance with him? I did not have a dance. Um, I go back and look at pictures. I had several hugs, which is amazing. Lots of conversations. I think I sat on his lap for a couple of minutes, so that was that was nice. Thank you, Lane. But you know, I for 15-year-old Danielle to meet a member of NX was not anything ever that I thought. But as I've gotten older and you, you know, you you kind of question, you know, why am I here? What what's my purpose? And blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm not saying anything, I'm not boasting myself, but maybe my purpose in life is to spread the word of NXS, spread their music, spread the love, uh, spread that, you know, we'd love to get them inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. Maybe that was my life purpose, is the greater NXS community and the and and the love.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we just want to keep it going, don't we? We we won't absolutely stop talking about you guys, so you can't retire. All right, well, let's go back again, because both of you have been members of fan clubs to do with in XS. And I know there's numerous ones. Have you worked it out that you were part of the same one or different ones?
SPEAKER_00I don't think so. I I never joined the official uh fan club, um, where you got like the newsletters, and I think there was there was order forms and stuff, and there was and then there'd be updates about Max Q. There was a whole series of these newsletters. I didn't I didn't sign up for that. That was again probably 88, 89 sort of era, those official fan club newsletters went out. I didn't join a fan club until '94, and it was an unofficial fanzine that went out, and it was called the Messenger, and it was an A5 black and white um homemade job that they issued every quarter, I think it was. And I've still got them. And I don't I I don't know how I came across them, but I came across them about issue number three, and it was run out of fife here in Scotland.
SPEAKER_03Oh really?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think it was I think it was a couple of brothers that did it, and inside the the fanzine there was copies of interviews that they'd typed up, and there was a discography section, and there was some black and white photos that the photocopied in. But the they had like I don't know how they managed to get it, but they had like stuff you could buy from them, and so they had an order form, and I bought the Australian tour souvenir CD of Time, if you remember the full moon to hear.
SPEAKER_02We did that as a competition a while ago, didn't we?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I I sent away my check as it was in those days, and I and I ordered the CD. And then the thing was you could subscribe to this fanzine, and I always remember it was£10 for like four issues, and so I bought individually issues three, four, and five. And I thought, well, rather than just buy these individually, I'll I'll be a subscriber to the fanzine. So I sent in my£10 check and it was cashed. And did I ever get another copy of the fanzine? No, I didn't.
SPEAKER_02Oh and there was me thinking, Oh, we'll get these boys on, but perhaps um they they might not want to come on now.
SPEAKER_00Well, this is this is my personal request. This is my personal request. The guys behind the messenger fanzine from Falf in Scotland, you owe me three copies.
SPEAKER_02Dob 'em in, dub them in. Uh, I hope they're laughing. They probably, I'm sure they didn't do it on purpose. And so, Danielle, how about you? You you were part of um Mary Woods' into in XS for a while as well, weren't you?
SPEAKER_01I was after the official um NXS fan club out of Arizona um called it quits, which I think that was probably around gosh, 94, 95 when they called it quits. Um and I I was with them from 84 all the way up until that time period. And I still have all my my stuff and my folders and all that. But yes, about the time that Elegantly Wasted came out into in excess, the one from Mary Woods, they were out. So, you know, sit my check away and uh got into that. Um, I wish I would have known at the time I would have been more involved. I didn't realize there was a street team. And and speaking in Mary Woods, which, you know, rest your soul. I'm so so sorry. Um, you know, I would have loved to have been part of the street team to, you know, get the word out and stuff. So, but now what I found interesting with the, or what I loved in particular about the official NXS fan club was your pen pal that they would send out. They would send you hundreds of addresses that you could send your pen pals. And it was just, let's talk about, you know, Tim, let's talk about Michael, let's talk about this song. And it was like people understood how you felt. My little story that ended up in the book, Calling All Nations. Thank you, Andrew. Um, and thank you, B, was part of that because of my pen pal that I met. And I drove six hours to stay the weekend with her. And we went to our first NXS concert together. And, you know, we had the feels and we're two 15-year-old girls sneaking in a tape recorder to the concert, and we still have it. You know, just things like that. And Coral, hi Coral. We're still friends to this day.
SPEAKER_02Oh, wonderful.
SPEAKER_01So things like that from the official fan club and the and the pin pals. And the other thing that I enjoyed was there was a list of music you could buy from other countries. So, of course, I had to buy music from Australia. So I was able to send money away and buy, you know, singles or tapes from from Australia. And it wasn't just in excess music, you know, I was buying hunters and collectors and ice house and minute work. So there was a lot of trading as well with it. You could get what singles were available in what country. They would give you like a running list of, you know, like a 12-inch is available in Japan, and you could send your money away to that said country to a said maybe representative, and they would send you a copy. So you are really putting your faith into the postal system and honest people, unlike Andrew's experience. I mean, this is what going back into the late. This is 89. This is that the time period between Kick and X, like you guys were saying, when that was at downtime, that's when I explored and deep dived everything and anything I could on in XS. Bat catalogs, you name it, I read it, I delved on it, I asked for it. So I really went down, I guess a rabbit hole you could say, when I between I was 14 to 15 years old and collecting those things.
SPEAKER_02And having had um Mary Woods on the In Excess Access All Area show um and spoken speaking to her quite a lot, there's a lot of work goes behind the scenes on getting a fan letter out. Absolutely. And she was later on in the 90s, so in the 80s, photocopying all that stuff and and collecting, and there would have been emails back then, it would have all been paper trails of things and wow, um, a lot, a lot of work. So that lady did very well, didn't she? The first lady.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and now that I think about it, um, there was another fan club that I became a part of, and it I believe it's called What You Need. Okay. Now that I think about it, there was another fan club uh that came out was What You Need. And it was almost like where the official dropped off, What You Need came out, some of the same people were still doing some of the same things, and then I believe Mary's Into in Excess came out. So there was like a progression of three, probably between '94 to '97. That I became a part of.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Well, I want to do a big shout out. If there is anybody that knows of anybody, or you were part of one of the newsletters of getting them out, we'd love to hear from you. So yeah, get in touch. Our email is listenlikefans at gmail.com. So let's move on to the Calling Gall Nations of Fan History of Inccess Books. So I think it was Danielle that was looking after the emails at the time and she's beep, baby, look at this. There's something new happening. I was like, what is it? This is a guy called Neil Cossa who wants to speak to us about a new book that's going to be happening, and once um the podcasts help on it, like, what? Let's get into this. It was all about submitting stories um to go into a book that was going to be official. I mean, who doesn't want to be part of that? And we announced it on the podcast, and I know a lot of those fans on the in Access Access all areas got in there. A lot of people didn't, but we were very fortunate, weren't we? We were very, very fortunate to get in there. So, Danielle, what page are you on?
SPEAKER_01Well, it's a funny story about the book because I initially didn't think I was in the book. And we had the YouTube reveal of what was in the box. And it wasn't until we got halfway through the box that you revealed to me that I actually made it into the book.
SPEAKER_02Oh, that's remote. Yes, I do remember now. We did a YouTube video, didn't we?
SPEAKER_01Cried like a baby that I had made it into the book. And what's even more special is the number that I am in the book. I believe it was page one two one. Oh gosh. I apologize, people. I have lost my page.
SPEAKER_02It's a shame they didn't do some sort of reference in the back of everyone's names that contributed. I thought that was a bit of a mess thing. And that then you could actually find that person and look them up. Because I know from this book we got a lot of listeners from this book as well. Also contributors and also people that had just bought bought the book as well. But Andrew, you're you're splattered all the way through the book, is that right?
SPEAKER_00To start with, I I should probably give you some credit for this, B, because this all sort of stemmed from me listening to you on on your other podcast um with Hayden, talking about how you found the band and how you've grown up with the band and what the band meant to you. And I thought it was I thought it was a great story. I went away after listening to that episode, had a rare spell of inspiration, I guess you could call it, to sort of write my own biography. And I wrote five or six-page sort of biography of me finding the band and talking about you know going to Woolworths and to buy the tape, all that sort of stuff. And so I wrote this big long story and I sent it to you. And I think you had it on the website for a while. So I had this story sort of sitting there, if you like, and then I I happened to see, I think it was on the official website, a little advert for this book, and it was, you know, send in your fan stories. And I think it said along the lines, you know, if you've met the band or if you've seen them live, or if you've got any story, you know, send them in. And I kind of thought, well, they're not going to be interested in my story because mine is just about collecting and the journey to acquire certain things. And and I, you know, I had done it in the kind of a humorous way, but I thought they'll never use it. But I I emailed it off, and I remember I emailed it with just one word, which was enjoy exclamation mark, and off it went. And I never thought I would hear back four or five or six months later. I got an e email from Neil saying, We'd love to use your story. You know, can we have permission to put it in the book? And I was over the moon, I was like, That's brilliant. You can, of course, you can put it in the book. And I said, Look, if you need a hand with any pictures, because you know it's five or six pages of stuff, and without any photographs, it wouldn't make any sense. He came back and said, Yeah, we'd love some photographs. And he asked, Where, where are you? And I I think Neil was expecting me to be in like a major UK city, easy to get to. And I had to say, Well, I'm sorry, Neil, but I'm actually in this place called Tobamori on the Isle of Mull, and I couldn't be further from you, sort of thing. And I remember he sort of emailed back and said, Well, what have you got? Because we we we could do with some rare stuff. And so I emailed him back and said, Well, look, I've got this and I've got that, and you should really include this if you're talking about the early band history and you should include that. And he came back and said, Right, we'll tell you what, we'll come to you about a week later. He him and Liz turned up at the door, and fortunately, it was sort of pre-season here, so I didn't have any guests. I remember going, right, I'm gonna have to get all this stuff out of storage and put it in like our guest living room, if you like, put it all out, and a few days later he he turned up. But I remember saying to my wife, I remember saying, I wonder if I've over-egged this. I wonder if he's gonna turn up all this way and think, well, this isn't what we're expecting. I actually do suffer from from imposter syndrome. I look at my stuff, I just see the gaps, I see the things I don't have. I can't look beyond a couple of thousand things, you know, and think that's quite impressive. I think, God, there's another 10,000 to get, sort of thing. So I did, I thought I'd over Egged it, and I remember he turned up and I was quite nervous, leading them into the living room, and I remember him turning around to Liz and going, right, we're gonna need to spend a little bit longer to get through all this. I was able to sort of geek out. So I'm there, so you have to imagine there's all this stuff all scattered everywhere. And he's like, Right, well, we'll scan this and we'll scan that. And I could see him looking at stuff, and I was trying to explain the significance of certain stuff and why it should be included. It went completely over his head. I mean, I think he was like, Right, so why is this special and why should I gotta put this in and you gotta put that in? And you know, shall I just take over, Neil? I'll do it for you. So um, but you know, credit to them, they used a lot of the stuff. And as you flick through the book, whether it's a you know, a photograph in full view or if it's like an image behind the text, that's all my stuff, unless it's otherwise credited to somebody else. That's that's usually my stuff as you flick through. So it was a good, it was a good exercise to be involved in. And and the way I sort of describe it now is that with my wife, bless her, and she's very understanding, and and and I joked about the stuff being hid away, but you know, if I asked, she would she'd she'd allow me to have it out. But I always say to her when it comes to my collection, if you like, there's before the book, and there's after the book, and before the book, stuff would arrive in the post, and I think she'd be like, Oh, what are you buying now? Sort of thing. Why do you need another you'd hide it, you know, and it just get it would get filed away. But post-book, I think she kind of got it. I think she was like, All right, I kind of get it, I see why you've got all this stuff, and it's great it's in the book, and I see the significance. And and so it was a great little exercise to be involved in, and I was glad to kind of be part of it. And after Neil went away, he he was like, Look, could you kind of come on as a consultant for us? Because you know, we're getting all these stories and stuff, but we could do them in fact-checked. So he he would email me constantly asking, what year is this? and this picture of Michael, what you know, what concert is this, or did that gig take place on that day? So I would sort of sit and and fact check it as best I could. But yeah, it was a good little exercise, and I'm glad to be part of it. And my my story's in there, it takes up a few pages, right enough. But yeah, no, it was it was um a great little exercise, and it's I have to sort of say, you know, well done management on green light in a project like that, you know, uh for the fans, by the fans, might not be everyone's sort of cup of tea, if you like, but it's it's a it was a good exercise to go through, and I'm glad that exists for fans to to have as a a resource, if you like, and uh and a somewhere where their memories are stored. So um, yeah, full credit to the to the band management.
SPEAKER_02You really don't need your garage anymore, you've got everything stored in this book now, which is beautiful.
SPEAKER_00I give credit to you for me writing that, and then I sat on it for a couple of years and and and it's there now. And you know, actually I haven't read it since it since it's been put in the book. I'll have to go back and read it, or I'd probably I'm sure I'd make changes. You know, there's a there's a few little amusing stories in there about my collecting journey and and things I've you know, I've I've I've been very patient to try and get hold of. So if anybody does read it, I tried to make it sort of humorous, you know, going through my first girlfriend is mentioned in there and having a having a slow dance to need you tonight, you know, and trying to keep things under control as a young a young guy in the you know with testosterone flowing through. So I tried to make it kind of humorous. It was uh yeah, it was a good it was a good exercise to be involved in, and I'm glad that's out there.
SPEAKER_01So um, if anybody had a goal, I'm very excited that you put it together. Thank you, Andrew. Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you for doing that story to untwind it all. I did find my page. Okay, and in numerology and in Michael Hutchins world, so I'm on page 212, but if we reverse it, 122, Michael Hutchins' birthday.
SPEAKER_02Yay! That's very very special for you too.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, yes. So uh a little funny note, apparently when they they put my my name in there, I am I'm a reiner reiner. So if you come across that, they put my last name in there twice. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I think my name's wrong as well, but that's okay.
SPEAKER_01That's okay. I am in a book that is official in excess. Thank you, Andrew. Thank you, B. It's all good. And as I was showing you guys kind of behind the scenes, I uh I had the pleasure of meeting Andrew in a very special circumstance uh December of last year um in Nashville. And Andrew was able to sign my copy of the book that I got in. So that was another huge moment in my in excess world. That's wonderful. Again, yeah. Thank you guys so much for putting this book together.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's so lovely, isn't he? You went to see him play his country music.
SPEAKER_01I did. That was that was a very special show, a very intimate show. There was no more than probably 70 people there inside a bowling alley, and it was a mix of some in excess, it was a mix of his new country. I got to go and meet him, dress rehearsal, and so it was just it was an amazing night. But um, again, all I can say is thank you so much for putting this book together, Andrew. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02So the book came out as a hardback edition, which is really lovely with the the red pages on the side. It was just a really nice, heavy, beautiful book. And then if you got the deluxe edition, which I think it was about 300 copies made, each of the band got to sign them. Bearing in mind that well, Andrew's on the go all the while, but bearing in mind that Gary is in LA, the others are over here in Australia. So all these books went around backwards and forwards before they actually landed in the person who bought them hands. So it has got. On calling all nations around the world, but the memorabilia that is spread out along here, knowing that's most of your stuff as well, and the story.
SPEAKER_00That's my simple Simon there, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, your simple Simon. It's so well done. I think it was done by um, well, I know it was done by Neil Cossa, and he he came on the show as well, which was lovely on the inaccess axulus all areas show. And it starts off with a foreword from Chris Murphy, I believe, as well. An introduction from Chris, because this is a wish list to have done. So there's lots of things from there, and then it goes in from the Farris Brothers, and then it's like a chronological order of all the way through. Um, if you haven't got this book, it's so well worth getting. And there's a box edition too, isn't there, Andrew?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so the there's like the standard edition, then there was uh a deluxe and then a super deluxe. Um, I'm not sure if there's any super deluxe still available. I think they all got I think they were sold out, but you'll still be able to get the regular version. I'm sure you could pick that up uh from either the official website or um, I think eBay, I think there's some copies on eBay too, but so it's well worth getting it. I mean, to give the guys full credit behind that book, it's a proper coffee table book that you can sit and browse through and if not read all the stories, which you should because some of them are very heartfelt. Just look at some of the photographs and some of the images and some of the pictures, it's um it's been a good effort. And just when when you had that book open there, one of the pages there's on the Farris Brothers, there's a little picture of a business card on the corner. So if you go to that, if you go to that page again when they talk about the Farris Brothers, yeah, that bottom corner there.
SPEAKER_02Stingray.
SPEAKER_00That business card, that's mine. And I and I said to the guys, I said, look, if you include only one scanned image in this book, make sure it's that business card because there's not many of those knocking about. Um, I should have maybe used that for show and tell. Um, so there's there's only a few of those.
SPEAKER_02That's your next show and tell, okay. That's your next show and tell.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, even the cover, you know, it's so in excess, isn't it? You know, it's just pretty cool. Uh, it's lots of negatives of the band at Wembley on the front cover, and then is John the peace sign at the back. And it's not a massive book like Richard Simpkins did a beautiful book about Michael, Michael and Pictures, which is pretty rare nowadays. Um, you can pick up a few copies of those, but it's quite a big book. Um, and but this one's a bit more compact. Talking about Richard, Richard is sprinkled through this book as well with his amazing stories. He's got lots of stories too. And the podcast was at the sort of end of all of this. So we're at page 400, and then um, my first guest that I had on the show, Lars Brandor, he is actually um the next page on from me, and uh, we had a laugh about it. We're in the same book together, and again he found me and I found him through this book. So a lot of people found each other through this. It's and it's it's just a great title, you know, Calling All Nations, and it really wraps us all back together again. They've done an interview as well, which I haven't opened, Andrew. Can you tell us more about that? It's an interview with Kirk and Tim.
SPEAKER_00The vinyl that comes with it is a reproduction of an interview, uh vinyl that they did back in 1988. So it's just a reproduction of of uh of a vinyl and and a CD that you could get. So if you go on to a website like Discogs and look up in excess interview 1988, you'll find the original that was issued. I think it was like it was almost semi-official, just this interview with Kirk and Tim that they'd issued in uh as a vinyl and a C D. And then for the book, they redid it.
SPEAKER_02Well, it's a seven-inch, isn't it? It's a seven-inch vinyl. I haven't opened it yet. I do probably need to open it, but it's it actually does list out the questions. So the questions that they're they were asked was never tear us apart went to number one in the USA. When did you first meet each other? What's the significance of the skateboarding in the video and on the LP sleeve? And it just goes on with you know these lovely little endearing um questions. Then there are what we were mentioned earlier, some nice pieces and reproductions of the newsletter. I think this one's a Christmas version, it might be a Valentine's one because it's got loads of cupids all over it. Yeah, I think that was Valentine's Day. Valentine's, yeah, yeah. I've taken my dust cover off. I always take my dust cover off because I don't want to damage them, and then you open it up, the box, and then you get all these goodies inside. Oh my goodness, so good. So you get a really lovely cardboard reproduction of the cover of the book, and then you get the calling or nations, which ties in really nicely, and then you get also some badges, which are from the original badges, aren't they? So, what yours are these ones? That's one's sort of the 97.
SPEAKER_00So that's 97 there, and then the other two are 88, 87, 88, 80, kick hero stuff.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but they're they're good, and they're like pins. Then you've got a really lovely little bag which says in excess kick on it, and inside the bag you've got all the guitar picks. Now, I have to really say this was my idea. Because I was talking to Tim at the time, and I said, Oh, you should do a collection of all your guitar picks together in one. He goes, Oh, that's a great idea, I'll work on that. And he did. So I'm so pleased that they they took that on board. I mean, they probably were already talking about it, but it was nice that I spoke about it. But yeah, each one is individual, including Michael as well, which is lovely. So they're they are very special. That's probably my favorite part of the collection. Then you've got some little postcards which come in a really lovely envelope that's all entwined, and then you've got each album cover, so they'd look good art on the wall. They need to go on the wall, definitely. And that's a really nice addition. Put those around a bit, and then you got sort of Polaroids. Where did these come from, Andrew? Do you know about these?
SPEAKER_00Well, I would say when when Neil and Liz were here with me and they were scanning stuff to use for the book, at that stage, I think their focus was just on doing a book. But when they were having a break, I sort of overheard them talking about why don't we include this? Why don't we include that? Why don't we do postcards with information on each of the albums? And we can maybe do a separate insert on the gigs, and we can maybe do this. So it was very much an evolving process when they were with us um to do the scans. So I think a lot of the stuff that you that you that you have there came later, and I think it evolved quite a bit after they'd been they'd been here. So I suspect what had happened was they probably had a conversation with management and said, Look, you know, we've got the idea for the book, and that's the core idea. What about adding in these extras? And what about doing this and having a deluxe and a super deluxe? So I think that all came a little bit later, yeah. Um, so I think they wanted to kind of cram as much stuff in as they could just to kind of make it uh you know a bigger, more worthwhile project.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and then flicking through those Polaroids, then they look like they are from the negatives that are actually from the cover, so from um the Wembley gig, and each one is a different one of the band members. We've also got a key ring, little mini one, but it's quite cute.
SPEAKER_01Um that was my favorite.
SPEAKER_02That's cute, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I loved that one.
SPEAKER_02I thought that would be a good necklace. Yes, also, yeah, good necklace. Yeah, yeah, very nice. Again, that I've not taken much out of this box. Um I don't want to spoil it really.
SPEAKER_01Um I know. I haven't done much with mine just because I don't want to mess with the stuff, you know?
SPEAKER_02Then we've got the after show kick um lanyard, which is very nice. Love that. And it was all tied together with a lovely black ribbon and stuff. And then the very, very special part. Does anybody want to mention this? I think Danielle, you know more about this one.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's um, it's not in my kit. I uh unfortunately didn't get that one, but um, it's like taken from like the backstage area from like the curtains they used to use, and it's now a patch. So you're having a piece of you're holding a piece of music history from NXS, uh calling all nations, and it's you know, from the backstage area dressing rooms. And they just I think it was a curtain that they would cut individually and made a patch out of. So if you got that deluxe version, you got that patch in there. Okay. So that's kind of cool.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'll read what it says. You are now holding a piece of music history, and then they've embroidered in excess the logo onto the curtain. This unique embroidered patch, exclusively available with the special edition of Calling War Nations, a fan history of in XS, is in fact a part of the band's incredible worldwide journey. So they would have taken this with them. While it may initially appear as merely a beautiful rendering of the iconic logo, it is in fact a rare keepsake crafted from a segment of In Access's actual dressing room curtain. This curtain, having helped provide some privacy, yeah, right, in the backstage area, holds countless untold stories and was a quiet witness to Inexcess's journey across the globe during their touring years. In 2023, the curtain was retrieved from the band's archives and carefully cutting to 300 pieces in order to produce these patches. If you have one of those patches, you're lucky. Yeah, very lucky, very lucky. And then there was a super deluxe, which I think had t-shirts and all sorts of things in them as well, didn't they, Andrew?
SPEAKER_00I thought that the super deluxe was limited to 50, but I think actually, looking back, I think maybe the one you've got there with a certificate for 300 is correct. I think the the extra thing was a t-shirt, but not everybody got a t-shirt with theirs. I think there was maybe an issue getting t-shirts out with that box set that you've got. Oh, that was it.
SPEAKER_02They got the t-shirt first, didn't they?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they got that separately. Yeah, that was a separate thing. So I think the one you've got actually is the super deluxe. And I think I think I've maybe got I thought it was fifth down to fifty. I think initially they said it was going to be 50, but potentially the bumped up to 300, and then the deluxe one was maybe you know a thousand or so.
SPEAKER_02All right. Well, oh the other thing that we forgot, which is the big thing for most of us, is the gigography, which I have somewhere else. Yeah, which is right I take a reference from a lot. That's that and Manny's book. Yes, amazing. So you helped with the gigography, didn't you, Andrew?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so they they emailed me. So it's funny because they they were in constant touch, um, Neil. And one of the things he did, he emailed me asking for information. And I said, Look, to make life a little bit easier for you, I'll send you some documents so that when people are sending you in stories, you can you know refer to these documents and it might make your life a little bit simple. And the first thing I sent to him was my own discography, so a list of all the vinyl and all the CDs and all the LPs and cassettes, and you know, from from the very first one from Simple Simon to the present day, and I and I sent that through as a spreadsheet, and he said, That's amazing. We're gonna send that on to management because Kirk has been trying to do his own discography, so we'll send that to Kirk. So he's got it, and uh hopefully that made it to him. Um I never heard if it did or not, but I'm hoping Kirk has my Excel spreadsheet discography.
SPEAKER_02So I know Kirk's listening, so Kirk, let us know if you have.
SPEAKER_00If not, I can email that to you, Kirk. The other thing was the gigography. Now, this used to really bug me on the old nxs.com website. If you can remember, there was a discography section on there, and you could click on it and it would have it by year, and you could go in. If you went into say like 1985, it would then give you a page and it would list all the gigs in 1985. But a lot of the information on there, it was have null, null, null, null, null. So there was no information, and it used to bug me that why does the official website not have this information? So I took it upon myself to do my own Excel spreadsheets. I took all information off the website and I typed that all in, and then where there was gaps, I put in my own information that I researched and like found through gig tickets and posters and all that sort of stuff, and press articles and all that sort of stuff. And I would and I highlighted that a different color to show that's information that I found that's not on the official website, and I sent that through to them and they use that for that book. But I have to confess there's stuff missing from that book. So there's there's there's a there's a few dates that aren't in there that I've since discovered.
SPEAKER_02Um oh, you'll have to let me know about that so I can I'm applied to write in the book or how but how do we do this? Is it gotta be notes in the back?
SPEAKER_00So I'll send you a I'll send you a updated copy appendix. Yeah, so there's so yeah, it it's it's frustrating when you know the resource that you're going to use is the official website. You go into the official website, that should be correct, accurate, not to date. But it wasn't, and it used to it used to annoy me. It's like, right, I'll do my own then. So I did my own and filled in a lot of the gaps, and then subsequently I found a few dates that that weren't on the website and that I had missed. So it's it's about 99% correct, I would say.
SPEAKER_02So if you're interested in getting your hands on one of these copies, listen to the end of the show, and we might have something special to announce. All right, okay. Well, that's that's uh definitely not a wrap because we want in XS to um reform and we have some inklings that this might happen, don't we? Really? How would you how do you see it happening?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, big anniversary coming up next year. As we all know, it's been a good few years since the guys were you know on stage performing the songs, you know. We're going back to 2012, 2011, 2012. So we're going back a good few years, you know. Personally, I don't think or I wouldn't want the guys get past the 50th anniversary without having done something. I think they would, I would like to think they would regret it themselves if they didn't mark the occasion in some way. And whether that's uh you know, a one-off performance with a guest singer or guest singers, then that would be the best of all worlds for us fans, I'm sure. But even if it was just getting the five guys together in a room and having a you know uh an interview that has the guys reminiscing about their 50 years, then that would do. You know, us fans would be quite happy with that, I'm sure. So I'd like to think it'd be marked in some way, but I guess we just kind of have to wait and see. But fingers crossed.
SPEAKER_02And Danielle, if we have well, we will be having um some sort of party in Sydney for the 50th anniversary in August um in 2027. Will you do something in Bates or in UK, Andrew? Will you you get some sort of meetup or are you gonna come over and party with me on the boat on the on the harbour?
SPEAKER_00Well, it's funny because I've been talking about coming to Australia, if only so I can meet you be outside the big banana.
SPEAKER_02And that's in Cops Harbour, everybody. My and my that our famous landmark is a big banana.
SPEAKER_00No, we've we've we've been talking for a couple of years now, so we we tend to do like um like a Mediterranean holiday. We we go to our go-to places, and we did that last year, and this year where we're gonna have a UK break, if you like, just to save up a you know a couple of quid. And then maybe next year um that might be the big holiday, you know, coming out to Australia and and doing a you know a bit of a tour around, taking three weeks off and and seeing some of the highlights. So if there was something happening uh next year in excess wise that we could get there for, then that would that would be reason enough to come all the way down and and join in the party. So hopefully, yeah, hopefully we'll we'll come down and see what the lads are doing and meet yourself and meet some of the other guys that I've connected with, like the legend that is Richard Simpkin um and a few of the others. So um yeah, fingers crossed, we'll just we'll see how we get on, we see how our season is this year, you know, working in hospitality. You never know how the brickings are gonna fall, if we're gonna be busy or not. So if we have a good season and we can justify coming out, and if the guys are doing something next year, then we'll certainly make a point of coming down and joining one of your famous parties, B.
SPEAKER_02It'll be a massive party. Um, it will be on the harbour, and I'm I'm thinking that we'll probably all um stay in hotels around um Darling Harbour. Um, yeah, we'll have dinner together, we'll have a little mini coach party and then celebrate on the water. It will be August, which is cold in Australia, I do warn you. Not the cold that you're used to, so you'll be fine. You'll be dancing in your t-shirt going, what are you doing? What are you talking about, woman? But yes, there are some special people that will be there. Blair from Don't Change is just a really gorgeous guy to be around, amazing stories. And Dr. Jim, who heads the petition for getting in access into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And hopefully by then they will be in, or they will be on the way to being in. And Danielle, and will you be on the way here?
SPEAKER_01Ah well, B and I have talked about this behind the scenes. Um, so my husband, in uh his 50th birthday, is literally three days before in excess's 50th birthday. So his is August 13th, 1977. Um, I'm not quite sure that Australia's on the map for that one because we did come down for my special 50. We'll have to work on Joel. You may have to work on Joel. Um, but if we cannot make it to Australia, um most definitely I will work on something here in the States for the fans, whether it's everybody comes down to uh my section of Florida and it will be hot as Hades and we can play in the water. Um and maybe a um tribute band can come this direction. Yeah, so I'm not quite sure what I will be partaking or participating in for the 50th. Um, but I do know this year whether there is a nomination or not, I will be making my way to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with John Jamin, another wonderful friend of ours. And I will be representing Listen Like Fans podcast to get in access in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So that that's my big thing that's coming up this year. And I know next year's 50th, but I'll just have to see what's on the books.
SPEAKER_02I'd love it. Well, well done, well done. Okay, let's go into a quick fire question around to both of you. Okay, are you ready? Uh okay, all right. We'll go Danielle, but we'll go ladies first and then okay, okay. First question. First in excess song you love, never tears apart, Andrew.
SPEAKER_00The gift.
SPEAKER_01Right. Why never tear us apart? Because it was the first in excess song someone directed me to listen to, Andrew.
SPEAKER_00It sort of reinvigorated my passion for the band. And as much as the songs on kick, which I got great memories of New Sensation and Devil Inside and all that, it was really the gift that kicked it all off, excuse the pun. It kicked it off big time, and and from that point on I've never looked back. So that that's the that's the one for me.
SPEAKER_02Fantastic. Okay, most underrated track, Danielle.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna go with Do What You Do. I know it's not off an album, I know it's off a pretty in pink, but do what you do. I listen to that song probably every other day. That is my hype song. That is a trap to me that should have been on an album, and I think it could have gone very high in charts. Do what you do.
SPEAKER_02I do agree. When you listen to it, it it escalates it and makes you happier and happier as it goes on. You know, Mount Sancho is it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, Andrew, most underrated track.
SPEAKER_00That's a good one. That's a good question. Um, underrated. So I I remember when you were doing your elegantly wasted album review to Hayden, some helpful information. And in my message to him, I said, I'm looking forward to hearing your opinion on such and such song because it's my favorite on the album. And he was very disparaging. And it's the only thing I've sort of disagreed with Hayden on in all the time I've listened to him, and that's She is Rising. That is the best track on elegantly wasted by none.
SPEAKER_02And do you know what? That's the first time I've ever agreed with him and regretted it straight away. I think I was thinking about another song from he from the apostamous album that Michael did.
SPEAKER_00Flirts for England, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I don't know why. It was in my head because I don't like that song at all. But I just, yeah, I absolutely agree with you, Andrew. That's a great song.
SPEAKER_00I also need to have a chat with Manny because the first thing I looked at when I got his book was what did he say about She Is Rising? And he wasn't very enthusiastic about it there either. So I'm not having it. She Is Rising is the best track on Elegantly Wasted. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.
SPEAKER_02Oh, oh wow.
SPEAKER_01I am going to be listening to that tonight.
SPEAKER_02Oh, there's some crackers on there though. I mean, elegantly wasted is amazing too. Girls on Fire and Girls on Fire. Girl on Fire is up there for me too. Just a man. Wow. The list goes on, doesn't it? You know, Cherry Baby. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Don't lose your head. Sorry, but the whole album is amazing. Sorry. It's my favorite album, as you will probably all know, because you'll hear a lot of it through the show. Okay. We were throwing together, and we still are throwing together. Um album you never skip, Danielle.
SPEAKER_01Welcome to Wherever You Are. Ooh. That album came out my senior year high school. That album, above any album, has always spoken to me. There is something about a 17-year-old Danielle listening to Welcome to Wherever You Are that I still remember where I was in the car when I was 17 years old listening to that song. I like that. I like how it makes you feel feel good.
SPEAKER_02Andrew, album you never skip.
SPEAKER_00This will not come as any surprise to anybody who knows me, but Full Moon, Dirty Hearts. For the same reason, the same reason that Danielle just gave it, takes me back to the end of I think it was October 93 that came out. Takes me back, and I can I can listen to that now, and it puts me back to a time and place, yeah, criminally underrated, didn't do particularly well in the US, which is a which is a travesty. But for me, it's my go-to album.
SPEAKER_02So all three of us agree on different albums, really, don't we? Yeah, because like for me, I I sort of missed out on Welcome and Um Full Moon and went straight into elegantly and went, I've missed the gumble of albums. What went on there? Dancing on speakers. A song that changed meaning as you got older. Ooh.
SPEAKER_01It's changed meaning, but it hasn't, is Baby Don't Cry. When Welcome was first set out, again, I spoke of my father and his love for music. And he my father was a fan of NXS. That was around the time that my father started getting sick. That was our song. That was my father and I's song was Baby Don't Cry. And when I listened to the lyrics back then, as a 16, 17-year-old Danielle, knowing that you know her father wasn't gonna be around, those lyrics took on a certain meaning. Now, as I've gotten older, it's a different meaning, but the same. I don't know how to explain it. So yeah, I'm gonna go with Baby Don't Cry. Baby Don't Cry. Beautiful. Yeah. Andrew?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's a good question. I mean, when you're you know you're 12 or you're 15 or you're 18 and you listen to these songs, you just like the songs and you like the melodies and you like the guitar and you just like the music. And it's only as you get older that you know you you can read into the lyrics or you can understand more about the meaning behind the song, and it and it and it changes because of that. So for me, uh songs like Freedom Deep or Full Moon, great song. But when you read the the lyrics, you know, and need a new way out of here, the door is opening. You can kind of put yourself in the mind of you know Michael when he's when he's singing those words, and it takes on a different meaning to just being a nice song, you know, or a song like Dancing on the Jetty, you know, Watch the World Argue. You know, that's that's where we are in this day and age.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Another good one is communication of welcome to wherever you are, you know, communication, disinformation. Yeah, we this day and age, you know, what do they call it? I call it um fake news, you know, and um that has a meaning, or the stares, you know, about social isolation. So lots of these songs, when you first hear them, I think you just like them because they're a great song, and it's only until you actually listen to the lyrics that you can get an understanding of what was meant when those lyrics been written. But I think if I was picking one and I had to have those lyrics uh tattooed on me, it would be the lyrics from Freedom Deep. That's the one.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's quite deep. Freedom Deep.
SPEAKER_00Very that's quite deep for me behind me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, I was gonna say, my my answer is not anything like Andrew's.
SPEAKER_02No, no, yours emotional, Andrew's is deep, and mine's very superficial. Um because I because like what you need, I always thought it was, yeah, I do, I need you, Michael. That's exactly what I need. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll agree with you on that one. And that's that lyric is probably all I hear um when I when I was like, you know, 17 and I was listening to that. I was like, yeah, what you need, what you need. And now listening to the lyrics, it's like, no, it's about what I need in life, you know, pick up my troubles and throw them into shape. And it that means so much more, you know, just like just get on with it, you know, enjoy, enjoy life. So, yeah, from something that was superficial for a teenager, um, and thinking I need that that guy on my wall or in my bedroom or wherever it might be, is no, I need to really put that into my life and and do something with my life. And I have uh yeah, I feel like I have. All right, okay. Sorry, if you could relive one concert era, which would it be?
SPEAKER_01Um, I'm going with Australian Maid.
SPEAKER_02Ooh, good one. Good one.
SPEAKER_01That is um the first concert, quote unquote, that I saw on TV from NXS um when they had the NXS day on MTV. So that was the first solid, full-length concert of NXS music live that I had seen that wasn't a video. It also represents to me in XS on the precipice of international stardom fame, the world knowing who in XS were, was, and is. So yeah, I'm gonna go with Australian Made.
SPEAKER_02I love that. And Andrew, what's yours?
SPEAKER_00I would go for 94 um for two reasons. One because they did that amazing concert, uh, the great music experience in at the Buddhist temple in Japan. Oh, yeah, um, yeah. And they did have the traditional uh instrumentation alongside the band, which I thought will work quite well, but mainly because the best gig that NXS have ever done, and I'm sorry, Wembley fans, it is 1990. So I'm sorry, it's 1994, Brixton Academy, and I'm gonna bang this drum to the day I die. You I want management to release that as a Blu-ray. Come on, guys, let's get that out.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah, tidy it up and get it out and see if there's some more footage and some more angles. Yeah, that was really good. Who do you know who actually did that footage? It wasn't. Did you say it was professionally done? I don't think so.
SPEAKER_00If you if you go into YouTube, somebody has gone into that gig with like a handheld camcorder and recorded it. But if you go into YouTube and put in NXS Brixham Academy, Guns in the Sky, there's a pro shot of that one song, and it's all different angles, and it's down the front of the the stage, yeah, and it's watermarked across the YouTube video ghost pictures. So whoever is behind ghost pictures, well, that's uh that's Richard.
SPEAKER_02Richard Love. Yeah, Richard, listen to this episode, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Please Richard, send me the footage of Brixton Academy, please. I will pay you, I will pay you.
SPEAKER_01Good money, good money. I pay you good dollar. I pay you good dollar.
SPEAKER_02Well, guys, this has just been like we're like I said at the beginning, this is not about critics, this is about fans, about our love for in excess, about our collections, about our love, about just uh friendship. It's just been absolutely wonderful to have you both on my new podcast, which is wonderful. And I say mine, ours.
SPEAKER_01Well, I'm just happy to be here speaking in excess, all things in excess, with two of the biggest in XS fans I have ever met and had the pleasure of knowing. And if people could see conversations behind the scenes that Andrew and I have, messages, um, you guys, we have so much fun. And that's what this podcast is all about. And that's what our friendship's all about is for the love of each other, the love of NXS and the love of music. And yeah, I'm just so grateful for you both. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00And right back at you, Danielle, and and apologies for all the bombardment of stuff that I've sent you over the years.
SPEAKER_02It's all good. I love it. See me, Andrew. We want more, we want more. And and if you can get that footage of um of Brixton Academy um into fruition, we would love that. Okay, well, it's it's uh it's been wonderful, guys. And uh, I'll I'll speak to you probably later today.
SPEAKER_00And I will reveal what I consider to be the top 10 in excess holy grails of collecting in another episode in our next season of shows. Expect some surprises, so stay tuned.
SPEAKER_02Take care then. Bye. Cheers, guys, cheers. Bye y'all. Well, thanks for listening, everybody. It's been absolutely fantastic. If you want to know more, then check out the links that are in our description and send a message.
