Shabooh Shoobah

Shabooh Shoobah
Studio album by INXS
Released	October 1982
Recorded	1982 Paradise Studios, Rhinoceros Studios
Genre	New Wave, rock, post-punk
Length	35:23
Label	WEA, Atco, Mercury
Producer	Mark Opitz
INXS chronology
Underneath the Colours (1981) Shabooh Shoobah (1982) The Swing (1984)
Singles from Shabooh Shoobah
"The One Thing" Released: July 1982 "Don't Change" Released: October 1982 "To Look at You" Released: March 1983 "Black and White" Released: June 1983

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

Shabooh Shoobah is Australian rock group INXS's third studio album and was released in October 1982. It peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart and remained on the chart for 94 weeks. It was the band's first album to be released worldwide and appeared on the United States Billboard 200 and on the Hot Pop Albums Chart. The album spawned four singles, "The One Thing" (July 1982), "Don't Change" (October), "To Look at You" (March 1983) and "Black and White" (June). It was produced by Mark Opitz for WEA Australia with most tracks written by band members, Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence.

The song "Don't Change" became a popular cover. It has been covered by The Audreys, The Bravery, Everclear, Face to Face, Goo Goo Dolls, Grinspoon, Zero (a post-punk band from Uruguay, covered the song with the title No cambies), A Fire Inside and also most recently by Lazlo Bane. "Don't Change" plays during the credits of the movie Adventureland and is featured in its soundtrack. "The One Thing" is featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories under the fictional radio station Flash FM.

The name "Shabooh Shoobah" is an onomatopoeia of a rhythm in an INXS song "Spy of Love", hummed by Michael Hutchence in the recording studio. (http://www.waisthigh.net/2012/10/shabooh-shoobah-is-30-years-old.html)

Background

INXS's third album, Shabooh Shoobah, developed after they decided in early 1982 to record a new song, "The One Thing" at their own expense, with Mark Opitz at Paradise Studios.^[3] The song turned out so well that band hired Opitz to produce three more songs.^[4] WEA Australia were approached with copies, leading to INXS signing a recording deal in July 1982 with WEA for releases in Australia, South East Asia, Japan and New Zealand; with sister label Atco Records (a subsidiary of Atlantic Records) for North America and with Polygram for United Kingdom and the rest of Europe.^[5][6][7][3]

Initially, INXS were not convinced that Opitz could produce an entire album that would attract international interest. Prior to recording the rest of Shabooh Shoobah, three band members, Kirk Pengilly, Michael Hutchence, and Andrew Farriss, visited the UK and United States, to select another producer. However, they found that no one they wanted was available and that most people advised them that Opitz's work on their single was as good as they could wish for.^[3] So in mid-1982, they commenced recording at Rhinoceros Studios, with Opitz.^[7] Tim Farriss felt "Mark was the first producer that was able to capture some glimmer of what the band felt it was like live. Prior to us, Mark had done bands like AC/DC, Cold Chisel, The Angels. Big guitar sounds, mighty drum beats".^[3]

In October, Shabooh Shoobah was released internationally on Atlantic/Atco Records and Mercury Records, peaking at No. 52 on the US Billboard 200 and No. 46 on the Hot Pop Albums chart.^[8][9] In Australia it peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart and remained on the chart for 94 weeks.^[10] The lead single, "The One Thing", brought their first US Top 30 hit on 28 May 1983,^[11] it was a Top 20 hit in Canada,^[12] and peaked at No. 14 in Australia on 23 August 1982.^[10] "One Thing" was their first video to air on the fledgling MTV and added to the chart success of the single.^[4] INXS undertook their first US performance in San Diego in March 1983, to a crowd of 24 patrons.^[3] The tour was as support for Adam and the Ants, then support for Stray Cats, The Kinks,^[5] Hall & Oates followed by The Go-Go's.^[3][4] INXS played alongside many of their contemporaries on New Wave Day in May 1983, at the US Festival in Devore, California.^[13] It was during this time that Gary Grant, their co-manager, relocated permanently to New York to ensure a continual presence in the northern hemisphere.^[3] The band remained on the road in the US for most of the year, including support for Men at Work and by mid-1983 were headlining venues such as The Ritz in New York.^[3]

Track listing

Personnel

INXS

• Garry Gary Beers – bass guitar
• Andrew Farriss – guitar, keyboards
• Jon Farriss – percussion, drums
• Tim Farriss – guitar
• Michael Hutchence – vocals
• Kirk Pengilly – guitar, saxophone, vocals

Production details

• Producer – Mark Opitz
• Engineer – David Walsh, Andrew Scott, David Nicholas, Mark Opitz
• Studios – Paradise Studios (track 1), Rhinoceros Studios (tracks 2–10)

Art works

• Cover art concept – Michael Hutchence, Grant Matthews
• Photography – Grant Matthews

Chart performance and certifications

Album

Singles

Videos

• "The One Thing"
• "To Look at You"
• "Spy of Love"
• "Don't Change", directed by Scott Hicks

Notes