1987Released
3:05

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Never Tear Us Apart. By Songfacts®.

INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence wrote the lyrics, which describe an instant connection between two people who form a bond that will last forever. Hutchence had many passionate relationships in his lifetime, many with celebrities like Kylie Minogue and Helena Christensen, but he was never married. He did have a daughter in 1996 with Paula Yates.

Michael Hutchence died in 1997 at 37. At his funeral service, his coffin was carried out of St. Andrews Cathedral by the remaining members of INXS and his younger brother Rhett as "Never Tear Us Apart" played in the background.

Andrew Farriss, who played a variety of instruments in INXS, wrote the music for this song. As part of a tribute to Michael Hutchence to mark what would have been his 50th birthday, Farriss told the story of the song: "In 1986 I sat down on an upright piano and started working on the chords that would eventually become 'Never Tear Us Apart.' I thought it had potential and asked Michael what he thought of it. He told me he really liked it so I recorded a blues style demo for him. I gave the demo to Michael and the eventual lyric that he wrote was truly inspired. Straight from the heart. I know how much that lyric meant to him. It was a personal love lyric very much in the moment for him." He added in a 2020 Songfacts interview: "What an amazing lyric. That song has been covered around the world by so many artists it's mind-boggling. It still gets requested all the time for use with reality TV shows and product placement. You name it - deaths, births, marriages - it's just one of those lyrics."

Top Listeners

Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Never Tear Us Apart.
CKey
MajorMode
3/4Time Signature
97BPM

Album

The album Never Tear Us Apart is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Never Tear Us Apart.
Rhino Atlantic
© 1988 Atlantic Recording Corporation
℗ 1988 Atlantic Recording Corporation. Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company.

See your Spotify stats (with number of plays and minutes listened) and discover new music.

Music data, artist images, album covers, and song previews are provided by Spotify. Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB.

5.8MArtists
73.6MSongs
12.3MAlbums
6.3KGenres
2.5MLabels
493KPlaylists