INXS’ Tim Farriss Loses Finger
INXS founding guitarist Tim Farriss is recovering from two operations to reattach a finger he severed in a grim boating accident last month. The legendary new-wave band’s label Petrol Records has confirmed Farriss suffered permanent damage to his left hand when he lost his ring finger in a mishap with the electric anchor winch of his boat.
Farriss was injured Jan. 24 near his Sydney seaside home, and was treated at the Royal North Shore hospital for a week. “Tim is now at home undergoing further treatment to assist with his recovery,” the label notes.
Farriss shared an update on his condition via INXS’ Facebook page. “I’m overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and well wishes I’m receiving. Thank you all, I’m feeling the love and it’s really helping me get through this nightmare,” he said.
It’s too early to tell whether he’ll ever play the guitar again. The band’s creative director and global strategist Chris Murphy said, “he is getting the best possible care and we hope with time he will regain movement in his finger.” Farriss will undergo physiotherapy as part of the recovery process. “This was a terrible accident, we are all here to support him,” explains Murphy.
Despite announcing their retirement in 2012, INXS enjoyed a renaissance last year thanks to the ratings juggernaut that was the TV miniseries Never Tear Us Apart.
The band’s hits set The Very Best (Petrol Records/UMA) came in at No. 4 on ARIA’s year-end sales chart for 2014, a lofty position that wasn’t bettered by any other Aussie act, or international group. INXS’ The Very Best was the best-selling recording by the half-year mark and it notched-up seven weeks at No. 1, the best by any act for the year.
In the week after free-to-air broadcaster Channel 7 aired the final episode of the two-part series in Febuary 2014, INXS had landed six entries in the ARIA top 40 albums chart.
When the surviving members of INXS called time after 35 years, the group had notched up 11 studio albums, including six that sold platinum or better in the U.S.
Source: Billboard
