Tim Farriss recently spent his 40th birthday at his Sydney home with a few friends. That same day was also the 20th anniversary for INXS. "I think we all kind of decided when we first got together, that if we stuck it out, we'd make it. And that commitment has kept us together," recalls Tim.
Born in Perth on August 16th 1957, Tim is the eldest of the Farriss brothers. They also have a younger sister, Allison. "We all started playing when we were very young. Our father gave us a choice of instruments," says Tim. "I was classically trained on the guitar by a teacher from the time I was 8 to 12 years old. He was an old Italian man who I really loved a lot. He used to accompany me on the mandolin." Tim attended Forest High School and became good friends with Kirk Pengilly. Tim's first band was called Guiness, with Kirk, mates Malcolm and Steve, and a young Andrew Farriss as their roadie. He still lives in Sydney, in the suburb of Frenchs Forest. Along with his brothers, he owns a working cattle ranch in Kangaroo Valley north of Sydney where their father Dennis lives. He married his wife Buffy, together since high school, in 1981 and has two boys, Jake and James. Tim has also set up a studio at his home and helped in the production of some music for various bands, including Crash Politics and Jenny Morris.
Initially it was Tim who was managing the band, getting the gigs and handing out the money with Kirk. He is looked upon by his band members as a father figure and along with Kirk and Michael handles most of the publicity assignments. Tim always has a funny story to tell, like the time as a teenager at home he crashed into the refrigerator door leaving a rather large dent, thus creating his distinctive chipped front tooth.
Tim is a keen 'tag and release' game fisherman. In 1989 when the band was taking a well deserved break after the worldwide success of Kick, he made a rock fishing documentary and soundtrack entitled Fish In Space. Fishing also caused Tim to miss the recording of their 1987 smash hit Good Times with Jimmy Barnes. He also is a passionate golfer and pursues the game whenever and wherever possible.
Although rarely credited as a songwriter for INXS, Tim has his name alongside some well known tracks including Spy of Love and Three Sisters, as well as contributing to many of the band's B-sides, traditionally written, produced and performed by each band member. His list includes: Phantim Of The Opera from Shabooh Shoobah, Any Day But Sunday from the Oz Dance EP, I'm Coming Home from Kick, 11th Revolution and In My Living Room from Welcome To Wherever You Are. In 1996 Tim released a producers series CD for musicians entitled Deep Inside Tim Farriss - X Samples that includes hundreds of instrumental, guitar, percussion, and vocal samples with a demo track, all produced in his home studio.
Tim Farriss and INXS have come a long way since the early pub days of the late 70's and early 80's. "To be honest, there's no one that has sold half the amount of albums we have here, so from that point of view I guess it's fairly obvious we're the most successful Australian band ever," says Tim. "But I don't go around thinking that all the time. Whether we are the best is up to the individual."