Nearly a year ago to the day, former Leya frontman Ciaran Gribbin received a phone-call that would literally change his life forever. It was from Andrew Farriss, the main creative force behind the iconic Australian band INXS and he asked the songwriter, who was then peddling his wares under the successful pseudonym of Joe Echo, to fly to Oz and write some songs. “A few tunes” turned into something much more, as the Castedawson native was asked to front the multi-platinum selling global superstars. Needless to say he jumped at the chance.

“It’s been an unbelievable year,” grins Ciaran. “I got the call to come to Australia just over a year ago when my wife was ready to give birth to our first child. These types of opportunities don’t come along every day and it just felt right to go. There was something very special about meeting Andrew for the first time which was at a party three years ago. The two of us just hit it off. We connect not just on a musical level but a personal, human level too.”
12 months since he traded in the grey gloom of Northern Ireland for a life living by the beach in Sydney – in fact, his home is where they film Aussie soap Home & Away! – it’s perhaps not surprising that Ciaran is in fine fettle when we meet him and he happily admits that he’s relishing the opportunity to live his dream.
“My first gig was in Peru in front of 7,000 people, then two nights later I was singing for 30,000 in Buenos Aires,” he begins. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be walking out onstage as the singer of this legendary band. I’m loving it. I spent 20 years of my life dreaming of walking out onto stages like that. The realisation that you’re actually there is a lot to take in. A year ago I was gigging to 30 people in the Duke of York in Belfast and banging my head against a brick wall, y’know?”
While INXS have certainly had a difficult few years finding a new singer to front the band after original vocalist Michael Hutchence tragically died in November 1997, it seems that the remaining quintet have finally found their man in Gribbin, and Ciaran tells us that he’s proud to pay tribute to the legendary performer every night.
“You simply cannot replace that man,” he notes. “There’s a massive weight that goes with being the singer in INXS. Michael is up there with the greatest frontmen of all time. He’s there with Jagger, Bono, Bowie. You can’t compete with that, no-one can. When I go out every night I talk about Michael and the fans like that. I loved Michael like you guys did, I’m still sad he’s not here. I grew up with the band. I genuinely loved them.
“They tried a few singers and did the television show [Rock Star: INXS] but they struggled creatively to find a guy to connect with them all,” he adds. “I’m not saying I’m the guy who’s gonna go in there and solve all the problems, but I know one thing – I’m the first singer who’s came into this band who’s been co-writing with them and that’s a massive deal.”
Ciaran also tells us that INXS have taken great care to protect the Co. Derry man from the media glare and they try to ensure that life for their fourth frontman goes as smoothly as possible.
“The band are very protective of me,” he smiles. “They moved my family to Australia and, yes, we’ve done shows, but they’re sporadic. They’re not putting me out on three and four month tours. Writing is the main focus.”
Work on a new album is going swimmingly according to the frontman, who’s now rested Joe Echo to concentrate solely on INXS, and while he can’t 100% confirm it, fans will get to hear some fresh material sooner rather than later.
“Things are going well, we’ve come through a few cycles of styles,” he concludes. “We’ve stuff that’s pretty chilled out and, dare I say it, ‘folky,’ and stuff that’s without doubt classic INXS. Andrew Farriss is the greatest songwriter I’ve ever worked with and it’s all about coming back with another great album and they have another great album in them. We’ll be recording a lot this year; there might be some new material out soon hopefully.”