1988 No. 1 Pop-Rock Power Ballad With Legendary Saxophone Solo Ranked Among 'Greatest Songs of All Time'
The '80s was definitely one of the best decades of all time for power ballads. In fact, the era spawned so many epic hits in that category, it's nearly impossible to pick a single track as the greatest of all...but one standout would have to be "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS.
Released in June 1988 as the fourth single from the band's iconic 1987 album Kick, "Never Tear Us Apart" took radio and MTV by storm, inspiring countless lovestruck fans to sing along at the top of their lungs:
"I was standing / You were there / Two worlds collided / And they could never tear us apart / I told you / That we could fly / 'Cause we all have wings / But some of us don't know why"
"Never Tear Us Apart," which peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, went on to be ranked #282 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" years later, with RS editors praising the "orchestra-scale riff" and "wailing saxophone solo by Kirk Pengilly."
As Andrew Farriss, INXS' co-songwriter, keyboardist and guitarist, told Billboard in 2024, the song's orchestral parts were originally written on guitar in a "very bluesy type way." According to Farriss, late singer Michael Hutchence "laughed" when he first heard the song: "He thought it was funny, because for us it was so different."
'Never Tear Us Apart' was written for a longtime love
In the documentary Mystify: Michael Hutchence, directed by Richard Lowenstein, Hutchence revealed that the lyrics for "Never Tear Us Apart" were written for an ex-girlfriend, Michele Bennett.
"I don't make up love songs, so...that's definitely a song for a girl called Michele," Hutchence said, adding, "She knows, but we're not together anymore, so it doesn't work, does it?"
In an interview with NME, Lowenstein said Hutchence suffered with feelings of guilt over the end of his relationship with Bennett, his childhood sweetheart.
"His break-up with Michele, he was utterly torn between this woman he loved and how their lives were going in so many different directions," Lowenstein said. "That's why it inspired ‘Never Tear Us Apart.' Kick had gone to number one and suddenly there's this kid-in-a-candy store mentality - he was travelling around the world and thought he'd never settle down."
"There was the hedonistic side to him, but always an almost catholic sense of self-flagellation too," Lowenstein added.
When Hutchence died in 1997, "Never Tear Us Apart" was played in the background as his coffin was carried out of St. Andrew's Anglican Cathedral in Sydney, Australia.
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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 6:49 PM.