INXS and Managers Clash in Court  7/21/06

INXS claimed they are owed AUS$500,000 ($375,847) by the Australian producers of hit TV show Rock Star: INXS in a Sydney court today (20JUL06).

The band are currently being sued for AUS$7.5 million ($5.6 million) by producers David Edwards and Michael Murchison who are also the band's former managers.

Edwards and Murchison executive produced Rock Star: INXS, a TV talent show which helped the band find a new front man to replace original singer Michael Hutchence, who died in November 1997.

INXS keyboardist Andrew Farris told the New South Wales Supreme Court the Suicide Blonde rockers had taken legal action in the United States to recover money they had paid to the pair.

Edwards and Murchison allege they were entitled to 18 per cent of the band's income from the Rock Star project, which saw INXS recruit new front man JD Fortune, and are seeking AUS$7.5 million in damages.

Farris said, "I don't really enjoy any of this and I would like to come to a settlement. It's not necessarily about the money, it's the principle involved.

"People have responsibilities when they manage you to look after your affairs correctly. I don't understand why not handling someone's career properly gets rewarded by paying them."

Edwards' working relationship with the band ended in September 2005, with Murchison's contract termination following three months later (DEC05).