For those 10 people who didn’t watch X Factor last night, you would have missed the brand new preview for Channel 7’s highly anticipated television movie event, the two part Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of INXS.  

In a world of rock stars, concerts, photo shoots, hit singles, parties, celebrity romances, mysterious deaths and more, INXS played a major role in connecting Australian music to the international stage and took from it, all the highs and lows the experience had to offer.  A constant in the rag mags, Hutchence and his latest girlfriend would grace the gossip sections and in the bands prime, Michael Hutchence committed suicide.  Now in this warts and all movie, we will get an access all areas into the life that was INXS.

Following the artistic and emotional relationship between INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, Never Tear Us Apart will trace the bands incredible journey to the top of the international charts, their thousands of concerts, ten hit albums and the subsequent downfall of Hutchence including torrid relationships with Kylie Minogue (played by X Factor winner Samantha Jade) Paula Yates (Georgina Haig) and Helena Christensen (Mallory Jansen) and ultimately his death and the bitter aftermath and shock of it.

We’re Being promised an ‘authentic behind-the-scenes look’ at how childhood mates from Sydney became one of the biggest rock bands world wide.  From the raw beginnings of the band in northern Sydney to packed out stadiums of 100,000 fans at Rock in Rio, the music of INXS is the heart of this television event.

Says INXS guitarist Tim Farriss “People have been talking about the lives and times of INXS constantly for years, often getting the facts wrong, speculating on various issues and asking for TV  and film rights.  It seems that, finally, good people who we trust to do us justice and actually involve us in the project will finally happen.  So we are very excited, proud and to be honest a little nervous about helping with a truly fascinating story about our band INXS.  We have always felt there is so much to tell about the life and times of INXS that if this were to happen, it should be an accurate portrayal of the ‘facts’.  It will certainly evoke every emotion to all involved, from ‘us to the viewer’.  Although it may be a hard thing to watch for some of us, I can’t wait!”

In what could only be called as ‘perfect casting’ Luke Arnold (Winners & Losers) seems to perfectly nail down not only Michael Hutchence’s iconic look but gruff rock vocals as well, to the point INXS guitarist Tim Farriss was brought to tears during a table read in which Arnold played out a scene where Hutchence lamented not being around when the Farriss’ brothers mother had died.

Along with Arnold, the cast is rounded out by some familiar names including Packed to The Rafters favorite Hugh Sherridan as Garry Gary Beers, Alex Williams as Kirk Pengilly Nicholas Masters as Tim Farriss Ido Drent as Jon Farriss and Andy Ryan as keyboardist and songwriter Andrew Farriss, but perhaps the biggest casting news was that of newcomer Samantha Jade who had been picked to play a young Kylie Minogue.

During her run with X Factor last year (in which she won), Samantha Jade was constantly compared to Minogue, from her small stature to her vocals, there was no denying a likeness was there.  “We knew we couldn’t look past Samantha Jade when we were casting Kylie,” producer Kerrie Mainwaring says.  “You just need to look at her face and figure to see she’s a perfect match, and the fact that she comes from a singing background was just an added bonus in our minds.”  According the Jade, she originally turned down to offer to audition.  In an interview with radio duo Fifi And Jules a few months ago, Jade noted that acting was the last thing on her mind until she finally decided to go for the audition after numerous requests and subsequently, scoring the role.

If you happened to miss the exciting preview on X Factor last night, you can check it out below!

UPDATE: Click here for two new promos (Jan 2014)

Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story Of INXS is set to premiere on Channel 7 as a two part movie event in 2014 (probably after the Australian Open)