New INXS frontman, Ciaran Gribbin

One of Australia’s most successful rock bands, INXS, have unveiled their new lead singer…and he’s from Derry.

Ciaran Gribbin will front the band at newly-announced gigs in Australia, South America, Europe and America.

Gribbin, who has written and performed as Joe Echo, is a accomplished singer and songwriter.

He co-wrote Madonna’s hit Celebration which was nominated for a Grammy. But he has also worked with a who’s who of Irish, Australian and international acts including Snow Patrol, The Script, Gotye, Powderfinger and even Paul McCartney.

According to Billboard magazine, the 35-year-old met INXS’ Andrew Farriss two years ago at a mutual friend’s party in Sydney, Australia. He wound up “sitting on a balcony, singing Mystify with the guy who wrote it… pretty surreal.”

Now he’s done that one better; Gribbin is the new frontman for INXS.

The Irish native is currently in Australia working on new material with Farriss — including a track called Tiny Summer. Gribbin hits the road with the group on Nov 3 for a six-show run through South America, Europe and Australia, and INXS hopes to be in the studio shortly after that to work on a new album.

“Without a doubt I was a fan” of INXS, the 35-year-old Gribbin told Billboard.com.

“I remember Kick like it was yesterday. I remember seeing the guys on MTV and then on Jools Holland’s BBC show…watching as a kid, just blown away by them. INXS definitely played a huge part in my musical education as a songwriter and something I aspired to, so to be in the band now is pretty amazing.”

“I’ve been very fortunate,” Gribbin says. “I’ve worked hard and… grown in confidence, grown in ability. The last four years have been an amazing journey for me. But without a doubt, hand on heart, the most amazing part of my musical journey is about to begin (with INXS). I know that as a fact. I feel in some way like I’ve really arrived now.”

Farriss says he and the rest of INXS “don’t have a master plan” for how they’re going to proceed with Gribbin. “We’re just really enjoying being creative and seeing where that leads,” he explains. “We’re experimenting with a whole range of things; we actually tried out an idea for a song the other day that’s probably the most crazy, off-the-wall thing I’ve ever done in my life. completely radical. And that’s the most important thing, to really try out different things and find out what we can do together.”

“It’s a wonderful, proud moment for me. It’s a real feeling of achievement to have a band of INXS’ stature believe in me as a performer and a singer. It’s genuine dream-come-true, fairytale stuff for me. I’m still waking up in the morning here in Australia going, ‘How did I get here?’”

INXS’ original lead singer Michael Hutchence died in Sydney in 1997. The NSW coroner determined that he had taken his own life.