Kirk Pengilly
Encyclopedia
Kirk Pengilly is an Australian musician, best known as a member of the rock group :INXS.
with whom he attended Forest High School
.
Their first band Guinness, formed in 1971, was a high school band in which Pengilly was the principal songwriter and lead singer. The band included American David Stewart on pedal-steel guitar and Malcolm Walker on drums, and was named after bass player Steve Spencer's dog. Guinness played a style of music inspired by bands like Yes, Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake and Palmer and Gentle Giant on one hand, and country rockers like Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Buffett on the other. Mixing country rock and the concert style of rock music worked well for a while, and the band enjoyed some success on Sydney's Northern Beaches and Sydney city venues like Chequers, Frenchs and others. But the music was not really commercial and the band struggled to gain a steady following. In late 1976, the group disbanded when David Stewart returned to America. Malcolm played in the club scene with a number of bands, while Steven embarked upon a career as a sound technician in the UK.
But when The Farriss Brothers formed in 1977, Pengilly gave up the main vocalist responsibilities to Michael Hutchence
.
and performed numerous b-sides
. Pengilly was also the creator of the rare Happy Christmas record
sent to early 1980s fanclub members in Australia and the United States. His main instrument
though is the guitar. "My eldest brother, Mark, gave me a beat up acoustic guitar when I was about nine and I taught myself playing along to records," Pengilly recalls. His position also sees him as the key publicity spokesperson, a role he does not take lightly. Pengilly also holds the distinction of being the band's archivist, faithfully logging daily entries in diaries that date back to the beginning of INXS.
Early career
Pengilly moved to Sydney in 1966, and became best friends with fellow band member Tim FarrissTim Farriss
Timothy William Farriss is a member of the rock band :INXS.-Early life and the formation of INXS:...
with whom he attended Forest High School
Forest High School (New South Wales)
The Forest High School, is a government day school located in Frenchs Forest, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on Frenchs Forest Road. It is a co-educational secondary school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education with students ranging from years 7 to 12. The school was...
.
Their first band Guinness, formed in 1971, was a high school band in which Pengilly was the principal songwriter and lead singer. The band included American David Stewart on pedal-steel guitar and Malcolm Walker on drums, and was named after bass player Steve Spencer's dog. Guinness played a style of music inspired by bands like Yes, Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake and Palmer and Gentle Giant on one hand, and country rockers like Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Buffett on the other. Mixing country rock and the concert style of rock music worked well for a while, and the band enjoyed some success on Sydney's Northern Beaches and Sydney city venues like Chequers, Frenchs and others. But the music was not really commercial and the band struggled to gain a steady following. In late 1976, the group disbanded when David Stewart returned to America. Malcolm played in the club scene with a number of bands, while Steven embarked upon a career as a sound technician in the UK.
But when The Farriss Brothers formed in 1977, Pengilly gave up the main vocalist responsibilities to Michael Hutchence
Michael Hutchence
Michael Kelland John Hutchence was an Australian musician and actor. He was the founding lead singer-songwriter of rock band :INXS from 1977 to his death in 1997, a period of twenty years. Hutchence was a member of short-lived pop rock group Max Q and recorded solo material which was released...
.
INXS
As principal backing vocalist, saxophonist and guitarist, he contributes to a great deal of the music that INXS release. He has written, producedRecord producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and performed numerous b-sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
. Pengilly was also the creator of the rare Happy Christmas record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
sent to early 1980s fanclub members in Australia and the United States. His main instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
though is the guitar. "My eldest brother, Mark, gave me a beat up acoustic guitar when I was about nine and I taught myself playing along to records," Pengilly recalls. His position also sees him as the key publicity spokesperson, a role he does not take lightly. Pengilly also holds the distinction of being the band's archivist, faithfully logging daily entries in diaries that date back to the beginning of INXS.
Other projects
- In 1982 Pengilly became involved in a one-off EPGramophone recordA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
project with the band, The Igniters. - In 1983 Andrew FarrissAndrew FarrissAndrew Charles Farriss is a rock musician , best known as the keyboardist and main composer for the Australian band INXS.-Career:...
, Garry Gary Beers and himself worked on the 12" release of "Flaming Hands" / "Cast My Love". - In 1987, Pengilly appeared in the music video "You're Gonna Get Hurt", released by Australian singer Jenny Morris, unrecognizable without his trademark glasses.
- In 1989 when the band was on a break, Pengilly along with Tim Farriss produced an album for local Sydney band, Crash Politics.
- 1993 saw Pengilly playing saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
on Richard ClaptonRichard ClaptonRichard Clapton is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist from Sydney, New South Wales. His solo top 20 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are "Girls on the Avenue" and "I Am an Island"...
's album Distant Thunder, and he has also been a session guitarist for Shona LaingShona LaingShona Laing is a New Zealand musician. She has had several hits in her native country, as well as a few minor international hits, most notably " Not a Kennedy" and "Soviet Snow". Laing also contributed to the Manfred Mann's Earth Band album Somewhere in Afrika...
and saxophonist for Martin PlazaMartin PlazaMartin Plaza is the pseudonym of Martin Edward Murphy , who is a vocalist/guitarist/songwriter with Australian pop/R&B band Mental As Anything. Plaza also has a solo music career and in 1986 had a #2 hit in Australia with his cover of the 1960s Unit 4+2 song "Concrete and Clay"...
. - Produced an album for his brother Drew's band, Coo, in 1999.
- In 2002, Pengilly co-wrote and co-produced the album Still in Bed by Hughie Murray.
Private life
- Pengilly has one daughter, April Rose PengillyApril Rose PengillyApril Rose Pengilly is an Australian model, actress and presenter. April is the daughter of INXS member Kirk Pengilly.-Early life:April attended Wenona, a girls school on the North Shore of Sydney...
(who is now an actor/model), born in 1988, to his ex-girlfriend Karen Hutchinson. Hutchinson and Pengilly were together for ten years, in which time she toured with the band. - In December 1993, Pengilly married singer Deni HinesDeni HinesDohnyale "Deni" Sharon Hines is a solo R&B artist who had chart success in the 1990s in Australia and New Zealand. She is the daughter of Marcia Hines....
. The marriage lasted ten months, and the two parted ways in early 1995. - Hines sang backing vocals on INXS' "Not Enough Time".
- Pengilly was once engaged to freelance DJ Louise Hegarty, the relationship lasted for seven years.
- He is married to former world women's champion pro surfer, Layne BeachleyLayne BeachleyLayne Beachley is a former professional surfer from Manly, Australia. She won the World Championship seven times.-Surfing career:At the age of 16 Beachley became a professional surfer. By the age of 20 she was ranked sixth in the world. Beachley became the Women's ASP World Champion in 1998, and...
.They were married at their South Coast home in NSW in a private ceremony on the 10/10/2010 at 10 am. - He bought a large farm in Kangaroo Valley.
- Kirk Pengilly became an ambassador of The Eye Foundation in May 2007
- Pengilly starred in the first series of Celebrity MasterChef AustraliaCelebrity MasterChef AustraliaCelebrity MasterChef Australia is an Australian competitive cooking game show. It is spin-off of MasterChef Australia, itself an adaptation of the British show MasterChef, and features celebrity contestants...
and progressed to the finals where he came second to Eamon Sullivan. - The name Pengilly is CornishCornish languageCornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
for end of grove.