From left, INXS's Tim Farriss, new singer J.D. Fortune and Jon Farriss. (Photo: David Lucas, SUN)

So what would the late INXS singer Michael Hutchence have thought of his Canadian replacement, J.D. Fortune?

"I think he would have adopted him," INXS guitarist Tim Farriss, 48, said yesterday.

"Michael was a wild Colonial boy," added drummer Jon Farriss, 44, at his brother's side at the band's record label offices in Toronto. "And I imagine that J.D. is a wild Canadian boy -- and somewhere in between..."

"There's a trashed hotel room," said Fortune, 32, finishing the thought as the trio chatted in a board room.

The Aussie dance-rock veterans and their new singer have arrived in T.O. for four days of promos leading up to Tuesday's release of Switch, the first INXS studio album in the eight years since the suicide of Hutchence.

INXS is currently one of the comeback stories of the year after they chose Fortune, a native of New Glasgow, N.S., from 15 finalists on the hugely successful summer reality TV show, Rock Star:INXS.

Switch's first single, Pretty Vegas, which was co-written by Fortune, landed the group their highest debut ever on the U.S. singles charts.

INXS will launch a world tour on Jan. 18 in Vancouver, and have been selling out shows in record time -- including Feb. 6-7 at Massey Hall -- with more dates being added in other markets.

"We didn't know what to expect, and we certainly weren't counting chickens or anything," said Jon. "We just basically went, 'Okay, let's just put this into top gear because we really wanted to get this working again properly.' What's happening is that the momentum of the INXS thing at the moment has basically left the TV (reality) show right behind. Pretty Vegas is bringing the band through on the merit of the music, which is really making me happy."

The group, who came under fire from some fans for cheapening the band's legacy in the TV search process, say they ultimately felt they got Hutchence's blessing.

"The day we carried Michael's coffin out of the cathedral in Sydney, out of nowhere, there was this huge clap of thunder," said Tim. "We were in Los Angeles, Hollywood, making the TV show, and it never rained once, the entire four months, we were there. The day we chose J.D., we woke up to thunder."

The group could have dropped the name INXS and re-formed under a new moniker with a new lead singer, as Dave Grohl did with Foo Fighters following the demise of Nirvana in the wake of Kurt Cobain's suicide.

Jon said they considered it.

"We had thought of it. We thought of everything. We had a long time to think about it. But we still have the right to the music that we played. Our legacy. We had the right to continue to play that. And we love that music and we're really proud of it and so we want that to continue."

Added Tim: "INXS is a family and when a family loses a member, it usually bonds the family together and doesn't make them go out and change their name. They become a tighter unit because of that loss and we were looking for someone to be another family member. So, at the end of the day, that's what we set out to achieve. That's why we did it."

In fact, Hutchence is paid tribute to on two new songs on Switch -- Afterglow, and God's Top Ten, the latter for his daughter Tiger Lily with his partner Paula Yates, who died of a drug overdose three years after Hutchence passed.

"They were really important songs for us," said Jon. "To have the first studio album after Michael died, to definitely pay respect."

Added Tim: "God's Top Ten is like a gift, for (Tiger Lily), if she wishes to embrace it, or not. She's only nine. She went through so much. She lost a dad. She lost a mom. And it's really tragic."

Two other Rock Star:INXS contestants from Canada -- Toronto's Suzie McNeil and Kingston's Deanna Johnston -- also ended up on Switch as backing vocalists. McNeil also sings God's Top Ten, as a duet with Fortune.

"They're both fantastic singers," said Jon. "We just discovered these amazing singers, so we were like, 'Bring them in!' That's what we do, we record great people. And it was just wonderful that that was born from the show that we did."

Fortune, whose mother lives in Westville, N.S., and whose father is in Oakville, is excited about the prospect of hitting the road with INXS, a band he never got to see live when Hutchence was still alive.

The band will rehearse in Sydney, Australia, for their world tour and an announcement is expected tomorrow morning about a much larger cross-Canada trek next summer.

"I've wanted to do this since I was five," said Fortune. "So, for me, I always felt that I was destined for a bigger thing than I was stationed to in life. What I've learned from the guys in the band is that charimsa is the acceptance of one's self in public and to be happy with who you are and where you are is what attracts other people to you.

"So it's a great thing with the music, who we are as people, and also who we are as friends, because it's genuine and people like that. We hang out together. We write together. We work together. We live together. And we're going to be on the road for the next year and a half together so it's great that we get along."

Singing anthem is 'the biggest honour'

INXS singer J.D. Fortune says he's honoured to be singing the national anthem at Saturday night's NHL matchup at the Air Canada Centre when Toronto hosts Montreal.

"Oh, my God, it's probably the biggest honour, it's up there with everything," Fortune, 32, told the Sun yesterday. "I've sung (the anthem) before, but I've never sung it in French."

Coincidentally, Fortune's fellow Rock Star: INXS contestant Suzie McNeil is also performing in Toronto on Saturday night at Massey Hall as part of the Women's Blues Revue. Not that Fortune or any of his bandmates are going to make it over to her gig.

"We have a fairly tight schedule," says Fortune. "We're up at 6:45 and we don't finish until two in the morning for the next four days. So we have four and a half hours at the hotel. That's it. Sleep is the most expensive commodity that I know of right now. I would love to see her, but unfortunately I'll probably have to wait until February (when the band plays two shows at Massey Hall.)