INTERVIEW: IN CONVERSATION WITH JD FORTUNE
Interview by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
JD Fortune fans and INXS fans, get ready! The original ‘Rockstar’ (and former INXS Frontman), JD Fortune (aka Jason Dean Bennison) is returning to Australian stages for his first ever headline tour. He is bringing his band, his new songs and his passion for INXS’s music, including songs he co-wrote with the band, to perform them across the country in October.
The powerhouse Canadian vocalist JD Fortune is an extraordinary person. He has done things in music that other people can only dream of: as the first winner of the TV reality show ‘Rockstar’, then he joined INXS as their lead singer for seven years and wrote songs and toured with them across the globe. “Yeah. The TV show was special and strange. They put us on TV, there were articles in People Magazine, and we were given this rockstar treatment and told this is what your life is going to be like now,” explained JD Fortune. “But it wasn’t like that. The band didn’t care about any of that stuff. It’s what you do on stage that matters. The performing of a live show is the heart of rock‘n’roll. It’s a trip! 45,000 people screaming for you and the band – especially INXS – I can still hear it. When you perform you need to be there for people and then they will be there for you”.
JD Fortune is going to deliver a set of concerts that focus on music and its live performance on his first ever headline tour. He will be playing the INXS classics including ‘Need You Tonight’, ‘Never Tear Us Apart’, ‘New Sensation’, ‘Mystify’, ‘Devil Inside’, ‘Don’t Change’, ‘Suicide Blonde’, ‘Original Sin’ as well as the songs he co-wrote with INXS such as ‘Pretty Vegas’ and ‘Devil’s Party’. “I am a singer and songwriter. The concerts are going to focus on that live sound. This is me; this is what it sounds like,” stated JD Fortune. “I have some new songs that I might test out like ‘Whiskey Days’, ‘Hope And Beer’ and ‘A Million Ways To Live’. I have started writing for a new album. After the Australian tour, I will head back to Toronto to the studio and start to record some more tracks”.
“Songwriting and recording with the right musicians is like taking a long, beautiful highway,” said JD Fortune. “Music is a craft. And like Andrew Farriss (one of Australia’s great songwriters) told me: “You must dig for gold”. You can’t cheat. Real music comes from real dirt, romance or experience. You need to be able to play songs for people with just an acoustic guitar and your voice – strip it back to the real thing - and I plan on doing that as well during this tour”.
JD Fortune grew up as a kid in the 1980’s where AC/DC and INXS ruled the rock world but underneath, and especially in Canada, the country songs of Johnny Cash and John Denver ruled the airwaves. “My Grandma brought me AC/DC’s ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’ when I was a kid,” said JD Fortune with a real smile. “I had one of those cheap plastic record players in my room and I listened to that album. It spoke to me. But my grandma heard ‘Big Balls’ and freaked out as she pulled the player off me and sat it on top of the fridge where I couldn’t get it. That was the end of that summer! But my love of that music has stayed with me”.
JD Fortune has continued that passion for music with real grit. He is now ready to reconnect with Australian fans and the music that changed his life. “I want to perform for the fans,” stated JD Fortune. “I want to share the music and celebrate INXS influences today. There are layers to that band and their songwriting that people need to hear and experience live. INXS taught me that: rock‘n’roll lives in the holes. So, let’s dig!”
On the evidence of his past performances, and his current music, JD Fortune’s concerts are sure to be as dynamic and emotionally charged as he honours the legacy of INXS and shines a light on his own vocal skills, songwriting and captivating stage presence. “There are cover bands that pretend to be INXS and then there is the guy that was in INXS,” stated JD Fortune. “I want to get the fundamentals right and bring fans the INXS that I know and love”.
JD Fortune and his amazing “world-class band” will bring the sounds of INXS alive for Australian fans. Catch the real thing and immerse yourself in the music.
JD Fortune: ‘Best Of INXS’ Australian Tour – get your tickets now for the October 2025 dates:
Wednesday 8th October – BRISBANE, The Triffid
Thursday 9th October – GOLD COAST, Miami Marketta
Saturday 11th October – COOGEE, Selina’s, Coogee Bay Hotel
Sunday 12th October – MARICKVILLE, Factory Theatre
Tuesday 14th October – THIRROUL (Wollongong), Anita’s Theatre
Wednesday 15th October – NEWCASTLE, King St. Bandroom
Friday 17th October – FRANKSTON, Frankston Arts Centre
Saturday 18th October – MELBOURNE, Max Watts
Monday 20th October – MELBOURNE, The Palms at Crown
Wednesday 22nd October – ADELAIDE, The Gov
Saturday 25th October – PERTH, Rosemount Hotel
Sunday 26th October – FREMANTLE, Freo Social
