INXS to rock AFL Grand Final

Aussie rockers INXS will headline pre-match entertainment at the 2010 AFL Grand Final at the MCG.

AAP

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AUSTRALIAN rockers INXS say they are excited and honoured to have the job of warming up the crowd at this year's AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The band gave a special instrumental performance at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday as the news was announced that they will headline the pre-match festivities on September 25.

"We're just really honoured and very excited," INXS's Kirk Pengilly told reporters.

"(Grand Final day) is such an institution.

"AFL fans are so passionate, we're really excited (to be involved)."

Organisers say INXS, with a string of hits such as Never Tear Us Apart, Original Sin, Need You Tonight and Devil Inside, are sure to get an enthusiastic welcome from the crowd.

"INXS is a giant of the music industry, so it is apt they will headline Australian football's biggest day in front of a crowd of supporters young and old," acting AFL general manager of commercial operations Darren Birch said.

With a career spanning 25 years, and more than 30 million albums sold worldwide, INXS is one of Australia's biggest bands and most successful musical exports.

Music promoter Michael Gudinski, who is involved in coordinating the Grand Final pre-match entertainment, agreed they were the perfect choice to please fans of all ages.

"It's a very difficult event to perform at, given the different age groups attending, so to have an act like INXS playing their well-known hits is a terrific outcome and what the crowd will want to hear," Gudinski says.

The band, who plan to release another compilation of greatest hits later in the year, will also perform in post-match entertainment at the corporate hospitality village Centre Square, in Birrarung Marr.