Listen Like Thieves
album by INXS
Listen Like Thieves is the fifth studio album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released on 14 October 1985. It spent two weeks at number one on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. Considered an international breakthrough album for the band, it peaked at No. 11 on the United States Billboard 200, No. 24 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums and in the top 50 in the United Kingdom.
The album features the band's first top 5 single in the U.S., "What You Need", and it also won the group the Countdown Music and Video Award for 'Best Video'. Listen Like Thieves also marks the beginning of the group's off-and-on alliance with producer Chris Thomas.
In May 2025, Petrol Records and Universal Music Group issued a 40th Anniversary re-release. Available in multiple formats, including many bonus tracks and live concert recordings from the 1985–86 period. The album has been remixed in Dolby Atmos and remastered by Giles Martin.
The public source identifies “Listen Like Thieves” as album by INXS. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Listen, Like and Thieves.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Listen Like Thieves”, the useful work is to connect “album by INXS” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3049346. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1985 and 2025.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Listen Like Thieves”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Listen Like Thieves primary sources, Listen Like Thieves archive and Listen research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Listen Like Thieves”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Listen Like Thieves” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.