Indecent Obsession (also known as Obsession) were an Australian pop rock band formed early in 1987 in Brisbane with founding mainstays Daryl Sims on drums and Michael Szumowski on keyboards. By 1988 the line-up also included Andrew Coyne on lead guitar and David Dixon on lead vocals. They released three studio albums, Spoken Words (November 1989) and Indio (August 1992), both reached the top 50 on the ARIA Albums Chart. In 1990 Spoken Words was repackaged for United States market as Indecent Obsession, which reached the Billboard 200. In May 1989 they issued their debut single, "Say Goodbye", which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Singles Chart – their highest position in Australia. Their second single, "Tell Me Something" (September), reached No. 17 nationally. When issued in the US it peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached No. 1 in Indonesia and Hong Kong, and Top 10 in Japan and South Africa. For the Asian market the band used the shortened name, Obsession. In 1992 they were the first Western act to tour South Africa after the lifting of the cultural isolation during the apartheid era. They were "greeted by screaming fans and scenes of mass hysteria", both their second album, Indio, and one of its singles, "Kiss Me", peaked at No. 1 on the relevant South African charts. By 1993 Sims and Szumowski were joined by Mark Gray on bass guitar, Richard Hennassey on lead vocals and Graham Kearns on lead guitar. The following year they issued another studio album, Relativity, before disbanding a year later.
History
Formation and debut album (1987-1992) Indecent Obsession were formed early in 1987 in Brisbane by David Dixon on lead vocals and Mick Szumowski on keyboards. The band's name refers to Colleen McCullough's 1981 novel, An Indecent Obsession and the related 1984 feature film of the same name. Dixon and Szumowski had met through their voice teacher. In 1988 Daryl Sims joined on drums and Paul O'Donnell on guitar. O'Donnell was replaced by Andrew Coyne on guitar. For a year-and-a-half they performed in the local pub rock scene and recorded demos. Sims later recalled that they were "underaged, playing in pubs in Brisbane up to Cairns, all the mining towns in between". Initially they played cover versions of material by Duran Duran, INXS, Crowded House and George Michael. They signed with Ian "Molly" Meldrum's record label, Melodian. Meldrum had hosted Countdown (1974–1987), a TV pop music show; and had contacts in the music industry including with Mushroom Records, which distributed material by Melodian's artists.
Indecent Obsession relocated to Melbourne, where they became known for their "mix of pop rock and dance-pop songs". In May 1989 the group issued their debut single, "Say Goodbye", which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Singles Chart, despite lack of support from commercial radio and remains as their highest position on Australian charts. The track had been co-written by Dixon and Szumowski with their producer, Mark S. Berry. Their second single, "Tell Me Something" (September), reached No. 17 nationally. It was co-written by Dixon and Szumowski, and produced by Ian MacKenzie (Pseudo Echo). The B-side, "Why Do People Fall in Love", was also co-written by Dixon and Szumowski, but was produced by Szumowski.
In November 1989 Indecent Obsession issued their debut album, Spoken Words, which peaked at No. 28 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album was co-produced by Ross Inglis (Tina Arena) and Szumowski; except individual tracks by Berry, MacKenzie, Mark Forrester and Jeremy Smith. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, felt the album was "patchy, ranging from the polished synth-pop of 'Tell Me Something' to the contrived, melodramatic ballad 'Come Back to Me'". The group were marketed as a boy band and teen pop act: an image Coyne refuted, in November he told The Ages Caroline Milburn, "Say Goodbye' was not a wimpy song yet we have this pretty boy image ... our record company has pushed this teen image so radio won't play us ... I get frustrated when I'm not recognised as a musician".