‘Don't stress if you don't know': A rock star's guide to the HSC
He also knows that if he had forced himself into studying HSC subjects he didn't like to chase an ATAR he didn't particularly want, his rock-star dream may have never become a reality.
'I studied to the best of my ability, but I lived in a place of distraction. I could go fishing, I could go swimming, I could take off on a motorboat. I spent a lot of time looking out the window,' he said, recalling his HSC class of 1975 at The Forest High School on the northern beaches.
This was also the same year the Herald 's first HSC Study Guide was produced. The 50th anniversary edition of the guide, in partnership with the NSW Education Standards Authority, is launched on Monday and is designed to support the 80,000 plus students sitting the HSC exams later this year.
Meanwhile Pengilly said by the time he was in year 12 he knew his life plan: a career in music.
And what a career. Over 40 years, INXS became one of Australia's most successful rock bands. With more than 70 million records sold worldwide and more than 4 billion career streams, they have won seven MTV Awards, three Grammy nominations, Brit Awards and hundreds of platinum, gold and now two diamond awards from Canada and Australia.
The band, comprising friends from school, first performed locally as The Farriss Brothers in 1977. Michael Hutchence (vocals), Pengilly (guitar/sax), Garry Gary Beers (bass), Jon Farriss (drums), Tim Farriss (guitar) and Andrew Farriss (guitar, keyboard, percussion) won Australian fans and then international acclaim, touring and performing for millions around the world, including the historic sell-out 1991 performance for 74,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.
'[When I hear our music in] the supermarket, it's a mixture of pride and hide. I get approached by people everywhere I go, which is lovely, but I find it a bit awkward in a supermarket when one of our songs is playing,' he has noted.
'In stark contrast, hearing a massive audience sing along is breathtaking – such a powerful energy.'
Meanwhile, Pengilly said it was important to do 'what you love' and, for all the HSC pressure and stress, the reality is that life goes on after the HSC.
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'You need to ask yourself what you love in life and what you love doing,' he said. 'If you can uncover that and get to the bottom of what it is you love, the things you do, then you can see how you can make a job connected to the things you love doing.
'It's not healthy to be doing something you do not enjoy and don't want to be doing.
'Certainly don't stress if you don't know [what you want to do] at the end of your HSC. Enjoy life and it will come to you. Your niche in the world will come when it is ready.'
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