IF the first half of Seven's INXS mini-series was about the rise of one of Australia's biggest bands, tonight's second half is about its dramatic downward spiral.

The series picks up with the band grappling with their worldwide success after years on the road.

Their album Kick is No 1 around the world, but it's lonely at the top.

Andy Ryan, as Andrew Farriss, foreshadows the band's breakdown.

"I've always thought the best time for band, and you never hear about this, is before the record companies, before the fame," he says.

"Once you've achieved success, once you've achieved these goals, you've lost something. A little bit of you start to die."

Hutchence moves on from Kylie Minogue to Helena Christenson and then to Paula Yates.

There's more great original footage from live shows, their Arsenio Hall appearance and home movies from the road.

Hutchence is struggling with being the much-desired face of a brand and the band is feeling the pressure of following up Kick with another hit album.

It's a bit more doom and gloom, less parties and more drama, but there are still some touching moments: like Hutchence as a schoolboy singing his first song with the Farriss brothers, Bob Marley's I Shot The Sheriff, and a flashback to Hutchence and Andrew Farriss sitting at a white piano creating the song after which the mini-series is named, Never Tear Us Apart.

INXS: Never Tear Us Apart part 2 airs on Channel 7 tonight at 8.30pm.