Pengilly moved to Sydney in 1966,[2] and became best friends with fellow band member Tim Farriss with whom he attended Forest High School.

[3] The band included American David Stewart on pedal-steel guitar and Malcolm Walker on drums, and was named after bass player Steve Spencer's dog.

Guinness played a style of music inspired by bands like Yes, Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake and Palmer and Gentle Giant on one hand, and country rockers like Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Buffett on the other.

[7] Pengilly was also the creator of the rare Happy Christmas record sent to early 1980s fanclub members in Australia and the United States.

"My eldest brother, Mark, gave me a beat up acoustic guitar when I was about nine and I taught myself playing along to records,"[This quote needs a citation] Pengilly recalls.

Pengilly is also the band's archivist, faithfully logging daily entries in diaries that date back to the beginning of INXS.

In 1987 Pengilly appeared in the music video "You're Gonna Get Hurt", released by Australian singer Jenny Morris, unrecognizable without his trademark glasses.

He played saxophone for Richard Clapton on his Distant Thunder album in 1993, and has also been a session guitarist for Shona Laing and saxophonist for Martin Plaza.

[7] Pengilly starred in the first series of Celebrity MasterChef Australia and progressed to the finals, where he came second to Olympic swimmer Eamon Sullivan.