Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Hutchence co-founded the rock band
INXS
INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
, which sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into the
ARIA Hall of Fame
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
in 2001. He was the lead singer and lyricist of INXS from 1977 until his death.
Hutchence was a member of the short-lived pop rock group
Max Q
The max q or maximum dynamic pressure condition is the point when an aerospace vehicle's atmospheric flight reaches the maximum difference between the fluid dynamics total pressure and the ambient static pressure. For an airplane, this occurs at ...
. He also recorded some solo material and acted in feature films, including ''
Dogs in Space
During the 1950s and 1960s the Soviet space program used dogs for sub-orbital and orbital space flights to determine whether human spaceflight was feasible. In this period, the Soviet Union launched missions with passenger slots for at le ...
'' (1986), ''
Frankenstein Unbound
''Frankenstein Unbound'' is a 1990 science fiction horror film based on Brian Aldiss' 1973 novel of the same name, starring John Hurt, Raul Julia, Bridget Fonda, Jason Patric, and Nick Brimble. The film is co-written and directed by Roger Corman ...
'' (1990), and ''Limp'' (1999).
Hutchence had a string of love affairs with prominent actresses, models and singers, and his private life was often reported in the Australian and international press. In July 1996, Hutchence and English television presenter
Paula Yates
Paula Elizabeth Yates (24 April 1959 – 17 September 2000) was a British television presenter and writer. Yates is best known for her work on two television programmes, '' The Tube'' and ''The Big Breakfast''. She was the girlfriend of musicia ...
had a daughter.
On the morning of 22 November 1997, Hutchence was found dead in his hotel room in Sydney. His death was reported by the New South Wales Coroner to be the result of
suicide by hanging
Suicide by hanging is the intentional killing of oneself (suicide) via suspension from an anchor-point such as an overhead beam or hook, by a rope or cord or by jumping from a height with a noose around the neck.
Hanging is often considered t ...
.
Early life
Hutchence was born on 22 January 1960, to Sydney businessman Kelland "Kell" Frank Hutchence and make-up artist
Patricia Glassop. His paternal grandparents were English and settled in Sydney in 1922. Michael joined elder half-sister Tina; both siblings were of Irish ancestry from their mother's side,
as Patricia's father was from
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
in Ireland.
Following Kell's business interests, the Hutchence family moved to
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
(where younger brother Rhett was born) and later to Hong Kong. During the early years in Hong Kong, both boys attended
Glenealy Junior School on Hong Kong Island and
Beacon Hill School in
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon Tong () is an area of Hong Kong located in Kowloon. The majority of the area is in the Kowloon City District. Its exaclocationis south of the Lion Rock, north of Boundary Street, east of the East Rail line and west of Grampian Road. It i ...
. While in Hong Kong, Michael showed promise as a swimmer before breaking his arm badly. He then began to show interest in poetry and performed his first song in a local toy store commercial. Michael attended
King George V School during his early teens.
The family returned to Sydney in 1972, buying a house in
Belrose
Belrose is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia 19 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. Belrose is also considered to be part of th ...
near the
Northern Beaches
The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the entra ...
. Hutchence attended
Davidson High School, where he met and befriended
Andrew Farriss
Andrew Charles Farriss (born 27 March 1959) is an Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist, backing vocalist, and main composer for rock band INXS. Farriss released his debut studio album in 2021.
Care ...
. Around this time, Hutchence and Farriss spent a lot of time jamming in the garage with Andrew's brothers. Farriss then convinced Hutchence to join his band, Doctor Dolphin, alongside classmates Kent Kerny and Neil Sanders. Bass guitarist
Garry Beers and drummer Geoff Kennelly from nearby
Forest High School filled out the line-up.
Hutchence's parents separated when he was 15; for a short time in 1976, he lived with his mother and half-sister Tina in California.
Hutchence later returned to Sydney with his mother.
In 1977, a new band, the Farriss Brothers, was formed with
Tim Farriss
Timothy William Farriss (born 16 August 1957) is an Australian musician, founding member and the lead guitarist of the rock band :INXS.
Early life and the formation of INXS
Farriss was born in Perth, Western Australia, to Dennis and Jill F ...
on lead guitar, his younger brother Andrew as keyboardist, and youngest brother
Jon
Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Kirk Pengilly
Kirk Pengilly ( ; born 4 July 1958) is an Australian musician and member of the Australian rock group INXS. Kirk plays saxophone, guitar and also performs as a backing vocalist.
Early career
Pengilly moved to Sydney in 1966, and became best fri ...
to play guitar and saxophone.
The band made their debut on 16 August 1977 at
Whale Beach, 40 km (25 mi) north of Sydney.
Career
Early career
Hutchence, the Farriss brothers, Kerny, Sanders, Beers and Kennelly briefly performed as The Vegetables, singing "We Are the Vegetables".
Ten months later, they returned to Sydney and recorded a set of demos.
The Farriss Brothers regularly supported
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
ers
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by ...
on the
pub rock circuit, and were renamed as INXS in 1979.
Their first performance under the new name was on 1 September at the Oceanview Hotel in
Toukley
Toukley is a town in the Central Coast region of the Australian state of New South Wales and is located within . It lies approximately 107 km north of Sydney via the M1. It is located between Tuggerah Lake, Budgewoi Lake, and the Pacific Oc ...
.
In May 1980, the group released their first single, "Simple Simon"/"We Are the Vegetables" which was followed by the debut album ''
INXS
INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
'' in October.
Their first Top 40 Australian hit on the
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...
Singles Chart, "Just Keep Walking", was released in September 1980.
Hutchence became the main spokesperson for the band.
He co-wrote almost all of INXS's songs with Andrew Farriss.
According to Hutchence, most of the songs on the band's second album, ''Underneath the Colours'', were written within a fairly short space of time: "Most bands shudder at the prospect of having 20 years to write their first album and four days to write their second. For us, though, it was good. It left less room for us to go off on all sorts of tangents".
Soon after
recording sessions The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.
Studio cast recordings
In the case of Broadway musi ...
for ''
Underneath the Colours
''Underneath the Colours'' is the second studio album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released in Australia in 19 October 1981 on the Deluxe Records label and reached No 15 on the Australian album charts.
Background
In 1981, INXS si ...
'' – produced by
Richard Clapton
Richard Clapton (born 18 May 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist and producer. His solo top 20 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are " Girls on the Avenue" (1975) and "I Am an Island" (1982). He reached the top&n ...
– had finished, band members started work on outside projects. Hutchence recorded "Speed Kills", written by
Don Walker of hard rockers
Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel are an Australian pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. They were soon joined by Jimmy Barnes (at the ...
, for the ''Freedom'' (1982) film soundtrack, directed by
Scott Hicks Scott Hicks may refer to:
* Scott Hicks (basketball) (born 1966), American former college basketball coach
* Scott Hicks (director)
Robert Scott Hicks (born 4 March 1953), known as Scott, is an Australian film director, producer and screenwrit ...
. It was Hutchence's first solo single and was released by
WEA
The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami.
Today, the descendants of the ...
in early 1982.
Stardom and acting career
In March 1985, after Hutchence and INXS recorded their album ''
The Swing'' (1984), WEA released the Australian version of ''
Dekadance
''Dekadance'' is the title of two different collections of remixes by Australian rock band INXS: a 1983 four-track 12" and cassette EP released in the United States of songs from ''Shabooh Shoobah''; and a 1985 seven-track cassette released ...
'', as a limited edition
cassette
Cassette may refer to:
Technology
* Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback
** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...
only
EP of six tracks including
remixes
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
from the album. The cassette also included a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'.
Nancy Sinatra ...
and
Lee Hazlewood
Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...
's hit "
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name
Places
Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Q ...
", which Hutchence sang as a
duet
A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...
with
Jenny Morris, a backing singer for ''The Swing'' sessions.
The EP reached No 2 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart.
Hutchence provided vocals for new wave band
Beargarden
The Beargarden was a facility for bear-baiting, bull-baiting, and other "animal sports" in the London area during the 16th and 17th centuries, from the Elizabethan era to the English Restoration period. Baiting is a blood sport where an animal ...
's 1985 single release.
On 19 May, INXS won seven awards at the 1984 ''
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
'' Music and Video Awards ceremony, including 'Best Songwriter' for Hutchence and Andrew, and 'Most Popular Male' for Hutchence.
They performed "
Burn for You", dressed in
Akubra
Akubra is an Australian hat manufacturer. The company is associated with bush hats made of rabbit fur felt with wide brims that are worn in rural Australia. The term "Akubra" is sometimes used to refer to any hat of this kind, however the compa ...
s (a brand of hats) and
Drizabones (a brand of outdoor coats/oilskin jackets) followed by Hutchence and Morris singing "Jackson" to close.
In 1986, Hutchence played Sam, the lead male role, in the Australian film ''
Dogs in Space
During the 1950s and 1960s the Soviet space program used dogs for sub-orbital and orbital space flights to determine whether human spaceflight was feasible. In this period, the Soviet Union launched missions with passenger slots for at le ...
'', directed by long-time INXS music video collaborator
Richard Lowenstein
Richard Lowenstein (born 1 March 1959) is an Australian filmmaker. He has written, produced and directed: feature films, including '' Strikebound'' (1984), ''Dogs in Space'' (1986) and ''He Died with a Felafel in His Hand'' (2001); music videos ...
. Sam's girlfriend, Anna, was portrayed by
Saskia Post
Saskia Post (1 August 1960 – 16 March 2020) was a US-born Australian actress. She is best known for her leading role in the 1986 film ''Dogs in Space''. Post also acted in the 1985 film ''Bliss'' and the 1991 film '' Proof'', as well as numero ...
as a "fragile
peroxide blonde
Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a Human hair color, hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish co ...
in op-shop clothes".
Hutchence provided four songs on the film's soundtrack. Also working on the film and its soundtrack, as music director, was
Ollie Olsen
Ollie Olsen is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound designer. He has performed, recorded and produced rock, electronic and experimental music since the mid-1970s. His post punk groups included Whirlywirld (1978–80), Orches ...
(ex-
Whirlywirld
Whirlywirld were an Australian post-punk band led by Ollie Olsen in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the first of his musical collaborations with drummer John Murphy. They played in Melbourne and Sydney and were supporters of the Melbourne ...
).
Late in 1986, before commencing work on a new INXS album and while supposedly taking an eight-month break, the band's management decided to stage the
Australian Made
Australian Made was a festival concert series held during 1986–1987 in the six state capitals of Australia and featured local rock acts Mental as Anything, I'm Talking, The Triffids, The Saints, Divinyls, Models, INXS and even Jimmy Barnes. ...
tour as a series of major outdoor concerts across the country. The roster featured INXS,
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...
(Cold Chisel),
Models
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
,
Divinyls
Divinyls () were an Australian rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Amphlett garnered widespread attention for performing on stage in a school unifo ...
,
Mental as Anything
Mental As Anything are an Australian New wave music, new wave and pop rock musical ensemble, band that formed in Sydney in 1976. Its most popular line-up (which lasted from 1977 to 1999, and recorded all of their charting singles and albums) w ...
,
The Triffids
The Triffids were an Australian alternative rock and pop band, formed in Perth in Western Australia in May 1978 with David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist.McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry fo"The Triff ...
and
I'm Talking
I'm Talking are an Australian funk-pop music, pop rock band, which featured vocalists Kate Ceberano and Zan Abeyratne. They formed in 1983 in Melbourne and provided top ten hit singles "Trust Me (I'm Talking song), Trust Me", "Do You Wanna Be?" ...
.
To promote the tour, Hutchence and Barnes shared vocals on
The Easybeats
The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. They enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with the 1966 sing ...
cover "
Good Times
''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...
" and "Laying Down the Law", which Barnes cowrote with Beers, Andrew Farriss, Jon Farriss, Hutchence and Pengilly.
"Good Times" was used as the theme for the concert series of 1986–1987.
It peaked at No. 2 on the Australian charts,
and months later was featured in the
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher (; August 29, 1939June 22, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Raised in New York City by his mother, Schumacher graduated from Parsons School of Design and originally became a fashion designer. H ...
film ''
The Lost Boys
''The Lost Boys'' is a 1987 American supernatural black comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Harvey Bernhard with a screenplay written by Jeffrey Boam, Janice Fischer and James Jeremias, from a story by Fischer and Jeremia ...
'' and its
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
,
allowing it to peak at No. 47 in the U.S. on 1 August 1987.
Divinyls' lead singer
Chrissy Amphlett
Christine Joy Amphlett (; 25 October 1959 – 21 April 2013) was an Australian singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the frontwoman of the rock band Divinyls. She was notable for her brash, overtly sexual persona and subversive hum ...
enjoyed the tour and reconnected with Hutchence, stating that "
ewas a sweet man, who said in one interview that he wanted me to have his baby."
In 1987, Hutchence provided vocals for Richard Clapton's album ''Glory Road'', which was produced by Jon Farriss.
INXS released ''
Kick
A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...
'' in October 1987, and the album provided the band with worldwide popularity. ''Kick'' peaked at No. 1 in Australia,
No. 3 on the US ''Billboard'' 200,
No. 9 in UK,
and No. 15 in Austria.
The band's most successful studio album, ''Kick'' has been certified six times platinum by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
and spawned four US top 10 singles ("
New Sensation
"New Sensation" is a song by Australian rock group INXS. It was the third single released from their 1987 album, ''Kick''. The music was composed by Andrew Farriss and the lyrics were written by Michael Hutchence. The song reached 3 on the US ...
", "
Never Tear Us Apart
"Never Tear Us Apart" is a song by Australian rock band INXS, released in August 1988 as the fourth single from their sixth studio album, ''Kick''.
Background and composition
The music was written by keyboardist Andrew Farriss, who recorded a ...
", "
Devil Inside" and "
Need You Tonight
"Need You Tonight" is a song by the Australian rock band INXS, released as the first single from their 1987 album, ''Kick'', as well as the fourth song on the album. It is the only INXS single to reach No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It ...
", the last of which reached the top of the US ''Billboard'' singles charts). According to ''1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them'', the single "Need You Tonight" is not lyrically complex; it is Hutchence's performance where "he sings in kittenish whisper, gently drawing back with the incredible lust of a tiger hunting in the night" that makes the song "as sexy and funky as any white rock group has ever been".
In September 1988, the band swept the MTV Video Music Awards with the video for "Need You Tonight/Mediate" winning in five categories.
In 1989, Hutchence collaborated further with Olsen for the
Max Q
The max q or maximum dynamic pressure condition is the point when an aerospace vehicle's atmospheric flight reaches the maximum difference between the fluid dynamics total pressure and the ambient static pressure. For an airplane, this occurs at ...
project, and was joined by members of Olsen's previous groups including Whirlywirld,
No and
Orchestra of Skin and Bone
Orchestra of Skin and Bone were an Australian post-punk band active from 1984 to 1986. The band's core members were Ollie Olsen, Marie Hoy and John Murphy.McFarlan'Ian 'Ollie' Olsen'entry. Retrieved 6 February 2010.Spencer et al, (2007), "Hoy, ...
.
They released a
self-titled album and three singles, "
Way of the World", "
Sometimes" and "Monday Night by Satellite". Max Q disbanded in 1990.
''Max Q'' showed Hutchence exploring the darker side of his music and, with Olsen, he created "one of the most innovative dance music albums of the decade". Hutchence wrote most of the music and provided "an extraordinary performance ... it was one of the most significant statements Hutchence was to make".
In 1990, Hutchence portrayed nineteenth-century Romantic poet
Percy Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...
in
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...
's film version of ''
Frankenstein Unbound
''Frankenstein Unbound'' is a 1990 science fiction horror film based on Brian Aldiss' 1973 novel of the same name, starring John Hurt, Raul Julia, Bridget Fonda, Jason Patric, and Nick Brimble. The film is co-written and directed by Roger Corman ...
'', which was based on a science fiction time travel story of the same name written by
Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for ...
.
In 1990, INXS released ''
X'', which spawned more international hits such as "
Suicide Blonde" and "
Disappear" (both Top 10 in the US).
"Suicide Blonde" peaked at No. 2 in Australia and No. 11 in the UK.
Hutchence, with Andrew Farriss, wrote the song after Hutchence's then-girlfriend,
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
, used the phrase "suicide blonde" to describe her look during her 1989 film, ''
The Delinquents''; the film depicted Minogue in a platinum blonde wig.
Hutchence won the 'Best International Artist' at the
1991 BRIT Awards
Brit Awards 1991 was the 11th edition of the Brit Awards, an annual pop music awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. It was organised by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 10 February 1991 at Dominion Theatre in London. It was ...
with INXS winning the related group award.
Hutchence provided vocals for pub rockers
Noiseworks
Noiseworks are an Australian hard rock band formed in Sydney in 1986 with bass guitarist Steve Balbi, guitarist Stuart Fraser, drummer Kevin Nicol, keyboardist Justin Stanley and lead vocalist Jon Stevens. They had four Australian Top 10 al ...
' album, ''
Love Versus Money'' (1991).
''
Welcome to Wherever You Are
''Welcome to Wherever You Are'' is the eighth studio album by Australian rock band INXS, which was released on 3 August 1992. With grunge and alternative music breaking into the mainstream, INXS tried to establish a new direction for itself ...
'' was released by INXS in August 1992. It received good critical reviews and went to No. 1 in the UK.
Later career
Hutchence and INXS faced reduced commercial success with ''Full Moon, Dirty Hearts'', especially in the U.S. The band took time off to rest and be with their families, while Hutchence remained in the public eye through his romances.
He commenced work on a self-titled solo album in the mid-1990s.
After a period of inactivity and releases that received lukewarm reviews, INXS recorded the band's 10th official album, ''
Elegantly Wasted
''Elegantly Wasted'' is the tenth studio album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released on 15 April 1997, and is the final album recorded with lead singer Michael Hutchence before his death in November that same year.
The band had spent A ...
'', in 1996.
Artistry
Hutchence was a
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
. His vocal range spanned from the
bass B1 to the high
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
F#5. In 2013, News.com.au ranked Hutchence fourth in a list of the 15 greatest Australian singers of all time. Billboard described Hutchence as "charismatic," with a "seductive purr and
lithe, magnetic stage presence." Paul Donoughue of ABC.net.au wrote that Hutchence had "a phenomenal voice — moody, sexual, and dynamic, able to shift effortlessly from fragile to cocksure." Reviewing an INXS concert, Dave Simpson of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' wrote, "Watching Hutchence, hair flailing, crotch thrusting, a mischievous smile forever creeping across his leathery face, I realised that here was a man born to be onstage, living and loving every minute, an explosion of sexual energy". Hutchence biographer Toby Creswell asserted that "Hutchence was, without question, one of the truly great frontmen — he expressed the music in a dynamic way that few others could."
Personal life
According to ''People'', Hutchence's "public brawls and onetime open drug use led London tabloids to dub him the 'wild man of rock.'" He was romantically linked to
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
,
Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist.
Raised in ...
,
Helena Christensen
Helena Christensen (born 25 December 1968) is a Danish model and photographer. She is a former Victoria's Secret Angel, clothing designer and beauty queen. Christensen was also the co-founder and original creative director for ''Nylon'' magazine, ...
, and
Kym Wilson
Kym Wilson (born 1 April 1973) is an Australian actress and former television host.
Career
Wilson made her television debut playing a minor role in the 1985 mini-series '' Professor Poopsnagle's Steam Zeppelin''. Her first major role was in th ...
.
In August 1992, Helena Christensen and Hutchence were riding their bikes at night on a street in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
when he refused to move for a taxi. They were on push bikes eating pizza when a taxi was, unbeknownst to him, trying to get through the narrow street and "didn’t beep its horn or anything"The taxi driver then assaulted him, causing him to fall backwards and hit his head on the roadway. Hutchence suffered a
fractured skull
A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near the site of t ...
in the altercation. Hutchence did not immediately seek medical assistance for the injury, instead waiting several days before seeing a doctor. As a result of the altercation, he was left with brain damage and an almost complete loss of the sense of smell and significant loss of taste.
This injury led to periods of depression and increased levels of aggression; he had not fully recovered after two weeks in a Copenhagen hospital. According to INXS bandmate Beers, Hutchence brandished a knife and threatened to kill him during the 1993 recording of ''
Full Moon, Dirty Hearts
''Full Moon, Dirty Hearts'' is the ninth studio album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released on 1 November 1993, through East West Records in Australia and in the United Kingdom by Phonogram's Mercury Records label. It was followed by the ...
'' on the isle of
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
. Beers recalled, "Over those six weeks, Michael threatened or physically confronted nearly every member of the band."
In the mid-1990s, Hutchence became romantically involved with
Paula Yates
Paula Elizabeth Yates (24 April 1959 – 17 September 2000) was a British television presenter and writer. Yates is best known for her work on two television programmes, '' The Tube'' and ''The Big Breakfast''. She was the girlfriend of musicia ...
.
They met in 1985, during an interview for the British TV program, ''
The Tube''. Yates interviewed him again in 1994 for her ''
Big Breakfast
''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4. Originally presented by Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin, the show was latterly presented by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu.
The pro ...
'' show, and their affair was soon uncovered by the British press.
At the time, Yates was married to
The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic". The original line ...
' lead singer and
Live Aid
Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...
organiser
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...
. Media scrutiny was intense, and Hutchence assaulted a photographer who had followed them. Yates' separation from Geldof in February 1995 sparked a public and at times bitter
custody battle
Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the righ ...
over their daughters. Yates and Geldof divorced in May 1996.
On 22 July 1996, Yates gave birth to her daughter with Hutchence.
In September 1996, Yates and Hutchence made headlines when they were arrested for suspicion of
drug possession
The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances.
While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate the ...
after the family nanny reportedly found a small amount of
opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
in a shoebox underneath their bed. The case was later dropped due to lack of evidence.
Death
Hutchence and
INXS
INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
went on a world tour to support the April 1997 release of ''
Elegantly Wasted
''Elegantly Wasted'' is the tenth studio album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released on 15 April 1997, and is the final album recorded with lead singer Michael Hutchence before his death in November that same year.
The band had spent A ...
''.
The final 20th anniversary tour was to occur in Australia in November and December. During the tour,
Paula Yates
Paula Elizabeth Yates (24 April 1959 – 17 September 2000) was a British television presenter and writer. Yates is best known for her work on two television programmes, '' The Tube'' and ''The Big Breakfast''. She was the girlfriend of musicia ...
planned to visit Hutchence with their daughter and Yates's three other children, but
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...
had taken legal action to prevent the visit.
On the morning of 22 November 1997, Hutchence, aged 37, was found dead in Room 524 at the
Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addit ...
hotel in
Double Bay
Double Bay is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Municipality of ...
, Sydney.
Actress
Kym Wilson
Kym Wilson (born 1 April 1973) is an Australian actress and former television host.
Career
Wilson made her television debut playing a minor role in the 1985 mini-series '' Professor Poopsnagle's Steam Zeppelin''. Her first major role was in th ...
was the last person to see Hutchence alive, when she visited him in his hotel room the previous evening.
Geldof and Yates each gave police statements on the phone calls they exchanged with Hutchence on the morning of his death; however, they did not volunteer their phone records. Yates's statement on 26 November indicated that she had informed Hutchence of the Geldof girls' custody hearing being adjourned until 17 December, which meant that Yates would not be able to bring their daughter and the Geldof girls to Australia for a visit as previously intended. According to Yates, Hutchence "was frightened and couldn't stand a minute more without his baby...
ewas terribly upset and he said, 'I don't know how I'll live without seeing Tiger'". Yates indicated that Hutchence said he was going to phone Geldof "to let the girls come to Australia".
Geldof's police statements and evidence to the coroner indicated he did receive a call from Hutchence, who was "hectoring and abusive and threatening" during their phone conversation. The occupant in the room next to Hutchence's heard a loud male voice and swearing at about 5 am; the coroner was satisfied that this was Hutchence arguing with Geldof.
At 9:54 am on 22 November, Hutchence spoke with a former girlfriend, Michèle Bennett; according to Bennett, Hutchence was crying, sounded upset, and told her he needed to see her. Bennett arrived at his hotel room door at about 10:40 am, but there was no response. Hutchence's body was discovered by a hotel maid at 11:50 am. Police reported that Hutchence was found "in a kneeling position facing the door. He had used his
snakeskin
Snakeskin may either refer to the skin of a live snake, the shed skin of a snake after molting, or to a type of leather that is made from the hide of a dead snake. Snakeskin and scales can have varying patterns and color formations, providing prot ...
belt to tie a knot on the automatic door closure at the top of the door, and had strained his head forward into the loop so hard that the buckle had broken."
On 6 February 1998, after an
autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
and
coronial inquest
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...
, New South Wales
State Coroner, Derrick Hand, presented his report. The report ruled that Hutchence's death was suicide while depressed and under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.
"An analysis report of Hutchence's blood
ndicatedthe presence of alcohol,
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
,
Prozac
Fluoxetine, sold under the brand names Prozac and Sarafem, among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used for the treatment of major depressive disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorde ...
and prescription drugs." In producing his coroner's report, Hand had specifically considered the suggestions of accidental death (coupled with the fact that Hutchence left no
suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide.
A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depe ...
), but had discounted them based on substantial evidence presented to the contrary.
In a 1999 interview on ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'' (and in a documentary film on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
), Yates claimed that Hutchence's death might have resulted from
autoerotic asphyxiation
Erotic asphyxiation (variously called asphyxiophilia, hypoxyphilia or breath control play) is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for the purposes of sexual arousal. The term autoerotic asphyxiation is used when the act is done b ...
; this claim contradicted her previous statements to police investigators and the coroner.
On 27 November 1997, Hutchence's funeral was held at
St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney
St Andrew's Cathedral (also known as St Andrew's Anglican Cathedral) is a cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan ...
. His casket was carried out of the cathedral by members of
INXS
INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
and by his younger brother, Rhett; "
Never Tear Us Apart
"Never Tear Us Apart" is a song by Australian rock band INXS, released in August 1988 as the fourth single from their sixth studio album, ''Kick''.
Background and composition
The music was written by keyboardist Andrew Farriss, who recorded a ...
" was played in the background.
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...
, a friend of Hutchence's, performed his 1997 song "
Into My Arms
"Into My Arms" is a song written by Nick Cave, and released as the first single from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' tenth studio album '' The Boatman's Call'' in 1997. The single, released on 27 January 1997, was pressed on 7" vinyl, as well as ...
" during the funeral and requested that television cameras be switched off. Rhett claimed in his 2004 book, ''Total XS'', that on the previous day at the funeral home, Yates had put a gram of heroin into Hutchence's pocket.
Later developments
After Hutchence's death, INXS continued recording and performing until 2012. According to the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
, INXS has sold 30 million units in the United States alone, making them the second highest-selling Australian music act in the United States, behind
AC/DC
AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
. INXS has sold over 75 million records worldwide. INXS was inducted into the
ARIA Hall of Fame
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
in 2001.
Hutchence's solo album,
''Michael Hutchence'', was released in October 1999.
He had started on the album in 1995, recording songs in between INXS sessions; he had last worked on it three days before his death. The last song he recorded was "Possibilities".
The album includes "Slide Away", a duet with U2's
Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2.
Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
;
Bono's vocals were recorded after Hutchence's death.
The 1999 movie ''Limp'' includes a
cameo by Hutchence.
On 18 June 2000,
Patricia Glassop and Tina Schorr released their book, ''Just a Man: The Real Michael Hutchence'', which has been described as "an odd biography ...
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
combines the basic facts of Hutchence's early life ... with an almost too-intimate view of the authors' feelings".
Paula Yates
Paula Elizabeth Yates (24 April 1959 – 17 September 2000) was a British television presenter and writer. Yates is best known for her work on two television programmes, '' The Tube'' and ''The Big Breakfast''. She was the girlfriend of musicia ...
died on 17 September 2000 of an accidental heroin overdose; she was discovered in the presence of her and Hutchence's then four-year-old daughter. Soon after Yates's death, Bob Geldof assumed foster custody of their daughter so that she could be brought up with her three older half-sisters, Fifi,
Peaches
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fuz ...
and
Pixie
A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas arou ...
. In 2007, her and Hutchence's daughter was adopted by Geldof.
On 20 August 2005, Melbourne's ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' reported on the disposition of Hutchence's estate and assets, which, although estimated at between $10 million and $20 million, amounted to virtually nothing. The remainder of his estate had reportedly been sold off or swallowed in legal fees.
A documentary about Hutchence, ''Michael Hutchence: The Last Rockstar'', aired in 2017. In 2019, ''
Mystify: Michael Hutchence''—another documentary about Hutchence's life—was released.
Discography
Posthumous albums
Singles
Collaborations and soundtrack appearances
* ''Freedom Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (1982) – "Speed Kills", "Forest Theme" (with
Don Walker of
Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel are an Australian pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. They were soon joined by Jimmy Barnes (at the ...
)
* ''Flame Fortune'' (1985) – "Sex Symbol", "Jungle Boy"
* ''
Dogs in Space Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (1987) – "Dogs in Space", "Golf Course", "The Green Dragon", "Rooms for the Memory"
* ''Symphonic Music of the Rolling Stones'' (1994) – "
Under My Thumb
"Under My Thumb" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Under My Thumb" features a marimba played by Brian Jones. Although it was never released as a single in English-speakin ...
"
* ''It's Now or Never: The Tribute The Elvis'' (1994) – "
Baby Let's Play House
"Baby Let's Play House" is a song written by Arthur Gunter and recorded by him in 1954 on the Excello Records label and covered by Elvis Presley the following year on Sun Records.
A line from the song ("I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than t ...
"
* ''
Batman Forever Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (1995) – "
The Passenger"
* ''
Barb Wire Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (1996) – "Spill the Wine"
* ''One Voice: The Songs of
Chage & Aska'' (1996) – "Red Hill"
* ''
No Talking, Just Head
''No Talking, Just Head'' is an album released in 1996 by the Heads, a band composed of Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz of Talking Heads, joined by a variety of guest singers. Its name may be seen as an allusion to the fact that ...
'' (1996) – "The King Is Gone" (
The Heads with Michael Hutchence)
See also
*
INXS
INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
*
Max Q
The max q or maximum dynamic pressure condition is the point when an aerospace vehicle's atmospheric flight reaches the maximum difference between the fluid dynamics total pressure and the ambient static pressure. For an airplane, this occurs at ...
Tributes and dedications
* In 1997,
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
wrote the song "Michael You’ve Got a Lot to Answer For". The song appeared on their album
Medazzaland
''Medazzaland'' is the ninth studio album by English new wave band Duran Duran. It was released on 14 October 1997 by Capitol Records. The album was never officially released physically in Europe until 2022, and was solely released in North Am ...
. Lead singer
Simon Le Bon
Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the British ...
told
Q magazine
''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. '' ...
that the song, released shortly before Hutchence's death, was about "Michael being a naughty boy ... when he was living with Paula Yates. He did like his substances."
*
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...
sang "
Into My Arms
"Into My Arms" is a song written by Nick Cave, and released as the first single from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' tenth studio album '' The Boatman's Call'' in 1997. The single, released on 27 January 1997, was pressed on 7" vinyl, as well as ...
" at Hutchence's funeral on 27 November 1997. The funeral was broadcast live on Australian TV. Out of respect, Cave requested the song not be televised.
*
Terri Nunn
Terri is an alternative spelling of Terry. It is a common feminine given name and is also a diminutive for Teresa.
Notable people with the name include:
*Terri Allard (born 1962), American country/folk singer/songwriter
*Terri S. Armstrong, Amer ...
of
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and
Billy Corgan
William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only permanent member of the rock band the ...
collaborated on "Sacred and Profane" for Berlin's 2000 album ''Live: Sacred & Profane''. Nunn said, "The song is about my first experience seeing
utchencebecause that changed my life. He influenced me probably more than anyone else as a performer. I became 12 years old in five minutes wanting to have sex with him. That's all I wanted! Oh my God. Everybody did! You just wanted him. He was the epitome of
rock star."
* Bono, a close friend of Hutchence, wrote "
Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of
"Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the second track on their tenth studio album, ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'' (2000), and was released as the album's second single on 29 January 2001. The band' ...
" on the 2000 U2 album ''
All That You Can't Leave Behind
''All That You Can't Leave Behind'' is the tenth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and was released on 30October 2000 through Island Records and Interscope Records. Following the band's experiment ...
''. The song is written in the form of an argument about suicide in which he tries to convince Hutchence of its foolishness. Bono characterised the song as a good old row between friends, adding that he felt guilty for never having had it with Hutchence in real life.
In a 2005 interview, Bono regretted that he had not spent more time with Hutchence. Bono's wife,
Alison Hewson
Alison Hewson (née Stewart; born 23 March 1961) is an Irish activist and businesswoman. She is the wife of singer and musician Paul Hewson, known as Bono, from the rock group U2.
Raised in Raheny, she met her future husband at age 12 at Mou ...
, had seen Hutchence before his death and noted "he looked a bit shaky to
er.
*On 23 November 2019,
U2 paid tribute to Hutchence in Sydney, Australia, on their Joshua Tree Tour.
Awards and nominations
APRA Awards
The
APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the
Australasian Performing Right Association
APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...
(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982.
!
, -
, rowspan="3",
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
, rowspan="3", "
Break My Heart" by
Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...
(Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence, Dua Lipa, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Ali Tamposi, Andrew Watt)
, Song of the Year
,
,
, -
, Most Performed Pop Work
,
, rowspan="2",
, -
, Most Performed Australian Work
,
, -
Countdown Australian Music Awards
''
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
'' was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster
ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine ''
TV Week
''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news.
Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...
''. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.
, -
, rowspan="3" , 1984
, himself (with
Andrew Farriss
Andrew Charles Farriss (born 27 March 1959) is an Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist, backing vocalist, and main composer for rock band INXS. Farriss released his debut studio album in 2021.
Care ...
)
, Best Songwriter
,
, -
, himself
, Most Popular Male Performer
,
, -
, himself ("Burn for You" by INXS)
, Best Male Performance in a Video
,
, -
, 1986
, himself
, Most Popular Male Performer
,
, -
References
General
* Note: Archived
n-linecopy has limited functionality.
*
Note: On-line version established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition. As from September 2010, the on-line version appears to have an Internal Service Error.
Specific
External links
Official Michael Hutchence WebsiteMichael Hutchence Official Sitenbsp;– created by his mother, Patricia Glassop, and his half-sister Tina Schorr.
Official Michael Hutchence Memorial Websitenbsp;– created by his father, Kelland Hutchence
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchence, Michael
1960 births
1997 deaths
20th-century Australian male actors
APRA Award winners
Male actors from Sydney
Australian people of English descent
Australian people of Irish descent
Alumni of King George V School, Hong Kong
People educated at Davidson High School
Australian baritones
Australian expatriates in Hong Kong
Australian expatriates in the United States
Australian expatriates in England
Australian expatriates in Denmark
Australian male film actors
Brit Award winners
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
INXS members
Australian new wave musicians
Singers from Sydney
1997 suicides
Suicides by asphyxiation
Suicides by hanging in New South Wales
Australian rock singers
V2 Records artists
Max Q (Australian band) members
20th-century Australian male singers
People named in the Paradise Papers
People with traumatic brain injuries