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| Birth Name(s) : Michael Hutchence |
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Full Michael Hutchence Biography
Michael Kelland John Hutchence (January 22, 1960 – November 22, 1997) was the original lead singer of the Australian rock band INXS.
Hutchence was born in Sydney, son of Kelland ("Kell") and Patricia Hutchence, but was subsequently raised in Hong Kong. He began performing at the age of eight in a local toy store commercial. He attended King George V School and was in the house Crozier.
The Hutchence family eventually returned to Sydney in Michael's late teens, and it was there that Hutchence befriended Andrew Farriss at Davidson High School on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Shortly, Michael and Andrew joined with Andrew's brothers Tim and Jon, as well as friends Garry Gary Beers and Kirk Pengilly to form their first band, The Farriss Brothers which would ultimately become INXS.
Hutchence's private life was often reported in the Australian and international press, with a string of love affairs with prominent models and singers. In 1989, Hutchence began a highly publicised relationship with Kylie Minogue, helping to transform her image from girl-next-door (a hang-over of her soap opera Neighbours fame), into a sexy, edgy dance-oriented pop diva.
That same year, Hutchence was involved in an altercation with a taxi driver in Denmark. He suffered a blow to the head and consequently, lost his sense of smell and partial sense of taste. This made him depressed and more aggressive. According to INXS band mate, Garry Gary Beers, Michael pulled a knife on him and threatened to kill him. This incident occurred during the recording of INXS' 1993 album, Full Moon Dirty Hearts.
During this time, Hutchence's relationship with Kylie Minogue ended, then he dated Danish supermodel Helena Christensen before starting a relationship with Paula Yates, whom he had met some years earlier during an interview and was still married to Bob Geldof. Paula and Michael's affair was soon discovered by the English press. The pressure from the media was so intense that Hutchence once assaulted a photographer hounding him. Around this time, Yates' separation from husband became official, sparking an at-times bitter custody battle over their three daughters, Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom and Little Pixie. In 1996 Yates gave birth to Hutchence's only child, daughter Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, whom Paula claimed in a TV interview shortly after Michael's death was delivered in their bathroom. Like her sisters, the child was christened with an unusual name. It was Pixie who chose the name Heavenly, Michael chose Hiraani, and Paula chose Tiger Lily. They had chosen to call her Tiger since her birth. Michael once described his daughter as "just what we ordered."
Paula Yates died on September 17, 2000 of what was ruled an accidental heroin overdose. She had been battling Hutchence's family for custody of Tiger Lily, but ultimately it was decided that the child would live with Bob Geldof and be raised with her sisters.
Hutchence's long-in-the-works solo album, Michael Hutchence, was finally released in 1999. He had begun working on the album in 1995 and had last worked on it 3 days prior to his untimely death. The last song he recorded was "Possibilities". It was co written and co produced by Hutchence and a gaggle of collaborators - Andy Gill from Gang of Four, Tim Simenon of Bomb The Bass, and Danny Saber from Black Grape. It featured a duet with U2's Bono called "Slide Away"; Bono actually recorded his vocals after Hutchence's death. The movie, Limp, was also released in 1999 and featured a cameo by Hutchence, playing a record company A & R man. (Hutchence had filmed the scene in 1996 on a day off from working on INXS' Elegantly Wasted.)
Ten years after Michael's death, Rhett Hutchence revealed to Woman's Day that he is going to the Supreme Court to try and overturn the verdict of suicide, as he does not want Tiger growing up thinking her father intentionally left her.
Duran Duran was touring to support the album when Hutchence died, and Le Bon found the song too difficult to perform anymore so it was cut from the set for the remainder of the tour. However during subsequent Duran Duran tours, it was included as a tribute.
- INXS has dedicated many performances to their fallen friend:
- On INXS' last tour, they dedicated "Never Tear Us Apart" to Michael and had a screen which showed pictures of him throughout his life.
- A song on INXS' album Switch called "God's Top Ten" pays tribute to Michael and his daughter, Tiger Lily. Another song, "Afterglow," pays tribute to Hutchence alone.
- The song "Private Man" on the Powderfinger album Internationalist is a tribute to Hutchence.
- At a 2007 show in Adelaide supporting INXS, Simple Minds dedicated "Gloria" to Michael, saying "it's about a woman, but it'd have to be with Michael." At a New Zealand show 2 months later, he also dedicated "Gloria" to the memory of Michael Hutchence.
- On many aftershows in London Indigo during his Earth Tour (21 nights in London), Prince played the song "What You Need" with Maceo Parker on saxophone to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Michael's loss.
Garry Gary Beers · Tim Farriss · Kirk Pengilly · Andrew Farriss · Jon Farriss · J. D. Fortune
Studio albums: INXS · Underneath the Colours · Shabooh Shoobah · The Swing · Listen Like Thieves · Kick · X · Welcome to Wherever You Are · Full Moon, Dirty Hearts · Elegantly Wasted · Switch |
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