Michael Hutchence (1960 - 1997)
© Michael Pudland
BIO
Bio // Just A Man // Michael: My Brother, Lost Boy of INXS // Mystify Michael Hutchence // Michael In Pictures // In His Own Words
A STAR IS BORN (1960)
Michael Kelland John Hutchence was born on January 22, 1960 at Mater Misericordiae Hospital in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. His mother Patricia Kennedy, was a former successful Melbourne model turned makeup artist and mother of eleven-year-old Tina when she married Sydney businessman Kelland Hutchence on January 31, 1959. Michael was a very happy child with a big smile for everyone. He just seemed so excited to be alive. Soon after he was born the family moved to Brisbane where his brother Rhett was born. The family returned to Sydney when Michael was three years old and just days before Michael's 5th birthday in January, 1965, the family departed for Hong Kong where Kell had accepted a position with a company which imported beef from Australia and wines and spirits from France.
Michael attended pre-school, kindergarten and elementary, eventually going on to King George the 5th High in Hong Kong. During those formative years in Hong Kong, Michael proved to be an excellent athlete at certain sports, namely those, which did not involve a ‘team' or running. He was a superior swimmer and also won several trophies for diving. The music played in the Hutchence household ranged from his parents' tastes; Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra to his teenage sisters' the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He studied classical guitar for a short time and the violin which, the way he played it, was excruciating to the ears. At other times he would sit around with his friends singing folk songs when he wasn't involved in Boy Scouts, fencing, judo, or kick boxing. Although he was interested in music, he dreamed of becoming an airline pilot.
One of his favorite pastimes was visiting his mother and sister on movie sets at Shaw Brothers Studio. He started this at a very young age and instinctively knew to sit very quietly while the actors were doing a ‘take'. He watched everyone intently, interested in every aspect of movie making. At the age of 11, he made a recording of Christmas carols for a toy manufacturer. The recording was made to a small disc which was encased by a Santa Claus and sold quite well that Holiday Season.
When Michael was 12 the family returned to Sydney and settled into a home in Belrose, New South Wales. Michael used to call it ‘Sausage Hill' because of the weekend barbecues in the neighborhood. This was a huge culture shock for Michael. His first day at Davidson High was eventful but not very pleasant – as the students did not take kindly to his slightly British accent. It was a blessing in disguise however when he met Andrew Farriss who was to become his lifelong friend and business partner.
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Michael gave us all so much pleasure as a child, and later, grew into a charming, witty, playful, intelligent adult. His calls from the road were always entertaining.
- Tina Hutchence
THE TEENAGE YEARS (1973 - 1979)
At the age of 15 Michael and his mother left for California. He has said that with the breakup of his parents' marriage he felt that she needed someone and it pained him to think of her alone. He and his mother joined his sister Tina, and her son Brent in a house in Studio City. While his mother continued her work in motion pictures, Michael enrolled into North Hollywood High where he found the student population and instructor/student relationship liberating. He was quite introspective and began to write poetry with a passion. He continued to visit his mother on sets and soaked in the down to earth basics of movie making which possibly helped him later on when it came time to make videos with INXS.
Michael Hutchence (top left) at Davidson High in 1975
Michael and his mother returned to Australia where he continued his friendship with Andrew who was seriously edging toward a career in the music industry. With Andrew's band ‘Doctor Dolphin' together, there was no place apart from vocals for Michael who did not play an instrument. Gary Beers was playing bass guitar in this first band. Slowly Michael began to expose his poetry to Andrew who was already an accomplished musician. All three Farriss brothers played an instrument. Eldest brother Tim, a guitar player was already performing in a band with Kirk Pengilly. Youngest brother Jon was learning the drums. They eventually formed the line-up that would endure for more than 20 years. After some rehearsals in the Farriss or Hutchence garage, they debuted their band the ‘Farriss Brothers' on August 16, 1977 – Tim's 20th birthday and the day Elvis Presley passed away.
The day after Michael completed high school, he and Kirk Pengilly drove across the Nullabour Plains to join the Farriss family and Gary Beers in Perth to give their dream of becoming a band a chance.
RISE TO STARDOM (1980–1989)
After a tough ride in and around Perth, playing covers the band made their way back to Sydney. By this time Michael was getting his stage legs. He had a presence that only a select few performers exhibit; a certain something that was a combination of his natural charisma and instinct. The band was spotted by Garry Morris the manager of Midnight Oil who was too busy to manage them himself but called another manager who was searching for a band. Not only did they get a manager, they changed their name at the same time. Their stage persona was so excessive it seemed appropriate that they should call themselves ‘INXS'.
Chris Murphy's managerial savvy combined with the musical talent of INXS members, with Michael as front man took them to international stardom. Chris, no stranger himself to hard work, had Michael working on his craft constantly. Gig after gig on the road 300 days out of the first year was very humbling. Michael never forgot those days of sharing one order of fish and chips between two people and one hotel room for 6. That same year 1980, they released their first two singles ‘We Are The Vegetables' and ‘Simple Simon' and began work on their first album-music by Andrew and lyrics by Michael.
Every night after performing in and around Sydney pubs, they would drive to the studio and record. It was a grueling but satisfying time for the band. Michael and Andrew barely felt the pressure of writing and performing and recording and continued on the same routine throughout most of their careers. With every tour they were writing songs for the next album. Michael's performances began to get noticed by the media and his stage persona was likened to Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison. Their self-titled debut album included their first hit, ‘Just Keep Walking'. They continued to work hard and just six months later they released a cover of a sixties hit, ‘The Loved One' which truly proved to be the perfect set of tempo and lyrics to showcase Michael's sensual phrasing and erotic stage persona. The music journalists lavished praise on the band. One journalist, Jenny Hunter Brown described him thus: “He stares quite fearlessly, slightly surlily, out at the milling pub crowd. And for a moment Michael Hutchence echoes the late Jim Morrison. ” She continues; “He's twenty, fit a fine dancer. He swings side to side with the mike stand as access in a mutant, Austral skank. A great mat of damp curls flopping over one angry eye, he shoots out each rounded word like a rocket off a pad.”
In no time at all INXS were on their way to the international scene in a short leap. In 1984 they embarked on their first world tour. This would mark the beginning of years of constant touring, writing and recording for Michael. In 1985 INXS played to 50,000 fans over three sold out shows in their homeland and dominated the music award shows –something they continued to do for the next 5 years. In the same year Michael and the band performed for Prince Charles and Lady Diana in a charity concert called ‘Rocking with the Royals'.
In March of 1986 Michael made his movie debut in Richard Lowenstein's Dogs In Space. Michael played Sam Sejavka, real-life punk rock singer from Melbourne in the late seventies who had struggled unsuccessfully with heroin addiction. Richard had written the movie with Michael in mind, positive that he could carry it off. Michael did not let him down receiving admirable reviews for his performance and entering the top ten with a single titled Rooms For The Memory. By the mid eighties Michael was no longer residing in Australia, he had moved back to Hong Kong. This began a habit of Andrew and Michael writing on separate continents. Michael had a habit of writing on anything available as he often misplaced his notebook and rarely was it around when the creative thought reared. It was not unusual for Andrew to send Michael 25 pieces of music.
By late 1986 INXS was breaking out in North America with ‘What You Need' on heavy MTV rotation. Michael was becoming a ‘video' star as he was a natural in front of a camera. In 1987 INXS recorded ‘Kick' which was to become their most successful album. In September 1988 they swept the MTV Music Awards with ‘Kick'.
In 1989 Michael teamed with Melbourne musician Ollie Olsen to record ‘Max Q'. For the first time Michael explored life in and out of the studio without INXS. It was a critically acclaimed album and a personal success for Michael.
Michael then accepted a call from Roger Corman to co-star in his movie ‘Frankenstein Unbound' starring John Hurt and Brigit Fonda. It was shot in Lake Como, Italy. It was not a commercial success and the critics hated it, but as Michael said, “You really don't know what the end result is going to be with a movie. You just do your best and trust your director.” By 1989 Michael's private life was taking a front seat with romantic partners such as Kylie Minogue and Helena Christensen. Although he was taking time off from INXS, he continued to write and listen to new music and absorb ‘life'. He didn't understand the pre-occupation the press had with his personal life.
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The most effusive of these males stood up and loped over, shaking our hands with an eager puppy-dog gleam in his eye and a smile to die for…He said his name was Michael.
- Richard Lowenstein
HIGHS AND LOWS (1990–1997)
During this time INXS played the big stage at Wembley, arriving by helicopter to a screaming, throbbing audience of approximately 75,000 and a recorded live performance "Live Baby Live". Although future album sales would never hit the heights of Kick, the band's live performances were still at a premium. They were always known as an exciting live band and INXS always delivered.
Michael's base was in the South of France but he also spent a lot of time in the U.S. and London. He was known for taking exotic vacations and was often photographed with celebrities though never sought the limelight. He was proud of the fact that he could walk around unrecognized.
He was romantically linked to Australian singer and actress Kylie Minogue between 1989 and 1991, American singer Belinda Carlisle, Danish model Helena Christensen between 1991 and 1995, and Australian actress Kym Wilson. In August 1992, Hutchence and Christensen were riding their bicycles at night in Copenhagen when he refused to move for a taxi. They were eating pizza when, unbeknown to him, the taxi tried to get through the narrow street but "didn't beep its horn or anything".[56] The taxi driver assaulted Hutchence, causing him to fall backwards and hit his head on the pavement; he suffered a fractured skull. Hutchence did not immediately seek medical assistance for the injury and waited several days before seeing a doctor. He was left with brain damage and almost completely lost his sense of smell, as well as losing a significant amount of his sense of taste. The injury led to periods of depression and increased levels of aggression, and he had still not fully recovered after two weeks in a Copenhagen hospital.
In the mid-1990s, Hutchence became romantically involved with British television presenter Paula Yates. They met in 1985, during an interview for the British TV program The Tube. Yates interviewed him again in 1994 for her Big Breakfast show, and their affair was soon uncovered by the British press. At the time, Yates was married to the Boomtown Rats singer and Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof. Media scrutiny was intense, and Hutchence assaulted a photographer who had followed them. Yates's separation from Geldof in February 1995 sparked a public and at times bitter custody battle over their daughters. Yates and Geldof divorced in May 1996.
On 22 July 1996, Yates gave birth to her daughter with Hutchence, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, who was born in the bathroom of their London home while Hutchence helped with the delivery. In September 1996, Yates and Hutchence made headlines when they were arrested for suspicion of drug possession after the family nanny reportedly found a small amount of opium in a shoebox underneath their bed. The case was dropped due to lack of evidence. Yates 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,
In 1997 he embarked on his last tour with INXS for the very personal album, ‘Elegantly Wasted'; taking a large amount of Prozac to keep on an even keel; he was not being monitored and had only seen a therapist twice. His last shows on the east coast of the U.S. were not his best by far. He had recently signed with a U.S. agent for his acting and his manager had been negotiating with Quentin Tarrantino about a movie beginning in early 1998. But personal problems plagued him. On November 22, 1997, just 4 days prior to beginning the Australian leg of the tour, seemingly despondent over his personal life, Michael took his life in a hotel room in Sydney.
Geldof assumed foster custody of their daughter so that she could be brought up with her three older half-sisters, Fifi, Peaches and Pixie. In 2007, their daughter was adopted by Geldof, who legally changed her surname, despite opposition from Hutchence's mother and sister. Her full legal name became Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence-Geldof.
FUNERAL AND MEMORIAL (1997)
On 27 November 1997, Hutchence's funeral was held at St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney and was attended by 600 people, including his family, bandmates, Paula Yates and their daughter, Hutchence's favorite singer, Tom Jones, and former girlfriends Kylie Minogue and Helena Christensen. The funeral was broadcast live on Australian television. His casket was carried out of the cathedral by members of INXS and his younger brother, Rhett; "Never Tear Us Apart" was played in the background. Nick Cave, a friend of Hutchence, performed his 1997 song "Into My Arms" during the funeral and requested that television cameras be switched off. Hutchence's parents asked that in lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to UNICEF and the Starlight Foundation.
Hutchence was cremated and his ashes were divided into thirds between his parents, his siblings, and Yates and their daughter, following a battle between his family and Yates that started over Hutchence's wish to be cremated. The portion that went to his mother was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California. The portion that went to his father was scattered into Sydney Harbour, in Rose Bay, on what would have been Hutchence's 38th birthday on 22 January 1998, and a tombstone was placed at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens in North Ryde, Sydney.
The US memorial to Michael Hutchence is located at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, CA. A portion of his ashes is interred there, specifically within the Eternal Love section of the park.
The memorial to Michael Hutchence at Northern Suburbs Crematorium, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia. As the inscription reads, Hutchence's ashes were scattered in Rose Bay on January 22, 1998.
THE LEGACY
After Hutchence's death, INXS continued recording and performing until 2012. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), INXS have sold 15 million units in the United States alone. As of 2018, INXS have sold over 50 million records worldwide. INXS were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame 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. His long-awaited solo album, Michael Hutchence, offered a final glimpse into the mind of a true rock icon—an artist unafraid to explore vulnerability, passion, and raw emotion through his music. The last song he recorded was "Possibilities". The album includes "Slide Away", a duet with U2's Bono; Bono's vocals were recorded after Hutchence's death. The 1999 movie Limp includes a cameo by Hutchence. On 18 June 2000, Hutchence's mother Patricia Glassop and his sister Tina Hutchence released their book Just a Man: The Real Michael Hutchence. In 2019, Mystify: Michael Hutchence a documentary about Hutchence's life directed by Richard Lowenstein as released. In 2018, Tina released her second book "Michael: My Brother, Lost Boy of INXS" this time teaming up with rock writer Jen Jewel Brown to create a book blazing with love and adventure. This intimate biography shares the incredible, rollercoaster life of Australia's most enduring superstar.
Despite his tragic end, Michael Hutchence left behind an indelible mark on music and culture. As the charismatic frontman of INXS, he redefined rock stardom with his electrifying stage presence, soulful voice, and magnetic charm. Beyond his recordings, Hutchence’s influence extends into fashion, film, and the enduring mystique of rock and roll legends.
Today, his music continues to resonate with both long-time fans and new generations, ensuring that his legacy not only endures but thrives, a testament to his timeless artistry and unforgettable spirit.
LEARN MORE ABOUT MICHAEL'S LIFE
Michael Hutchence was many things — a rock icon, a poet, a wanderer, a dreamer. The books below offer a closer look at the man behind the music, told through the eyes of those who knew him best and the words he left behind. Whether you're a lifelong fan or discovering his story for the first time, these titles reveal the depth, complexity, and humanity of one of rock's most magnetic souls.
2nd Edition. It's difficult for any family to lose a son, a brother. But for Tina Hutchence and Patricia Glassop, there was little chance for private grief: the news of Michael Hutchence's shocking death in a Sydney hotel room was almost instantly international news. This is their deeply personal account of the INXS frontman’s life, from his gifted childhood to his meteoric rise and complex relationships. Through intimate memories and firsthand insights, they set the record straight on the man behind the fame.
Just A Man
Tina Hutchence shares an intimate and deeply personal account of her brother’s life, from their childhood bond to his rise as a global rock icon. As Michael’s trusted confidant, she offers a revealing look at his struggles, triumphs, and the complexities behind his fame, leading up to his tragic death.
Michael, My Brother, Lost Boy of INXS
Mystify: Michael Hutchence delves beneath the public persona of the charismatic INXS frontman to reveal a multifaceted, intensely sensitive and complex man. Directed by longtime friend Richard Lowenstein, the 2019 documentary draws on rare archive footage and private home movies to trace both the exhilarating heights of Hutchence's stardom and the turbulent personal struggles of his later years. Featuring interviews with Kylie Minogue, Bono, Bob Geldof, and INXS.
Mystify Michael Hutchence
Over the course of a 20-year career, Michael gave hundreds of interviews for magazines and television shows throughout the world. His words were printed in many languages and he rarely had the time to read what had been written about him. Read the ‘words from Michael’ along with comments from journalists who interviewed him, and we will be adding to it from time to time. If you have any favorite quotes from an interview you have read featuring Michael, please email them to us.
In His Own Words
