Today we want to tell you about Michael Hutchence. A talented singer, songwriter and actor, best known from the Australian band "INXS".
(Photo: The Daily Telegraph)
1. He was born on 22 January 1960 in Sydney, Australia. In his youth, his family moved to Hong Kong for his father's business needs.
2. In 1972 the family returned to Sydney, where during high school he met keyboardist Andrew Farriss who offered him to join his band "Doctor Dolphin", which also included bassist Garry Beers.
3. In 1977 they formed a new band "The Farriss Brothers" which included Tim Farriss on lead guitar, Andrew Farriss on keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums Garry Beers on bass and Kirk Pengilly on saxophone and guitar.
4. The band that would later change its name to "The Vegetables" and later to "INXS", made their first live appearance on August 16, 1977, in a suburb outside Sydney.
5. The band released their first single in May 1980 and in October of that year their first album called "INXS" was released.
6. Hutchence was the band's lead songwriter throughout the years.
7. In 1984 the band won its first Australian hit "Original Sin", which reached number one on the charts.
8. The band's big breakthrough was in 1987 with their sixth album "Kick", which won the band great success outside Australia as well and sold more than 20 million copies.
9. The band's seventh album "X" was released in 1990 and rode the wave of success of its predecessor.
10. In 1991, Hutchence won the Best International Artist Award at the British Music Awards.
11. He wrote the song "Suicide Blonde" about Kylie Minogue with whom he had a romantic relationship.
12. Michael Hutchence' name has also been linked to other celebrities such as singer Belinda Carlisle, Danish model Helena Christensen and actress and Australian TV presenter Kym Wilson.
13. In August 1992 while walking with Helena Christensen on the streets of Copenhagen, Hutchence was attacked by a taxi driver after he refused to move his vehicle.
14. As a result of the attack, Hutchence was left with a skull fracture and an almost complete loss of sense of taste and smell.
15. The attack plunged Hutchence into a deep depression that also made him aggressive. The band members testified that at that time he also attacked them.
16. In the mid-90s, Hutchence began a romantic relationship with TV presenter Paula Yates, who left her husband Bob Geldof in his favor. A daughter named Tiger was born in 1996.
17. Shortly before his death, Paula was supposed to visit Hutchence along with her four children (three of them from the marriage to Geldof), but Geldof prevented this following custody battles over them.
18. Hutchence was found lifeless in the hotel where he was staying in Sydney on November 22, 1997. Paula and Geldof were the last to talk to him, he was broken by the fact that he could not see his daughter Tiger and hang himself.
19. The cause of death was determined to be suicide, although his partner Paula Yates later claimed it was suffocation as a result of sexual intercourse.
20. Hutchence' funeral was held on November 27 with the coffin being carried by the rest of his INXS bandmates and his younger brother.
21. The song played during the funeral was the band's big hit "Never Tear Us Apart".
22. Hutchence has released ten albums that have sold over 60 million copies with "INXS".
23. After his death, his friends from "INXS" participated in the reality show "Rock Star: INXS", in which they chose a singer to replace him in the band.
24. The band released two more albums with Hutchence, along with the replacement singer, but failed to replicate the success they had while Hutchence was a member of the band.
25. A documentary about Michael was released In 2019. It told his story through stills picures and videos. The movie is called "Now Mystify: Michael Hutchence".