Michael Hutchence

Michael Hutchence

Michael Kelland John Hutchence was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 60 million records worldwide and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001. He died of suicide by hanging in his hotel room in Sydney on 22 November 1997, aged 46. He is survived by his wife, two children and a stepson.

About Michael Hutchence in brief

Summary Michael HutchenceMichael Kelland John Hutchence was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 60 million records worldwide and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001. He was a member of the short-lived pop rock group Max Q. He also recorded some solo material and acted in feature films, including Dogs in Space, Frankenstein Unbound, and Limp. In July 1996 he had a daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, with English television presenter Paula Yates. He died of suicide by hanging in his hotel room in Sydney on 22 November 1997, aged 46. He is survived by his wife, two children and a stepson. He 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. His first single was released by WE, directed by Scott Hicks, for the film Freedom, written by Don Walker of hard rockers Cold Chisel, and directed by Richard Clapton – produced by Richard Clapton. He wrote almost all of INxS’s songs with Andrew Farriss, and most of the songs on their second album, Underneath the Colours, were written within a fairly short space of time. His death was reported by the New South Wales Coroner to be the result of suicide by hanging. He leaves behind a wife and two children, a son and a daughter. The family moved to Sydney in 1972, buying a house in Belrose near the Northern Beaches.

Michael attended King George V School during his early teens. His parents separated when he was 15; for a short time in 1976, he lived with his mother and half-sister Tina in California. In 1977, a new band, The FarrISS Brothers, was formed with Tim Ferriss on lead guitar, his younger brother Andrew as keyboardist, and youngest brother Jon on drums. The F Barriss Brothers regularly supported hard rocker Midnight Oil on the pub rock circuit, and were renamed as INXs in 1979. In May 1980, the group released their first single, \”Simple Simon\”  We Are the Vegetables, which was followed by the debut album IN XS in October. Their first Top 40 Australian hit on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart, \”Just Keep Walking\”, was released in September 1980. The band made their debut on 16 August 1977 at Whale Beach, 40 km north of Sydney. They briefly performed as The Vegetables. Ten months later, they returned to Sydney and recorded a set of demos, singing \”We are the Vegetable\”. Ten months after the demos, they recorded a new album, In The Sun, in October 1980. It was the first time the band had been recorded outside of Australia, and it was released to coincide with the release of WE’s first album, WE. In the 1980s, the band members started work on other projects outside of the music industry.