Michael Hutchence
by Darren Jones
Michael Hutchence was the perfect rock icon. Charismatic,
intelligent and incredibly sexy he moulded a sultry style which
dated back to the late 1970's. Twenty years on, that style was
every bit his trademark. Michael Kelland Hutchence was born in
Sydney, on the 22nd January 1960, and christened Michael Kelland
Frank John Hutchence at Forestville Presbyterian Church. His
father Kelland was a garment trader, his mother Patricia a make
up artist. When Michael was 4 the family moved to Hong Kong.
There Michael made his debut performance in a folk group singing
Peter, Paul and Mary songs. He also remembered taping Jingle
Bells for a singing toy Santa Claus doll. Surely this is one of
Michael's most obscure collectables and something he didn't even
own himself.
In 1972 Michael's family, including sister Tina and younger
brother Rhett, moved back to the Sydney suburb of Belrose.
Michael became involved in a fight on the first day of school.
"I was dumb enough to pick a fight with the biggest guy in
the school," says Michael.
It was here that Michael was introduced to Andrew Farriss.
Michael's parents divorced in 1975 and he went with his mother to
Los Angeles where he attended North Hollywood High School. But
within 12 months he returned to Sydney and immediately found
Andrew again and the idea of a band started to form.
At 17 he and Andrew teamed up with Garry Beers. The three had a
short stint as a band called the Doctor Dolphin with mates Kent
Kearney and Neil Sanders, but it didn't take long before they
teamed up with Andrew's brother Tim and his friend Kirk Pengilly,
followed by Jon Farriss. The Farriss Brothers played for the
first time on August 16th, 1977, Tim's birthday and the same day
Elvis Presley died. From then on Michael never looked back. Never
taking singing lessons, it was the endless touring, playing pubs
and clubs in those early years that shaped Michael's voice.
The band changed its name to INXS in 1980 and by the time Shabooh
Shoobah was released in 1982, Michael had matured to
become a vocal musician and lyricist. His stage presence made
people stand up and take notice, bringing comparisons to legends
like Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison.
In March of 1986, Michael made his movie debut in a film directed
by Richard Lowenstein called Dogs In Space, a
late 70's punk-era depiction of the Melbourne disaffected drugged-out
youth that featured Michael in the starring role as Sam. He
received admirable reviews for his performance and the movie
produced the top ten single, Rooms For The Memory.
After the 18 month tour that followed Kick, the
band took a year break. Apart from shocking the world by chopping
off his long curly hair, Michael spent time in the studio with
underground musician and producer Ollie Olsen recording an album
named Max Q named after Ollie's deaf blue cattle
dog. Olsen wrote most of the songs and it gave Michael a chance
to explore producing and try different singing styles.
Michael then travelled to Italy in August for his second film
role playing Percy Bysshe Shelley in the film Frankenstein
Unbound, directed by Roger Corman. By the end of 1989,
Michael was in the studio again with INXS recording X. In the
next few years Michael is constantly in the eyes of the media. A
few musical projects keep him busy, most notably recording movie
soundtrack renditions of Iggy Pop's The Passenger
for "Batman Forever" and the classic Spill
The Wine for "Barb Wire".
In 1996 the birth of his first child, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily
had Michael in a good frame of mind, despite constant media
attention in the United Kingdom.
Michael had been working on a solo album for two years before he
died, and was released in Australia through V2 Records on October
11th, 1999. During recording, the album had a working title of
Neo-Junkie Philanderer. It is due out in the United States on
February 22nd and should do particularly well, after some great
reviews.
Michael Hutchence was respected and loved by many and leaves
behind a legacy of great musical passion and deeply heartfelt
affection. The music world and legions of fans will always mourn
the loss of this gifted performer and charming man.
