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Michael Hutchence

Michael Kelland John Hutchence (January 22, 1960 - November 22, 1997) was the lead singer of the Australian rock band, INXS. He was born in Sydney, but was raised in Hong Kong. He began performing at the age of eight in a local toy store commercial.

The Hutchence family eventually returned to Sydney, and it was there that Hutchence joined Andrew Farriss and Garry Gary Beers in forming a group which would ultimately become INXS. In 1980, the group put out their first single, Simple Simon. With the 1983 release of their third album, Shabooh Shoobah , the band became international stars.

In 1987, following several more successful INXS albums, Hutchence appeared in the Australian movie Dogs in Space . In 1990, he played Percy Shelley in Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound .

INXS spent the mid-1990s trying to develop a successful new album after a series of less-than-spectacular releases. During this time, Hutchence had an affair with British TV host Paula Yates, who was then the wife of singer Bob Geldof. The tabloid newspapers made them front-page news. Hutchence and Yates have a daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily.

A new INXS release, 1997's Elegantly Wasted , had barely come out when Hutchence was found dead in a hotel room of the Ritz-Carlton in Double Bay in Sydney, the victim of an apparent hanging. The New South Wales coroner determined his death was a suicide, but some rumors circulated that it was an accident (perhaps while attempting autoerotic asphyxiation). His self-titled solo album was finally released in 1999, as was his third movie, Limp .

The 2000 U2 album All That You Can't Leave Behind includes a song titled "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of" in which Hutchence's friend Bono wrote about his suicide. The song is written in the form of an argument about suicide in which Bono tries to convice Hutch of the act's foolishness. Bono characterized the song, as a good old row between friends which he felt guilty that he never got to have with Hutch.

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Last updated: 11-10-2004 13:23:33