About Me
NAME: Michael Kelland John Hutchence
BORN: 22/01/1960
BIRTH PLACE: Sydney, Australia
DIED: 22/11/1997Australian rock singer Michael Hutchence was born the son of a garment trader and make-up artist, in 1960.When Michael was four, the family moved to Hong Kong, where, as a young man, he began singing in a folk group, specialising in ‘Peter, Paul and Mary’ songs.Moving back to the Sydney suburb of Davidson, where he became involved in fights at school, and met his INXS collaborator, Andrew Farriss.When his parents divorced in 1975, Michael went with his mother to Los Angeles, while his brother Rhett remained in Sydney. After a year, he had saved enough to return to Sydney, and contacted Farriss with a view to forming a band.Dropping out of school, Michael formed The Dolphin Doctors, aged 17, but Farriss and Hutchence soon formed The Farris Brothers on the day Elvis died, in 1977.Touring heavily, the band changed its name in 1980 to INXS, and released their eponymous debut album. ‘Shabooh Shoobah’ was released in 1982, by which time Hutchence had developed his musicianship and stage presence.Making his film debut, Hutchence appeared in ‘Dogs In Space’ in 1986, spawning a top-ten single, ‘Thanks for the Memory’.The band released their breakthrough album, 'Kick', in 1987 and toured heavily to promote this. After taking a year off, Hutchence recorded with Max Q, and travelled to Europe to appear as the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in ‘Frankenstein Unbound’, opposite John Hurt, in 1990.INXS released the hit album ‘X’ in 1990, and Hutchence’s career and love-life dominated the media. His liaisons with Kylie Minogue and Helena Christensen were much publicised. He began dating Paula Yates in 1994.In 1997, touring to promote the new ‘Elegantly Wasted’ album, on November 22 Hutchence was found dead in his Sydney hotel room, the victim of an apparent hanging. His long-in-the-works solo debut was issued in late 1999
