Just wanting to flag-up, the 10th anniversary of Michael Hutchence's passing.

Had the pleasure of seeing INXS on a number of occasions, in small and large venues (The Forum, Kentish Town to Wembley Stadium).

They always gave they're all, and were great value as a live band,
with some terrific songs.

A brilliant, underrated frontman, who's never, imo, been given his due.

RIP Michael, you are missed.

[news.bbc.co.uk]

he was a real voice of the 80s. but i never saw them live. cool frontman and very hot to look at. i wish that if he had to die, he would've done so in a different way (that article didn't reveal exactly how he "hanged" himself).

i think that reality-tv show about finding a new lead singer for them was ridiculous.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-11-22 13:26 by little queenie.

Very sad, his passing. A great frontman, a good singer and a talented guy. Real sad pointless tragic loss.

I wasn't a big INXS fan. Kick was good, Never Tear Us Apart is a sublime song. The rest of the albums I wasn't wild on, but I liked Hutch.

I saw INXS live in the begining of the 90´s , with one of the lamest audiences that I ever saw, but the concert was great with Hutchence covering all the stage. A friend of mine went to to their afterparty after the gig in Wembley 1991 and socialize with all the band and got te best memories.

I saw their very last show they performed in 1997, I was having such a good time that it grabbed the attention to one of their crew and he walked over to me in the audience and gave me one of their custom guitar picks.

little queenie Wrote:
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> he was a real voice of the 80s. but i never saw
> them live. cool frontman and very hot to look at.
> i wish that if he had to die, he would've done so
> in a different way (that article didn't reveal
> exactly how he "hanged" himself).
>
> i think that reality-tv show about finding a new
> lead singer for them was ridiculous.

He was auto-asphyxiating himself and rather than impale himself on the broomstick he was diddling himself with he hanged himself.

"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone

[findadeath.com] go to directory go to H and read the lurid details.

"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone

In the words of Adam West: "What a way to go-go."

well that findadeath website is interesting but there's no mention of a broomstick - what's this about a broomstick?

RIP Micheal.

What a singer he was. One of the best.

Jonathan, darling, put that weed down! What broomstick, my man? He wasn't a warlock! What a price to pay for the Big O.

its so sad,this guy really had what it took to be one of the best ever

i miss him..for sure.. i still remember when i found out..i couldnt believe it... michael hutchence was the real deal... i'm a big fan of him and INXS

everyone talks about cobain..his death means little to me personally unlike that of hutchence who actually sang songs i enjoyed and has the attitude i look for in musicians

stoned in washington dc Wrote:
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>
> everyone talks about cobain..his death means
> little to me personally unlike that of hutchence
> who actually sang songs i enjoyed and has the
> attitude i look for in musicians

funny you should say that because when i hear nirvana, i think of my life in DC in the early 90s. i like INXS, but loved nirvana. but i don't think they can be easily compared. i'm grateful to have seen nirvana at the american university.

Michael was great. A true star and a fantastic singer. May he rest in peace.

A nice post this.INXS carried on through the grunge soaked mid nineties.Most bands threw in the towel.To their credit they recorded and toured.They had the balls to "see it out" and in the end grunge died.

First of all, I don't know what on earth a broomstick has to do with autoEROTIC-asphyxiation (which I don't EXACTLY get how it's done - and don't wanna know how it's exactly done - 100% but know enough to know it's a totally effing SUPER nutty thing to ever try to do period - ANYTIME, ANYWHERE) but if anybody had bothered to read in detail what happened that night and early morning he was "reportedly" high as a kite, had been drinking one super strong drink after another with friends and some fans in the hotel bar for hours and hours (I believe it was The Ritz but not the central Sydney one, one kinda out in the sticks on the water, not 100% sure) and was upset to no end about Geldolf jacking him around about the kids coming on the Australian tour (at least a bit of it - the tour) that was ironically called "DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD" (after one of the songs on the ELEGANTLY WASTED album) that was due to begin the next day in SYDNEY.

From all the accounts I've read he was to full of chemicals, rage, and alcohol to even exactly know what he was doing - the amount of intake that night that I read about was amazing, don't know how THAT didn't kill him in and of itself. So if the A.E.-A. was the cause of death in the end I doubt he was even fully aware of anything at that moment - kinda like Kurt Cobain shooting himself totally wasted on smack... do the people even really have a clue to what's happening? I doubt they have much, which is really the way to do it if that's what you wanna do. His music had become pretty dark at the end. SLIP AWAY on the solo album is a perfect example - Wow , that one hits you in the face AND is an a1 tear jerker. The Lyrics on the ELEGANTLY WASTED CD are pretty neg and hopeless. I read an article that said that Hutchence was in a real depression when he started writing with ANDREW F. for the ELEGANTLY WASTED album.

Whole damn thing is such a shame cause the guy was a super talent, top notch performer and musician/writer. Unlike many so called fans that came on board with LISTEN LIKE THIEVES (or ORIGINAL SIN) and left after KICK I was always a big fan - didn't leave, bought every CD on the release day. They were as good in 1997 as they were on their KICK tour but the flakey pop audience had to go chase the latest thing. Mix the slow decline of INXS with the involvement of Loser - low talent Geldolf and Nut Job Yates and you're just waiting for some super bad voodoo shit to hit the fan, and it did. Geldolf's a Dick, Yates was a glorified groupie, and Michael was a super talent that is still missed and should have stuck with the very decent and sweet HELENA....We miss you Dude, you were one of the greats. Too bad too many of "the Sheep" didn't get it and dropped away when your band was still cranking out wonderful sounds. Sometimes you kick/sometimes you get kicked.

For those who like to be creeped out, here's the last rehearsal of INXS (11/21/97) for the Australian tour. Less than 24 hours later MICHAEL HUTCHENCE would be dead :



INXS and RAY CHARLES Rock DAVID LETTERMAN with "PLEASE (You Got That Feeling)" as good as anything on KICK:



LOOK AT THE FACES/LISTEN TO THE BELLS/IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE/WE NEED A PLACE CALLED HELL - DEVIL INSIDE/DEVIL INSIDE/EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-11-25 11:28 by HelterSkelter.

I guess it's a matter of taste. I personally never gave a damn about INXS and couldn't care less when Michael Hutchence died. To me his death wasn't so much a waste of talent as a waste of a life.

Judas, matter of taste is one thing but denying talent is another. Hutchence had talent, no one can command an audience like he did (well , very few). When a band HEADLINES Wembley you must admit they have something special. Always was, always will be

When a band headlines Wembley it usually means that they are popular. Unfortunately, being popular and being talented don't always go hand in hand.

^^

You cant see/hear that the guy had one hell of a voice?
And it's not that the band suddenluy got famous after their first album. It was 15 years of hard work that bought them there.

Michael Hutchence was really one of the greatest front men in a rockband. Had the big pleassure to seen INXS live in 1986 on a 2-day-rockfestival. They were to this time not well known, they had their hit "Orginal Sin", one of my favorite songs of them. I've known after, I've seen them live, that they will become very big.

R.I.P. Michael Hutchence

To deny his talent and charisma is just not a sign of objectivity. It's like being a Stones fan and saying the Beatles sucked! I loved Michael's music, solo and with INXS and agree that it was a wasted talent and life, truly tragic. Geldorf sounds like a dick, where this situation was concerned. He made a bad situation so much worse, and for what? Geldorf potrays himself as this compassionate, charitable man but where was his charity in this situation??

great post Helter - and thanks forthe youtube link of the last rehersal.

So sad, such a talent.

I just don't get why people didn't/don't see the enormous talent of INXS. I know Hutchence and Bono were good friends and neighbors in the South of France and Bono never had nothing but praise for the guy - even mentions his sad passing on the POPMART TOUR live in Mexico City DVD right before playing "ONE". Maybe INXS should have gone a little heavier (a la PEARL JAM/U2/Springsteen) with their lyrics or something... i don't know, Hutchence was so much better than a guy like the frontman for DEPEHCE MODE but DM end up being much bigger... don't get it.... Throw in a splash of Jim Morrison, a pinch of Jagger 1975/76 and and a damn good singer and showman and you have Michael Hutchence - too bad more people didn't see it.....

INXS weren't too bad, but a bit too teeny bopper in my opinion.
Sad that he died so young, his future was pretty bright.

Judas72 Wrote:
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> When a band headlines Wembley it usually means
> that they are popular. Unfortunately, being
> popular and being talented don't always go hand in
> hand.


Actually, you have a point there: Bros played Wembley Stadium. Remember them?

But, whether you love or loathe INXS, Michael Hutchence was a great frontman and singer - and he had some pretty keen songwriter chops too. INXS never got the credit for being the experimental, evolutionary band they were because they were so popular. Their albums were markedly different, one from the other. They were hit and miss, but never boring.

It's just a shame the guy had to go die wanking in a doorway.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-11-26 06:12 by Nikolai.

RIP

GREAT frontman.
He was the real deal.

mickschix Wrote:
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Geldorf sounds like a dick, where this situation was concerned. He made a bad situation so much worse, and for what? Geldorf potrays himself as this compassionate, charitable man but where was his charity in this situation??


I can't say that I know too much about this whole situation, but from reading how @#$%& up Michael was (or would get on occassion), it it any wonder that Bob Geldof didn't want the kids to be around him. I'm not a Bob fan by any means, and I actually liked Michael a lot, so I'm not biased here. But Bob had reason to be angry, his wife left him, broke up his family. This was Bob's way his way of getting back at them. It's a vicious circle, he wouldn't give her the kids cause she is taking drugs, and she partly is taking the drugs because she doesn't have her kids.

Anyway, I'm just saying.... As I said, I don't know the whole story.

Very sad about Michael, it was a waste, i was shocked when it happened.