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Michael Hutchence is the subject BBC documentary Mystify but what happened to the INXS singer and when did he date Kylie?


MICHAEL Hutchence had the world at his feet in the 90s as the lead singer of rock band INXS, until his untimely death in 1997.

A documentary is set to explore the source of Michael’s depression before he died – here’s the lowdown.

 Michael Hutchence was an Australian rockstar

Getty – Contributor

Michael Hutchence was an Australian rockstar

When is the Michael Hutchence documentary on?

The BBC have announced that they will air a documentary called Mystify about the life of the late rocker Michael Hutchence.

There is currently no transmission date scheduled for the film.

BBC Music’s head of commissioning Jan Younghusband said: “Michael Hutchence was one of the most influential and charismatic rock stars of the modern era, and I’m delighted that this moving documentary will air on BBC2.”

 The singer was the frontman for the Aussie band INXS and was adored by fans around the world

PA:Press Association

The singer was the frontman for the Aussie band INXS and was adored by fans around the world

What will the Michael Hutchence documentary cover?

The documentary is directed by Richard Lowenstein, who directed several INXS videos.

A statement said Mystify will feature “rare archive footage and intimate insights from friends, lovers, family colleagues and Hutchence himself. The film portrays his life from the beginning of his fractured family background to the peaks of rock stardom”.

The footage has been provided by Hutchence’s family, including film shot by Michael’s late father Kell.

Among those paying tribute in the documentary are Kylie Minogue, Bono, the surviving members of INXS, Michael’s siblings Rhett and Tina, stepmother Susie and producer Nick Launay.

The show will also hear from Danish supermodel Helena Christensen.

She was the INXS frontman’s girlfriend from 1991 to 1995 and she recalls the aftermath of the singer being attacked by a taxi-driver in Copenhaggen when they dated.

He was assaulted while the couple were cycling and remembers blood pouring from his ears, but says he left hospital after refusing proper treatment.

She thinks it sparked his downward spiral and recounts him spending a month lying in the dark in her apartment, “throwing up blood and pushing away all food,” The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Michael finally sought medical attention and was told he’d suffered brain damage that caused him to lose his senses of smell and taste.

The show will look at the singer’s battle with depression leading up to his death in 1997.

 The rockstar died in 1997

News Group Newspapers Ltd

The rockstar died in 1997

Who was Michael Hutchence?

Michael was born on January 22, 1960 and was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor who co-founded the rock band INXS.

Michael was the group’s lead singer and lyricist from 1977 until his death.

According to rock music historian Ian McFarlane, “Hutchence was the archetypal rock showman. He exuded an overtly sexual, macho cool with his flowing locks, and lithe and exuberant stage movements.”

INXS’ hits include Never Tear Us Apart, Suicide Blonde, New Sensation and Need You Tonight.

 Michael had a relationship with the late Paula Yates

Gamma – Check copyright holder

Michael had a relationship with the late Paula Yates

How did Michael Hutchence die?

On the morning of November 22, 1997, Michael, aged 37, was found dead in Room 524 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Double Bay, Sydney.

Actress Kym Wilson was the last person to see him alive, after partying with him in his hotel room prior to his death.

At 9:54 AM on 22 November, Michael spoke with a former girlfriend, Michèle Bennett who said he was crying, sounded upset, and told her he needed to see her.

She arrived at his hotel room door at about 10:40 AM, but there was no response.

Michael’s body was discovered by a hotel maid at 11:50 AM.

Police reported that Michael was found “in a kneeling position facing the door”.

There has been much speculation about how Michael died.

The coroner ruled his death was suicide while depressed and under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.

However his partner Paula Yates claimed a year before her own death her lover likely died accidentally while choking himself for sexual pleasure, as the pair had engaged in similar sex games – this has never been proven.

 The singer also famously went out with Kylie Minogue

Rex Features

The singer also famously went out with Kylie Minogue

Was Michael married before he died?

Michael was in a relationship with TV presenter Paula Yates up until his death.

The pair had a daughter, Tiger Lily, together, who is now 22.

Paula, who was married to Bob Geldof at the time, first met Michael  in a 1985 interview on Channel 4’s rock show The Tube.

During his appearance on show Paula was reportedly asked to leave Michael alone by the road manager of INXS when she walked up to him and said, “I’m going to have that boy.”

Undeterred she began to show up at INXS gigs everywhere for the next few years, even reportedly bringing her daughter Fifi with her.

During the next nine years they would often see each other and their affair was allegedly going on long before that famous Big Breakfast interview in October 1994.

In February 1995, Paula left husband Bob and began her relationship officially with Michael.

When Michael died, brokenhearted Paula only survived three more years, dying aged 41 of a heroin overdose in 2000.

And then, 14 years after Paula, her daughter Peaches died, aged 25, also of a heroin overdose.

When did Michael Hutchence date Kylie Minogue?

Kylie Minogue was in a relationship with the tragic rocker between 1989 and 1991 and stayed friends with him up until his death.

In an interview after his died, Kylie recalled Michael was a “broken man” and that he told her he wanted to break up with her, before collapsing to the floor.

She says he took his decision hard and mused: “Was it work, was it the drugs? I don’t know. He was like a broken man.”

Paula Yates and Michael Hutchence flirt outrageously on the Big Breakfast in 1994

 

 





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