Died: 22 November , 1997

Born: 22 January , 1960

Cause of death: Suicide

Death Summary: Was found dead in his room at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Double Bay, Sydney (now the Stamford Plaza Double Bay). A belt found at the scene suggested that he had hanged himself.

Who was : Was the original lead singer of the Australian rock band INXS.


The new INXS album, Elegantly Wasted, was released in April 1997. Hutchence and INXS went on a world tour. The final leg of the tour was to be in Australia in November and December. However, on the morning of November 22, 1997, Hutchence, aged 37, was found dead in his room at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Double Bay, Sydney (now the Stamford Plaza Double Bay). A belt found at the scene suggested that he had hanged himself.

The New South Wales Coroner initially determined that Hutchence's death was suicide, but analysis of the witness statements in the Coroner's report, the lack of a suicide note and other anecdotal evidence has since come forward to suggest that the cause of death may have resulted from autoerotic asphyxiation (strangling himself during a sex act). The conclusions in the Coroner's report have never supported this suggestion.

Kym Wilson and her then boyfriend Andrew Reyment were the last people to see Michael alive. Kym became known as the "Suicide Blonde", after one of INXS' hits, originally written for Kylie Minogue.

Michael Hutchence's coffin was carried out of St. Andrews Cathedral by the remaining members of INXS and younger brother Rhett, as "Never Tear Us Apart" was played in the background. The song is now known to many original fans as his anthem.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 20 August 2005 that no trace of Hutchence's estimated multi-million dollar fortune could be found by his family after his death.

Hutchence's long-in-the-works solo album, Michael Hutchence, was finally released in 1999. He had begun working on the album in 1995 and had last worked on it 3 days prior to his untimely death. The last song he recorded was "Possibilities". It was co written and co produced by Hutchence and a gaggle of collaborators - Andy Gill from Gang of Four, Tim Simenon of Bomb The Bass, and Danny Saber from Black Grape. It featured a duet with U2's Bono called "Slide Away"; Bono actually recorded his vocals after Hutchence's death. The movie, Limp, was also released in 1999 and featured a cameo by Hutchence, playing a record company A & R man. (Hutchence had filmed the scene in 1996 on a day off from working on INXS' Elegantly Wasted.)

From July to September 2005, a television show featured the members of INXS looking for a new singer to succeed Michael. The show, which aired on CBS, was called Rock Star: INXS. The winner was Canadian singer J.D. Fortune.

Source : www.wikipedia.org