Michael

The life and death of the legendary lead singer of INXS, as remembered by his sister Tina.

He died at only 37 but his fans are legion. INXS singer/songwriter Michael Hutchence fronted a band that was the biggest in the world. Huge through the 1980s across the globe, INXS broke the mould by merging dance and rock with a sexy, infectious romanticism.

Michael's big sister Tina Hutchence has teamed up with rock writer Jen Jewel Brown to create a book blazing with love and adventure.

Tina adored Michael from the start. From a twelve-year-old holding him newborn in her arms to being his teenage nanny on the fringe of wild bushland in Sydney's north, she remained his trusted confidant until his sudden death at 37.

After the family relocated when he was four, the 1967 Hong Kong riots made a big impression on the growing schoolboy, kick-starting a politicisation which would result in the peace sign becoming his iconic pose.
By the time he was twenty, Michael had lived in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Hong Kong and Los Angeles in at least seventeen different homes.

From faltering teenager with a lisp to raging rock star, Tina's close-range, detailed telling of her brother's story takes in the acquired brain injury that changed everything; the risky schemes that saw him named in the Paradise Papers expose of 2017; his secret philanthropy in support of East Timor and his bliss at the birth of his only child, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily.

A cry from the heart celebrating the 'lost boy of INXS', Michael Hutchence, this intimate biography shares the incredible, rollercoaster life of Australia's most enduring superstar.

About the Authors

Christina 'Tina' Hutchence was born in Melbourne, Australia and managed to attend school in all three eastern states across six schools in four years. As a teenager she moved to Hong Kong and followed her mother into the motion picture industry as a makeup artist, a career she continued in after moving to California in her early twenties. Tina currently teaches the art of makeup and travels the United States lecturing and demonstrating at major beauty shows. She is the mother of two children and the proud grandmother to 5.

Jen Jewel Brown was the first Down Under reporter for Rolling Stone Australia. She first met and interviewed Michael three times from mid-1980, also dueting with him on his first solo single, 'Speed Kills', from the soundtrack of Freedom (1982). When Professional Manager at MCA/Gilbey, Jen helped sign INXS to a worldwide music publishing deal which helped fund their overseas touring. The author, poet and journalist first met Tina when interviewing her for an essay about Max Q for the anthology Rock Country (2013). She's an interviewer for the National Film & Sound Archive of Australia and part of the writing Brains Trust for television/live show RocKwiz. Jen wrote Skyhooks: Million Dollar Riff (1975) and more recently, about Frank Zappa, an essay for the press kit of the documentary Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in his own words (2016) and liner notes for Frank Zappa/Mothers The Roxy Performances seven-album box set (2018).