‘Mystify: Michael Hutchence’ Reveals Traumas That Led To INXS Singer’s Suicide 

Classically handsome with full lips, deep brown eyes and amazing hair, Michael Hutchence was the quintessential rock frontman of the 1980s.  He commanded the stage as lead singer of INXS, sold millions of record and dated a parade of stunningly beautiful women. That’s why it came as such a shock when he commited suicide in 1997 at the age of 37.

The 2019 documentary Mystify: Michael Hutchence tries to make sense of the singer’s death while crafting a thorough narrative using archival footage and voiceovers from his bandmates, family and friends. Currently available for rent on a variety of streaming services, it was directed by fellow Australian Richard Lowenstein, a personal friend of Hutchence’s who directed many of the band’s music videos. It’s no mistake then that it’s portrait of Hutchence is affectionate, tender and takes his entire life into account, not just those fleeting years when he was on top of the pop charts.

Before delving into his past we see Hutchence, the sexy rock god, taking the stage, somehow able to look cool even in a cowboy hat and olive drab matador’s suit. We hear soundbites of him telling an interviewer his greatest fear is “To be without at least one love in your life. Someone to love you. To be lonely I think must be terrible.” Ironically, it wasn’t a lack of love that did Hutchence in but perhaps the opposite.

While presenting his life in a linear fashion, Mystify: Michael Hutchence continually glances back, hinting at a greater family trauma which is gradually revealed. Dennis Farriss, father of INXS bandmates Andrew, Jon and Tim, says Hutchence “did not have a happy background.” Eventually we learn his parents were ill-equipped to raise him and his mother ran off for a year and a half, taking Michael with her but leaving behind a younger brother who was raised by a succession of nannies and fell into drug addiction.

Though possessing limited musical ability, Hutchence was drafted by the Farriss brothers as the lead singer of their new band INXS. They played 6 nights a week on the hardscrabble Australian club circuit before attracting the attention of management and record labels. Manager Gary Grant says Hutchence’s “star qualities” were immediately apparent.

Despite the macho sensuality who exhibited on stage, Hutchence was shy and sensitive in person. He enjoyed poetry, art and the theater. A particular favorite was Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, whose protagonist stays young and beautiful while his portrait records his physical and moral decay. Like Gray, Hutchence wrestled with his own Faustian bargain, his good looks and commercial success coming at the cost of long term relationships and artistic respect.

In 1991, Hutchence began dating model Helena Christensen. While visiting her hometown of Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1992, he got into an altercation with a taxi driver and fell and hit his head. The fall resulted in a skull fracture and brain injury which friends believe changed the course of his life. He lost his sense of smell and taste and became belligerent and aggressive. As Tim Farriss says, “He seemed to crave more danger in his life, whether it be with relationships or drugs or anything.”

Following his breakup with Christensen, Hutchence began an affair with British television personality Paula Yates. At the time, Yates was living with Irish rock singer and Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof, with whom she had three children. Yates left Geldof for Hutchence in 1995, resulting in a prolonged and acrimonious custody battle further complicated when Yates gave birth to Hutchence’s daughter a year later.

Whether from the pressures of their legal battles, Hutchence’s faltering career, or their negative portrayal in the British tabloids, the couple turned to drugs, including heroin. Oasis’ Noel Gallagher publicly called him a “has-been” at the 1996 Brit Awards and INXS’ 1997 comeback album, Elegantly Wasted, failed to live up to expectations.

In November 1997, Hutchence was in Sydney preparing for a homecoming tour of Australia, their first shows there since 1994. A planned visit by Yates and her children was derailed by Geldof. Hutchence spent the early morning hours of November 22 calling Geldof, Yates, managers and friends, ranting and raving and pleading for help. The film heartbreakingly breaks down the minute by minute calls leading up to the discovery of his dead body by a hotel maid at 11:50 am. He had hanged himself. Though not mentioned in the film, Yates would die from a heroin overdose in 2000 and Geldof was later awarded custody of her and Hutchence’s daughter.

Mystify: Michael Hutchence abruptly ends with his suicide. There’s no line of grieving loved ones talking about what made him special or people he never knew trying to explain his importance. It doesn’t need to, as the previous hour and 40 minutes perfectly revealed his appeal to both fans and friends.

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC. 

Where to stream Michael Hutchence: Mystify