Michael Hutchence - Early Life and Career

Early Life and Career

Michael Kelland John Hutchence was born on 22 January 1960, the son of Sydney businessman, Kelland ("Kell") Hutchence and make-up artist, Patricia (née Kennedy). His half-sister, Tina, was 11 years old when Kell and Patricia married in January 1959. Following Kell's business interests, the Hutchence family moved to Brisbane where younger brother Rhett was born, and subsequently relocated to Hong Kong as a result of his father taking a job at an Australian trading company. Whilst in Hong Kong, Michael showed a lot of promise in a possible swimming career before breaking his arm badly. He then began to show interest in poetry and performed his first song in a local toy store commercial, before attending King George V School during his early teens.

The family returned to Sydney in 1972, buying a house in Belrose near the Northern Beaches when Michael was in his mid-teens. Michael attended Killarney Heights High School where he met Andrew Farriss and they became good friends. Around this time Hutchence and Farriss would spend a lot of time jamming in the garage with Andrew's brothers. Farriss then convinced Hutchence to join his band, Doctor Dolphin, alongside two classmates, Kent Kerny and Neil Sanders. From nearby Forest High School, bass guitarist Garry Beers and Geoff Kennelly on drums filled out the line-up. The boys transferred to Davidson High School where they became serious about the idea of starting a proper band. Hutchence's parents separated when he was 15 and, in 1976 for a short time, he lived with Patricia and Tina in California.

Hutchence returned to Sydney with his mother. In 1977, a new band, The Farriss Brothers, was formed with Tim Farriss on lead guitar, his younger brother Andrew as keyboardist, and youngest brother Jon on drums. Andrew brought on-board Hutchence as lead vocalist and Beers on bass guitar, and Tim brought his former band mate Kirk Pengilly on guitar and saxophone. The band made their debut on 16 August 1977 at Whale Beach, 40 km (25 mi) north of Sydney.

In 1978, the parents of the Farriss boys moved to Perth, Western Australia, taking Jon, who was still at high school. After Hutchence and Andrew finished their secondary schooling, the rest of the group followed. They briefly performed as The Vegetables, singing "We Are the Vegetables". Ten months later, they returned to Sydney, where they recorded a set of demos. The Farriss Brothers regularly supported hard rockers Midnight Oil on the pub rock circuit, and were renamed as INXS in 1979. Their first performance under the new name was on 1 September at the Oceanview Hotel in Toukley. In May 1980, the group released their first single, "Simple Simon" / "We Are the Vegetables" which was followed by the debut album, INXS, in October. Their first Top 40 Australian hit on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart, "Just Keep Walking", was released in September. During the 1980s, Hutchence resided at the apartment block at the end of Kirketon Road, Darlinghurst, Sydney.

Hutchence became the main spokesperson for the band and, according to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, " was the archetypal rock showman. He exuded an overtly sexual, macho cool with his flowing locks, and lithe and exuberant stage movements". Close friends and family, however, maintain he was more introverted than his on-stage persona. He co-wrote almost all of INXS's songs with Andrew Farriss, who has attributed his own success as a songwriter to Hutchence's "genius".

According to Hutchence, "Most of the songs on Underneath the Colours were written in a relatively short space of time. Most bands shudder at the prospect of having 20 years to write their first album and four days to write their second. For us, though, it was good. It left less room for us to go off on all sorts of tangents". Soon after recording sessions for Underneath the Colours – produced by Richard Clapton – had finished, band members started work on outside projects. Hutchence recorded "Speed Kills", written by Don Walker of hard rockers Cold Chisel, for the Freedom (1982) film soundtrack, directed by Scott Hicks. It was Hutchence's first solo single and was released by WEA in early 1982.