Later Developments
INXS decided to continue without Hutchence and, on 14 November 1998, they performed at Mushroom Records' 25th anniversary concert – recorded as Mushroom 25 Live – with Jimmy Barnes handling vocals. In June 1999 U.S. singer, Terence Trent D'Arby, provided vocals for INXS at the opening of facilities for 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. From May 2000 they performed with former Noiseworks front man, Jon Stevens who officially joined in 2002 to start recording a new INXS album but the sessions only provided one track and Stevens left in 2003. In 2005, INXS took their search for a lead singer to Rock Star: INXS, a reality TV show on CBS. The winner was Canadian singer J.D. Fortune – they subsequently released Switch on 29 November and Original Sin in October 2010.
Hutchence's solo album, Michael Hutchence, was finally released in October 1999. He had started on the album in 1995, recording songs in between INXS sessions and had last worked on it three days prior to his death. The last song he recorded was "Possibilities". The album was co-written and co-produced by Hutchence and various collaborators – Andy Gill (Gang of Four), Bernard Fowler (The Rolling Stones backing singer), Tim Simenon (Bomb the Bass), and Danny Saber (Black Grape). It has a duet with U2's Bono, "Slide Away", with Bono's vocals recorded after Hutchence's death. The movie, Limp (1999) includes a cameo by Hutchence, playing a record company A&R man – he had filmed his scene in 1996 on a day off working on INXS's Elegantly Wasted.
On 18 June 2000, his mother Patricia and sister Tina released their book, Just a Man: The Real Michael Hutchence, which is described as "an odd biography ... combines the basic facts of Hutchence's early life...with an almost too-intimate view of the authors' feelings". Yates died on 17 September of an accidental heroin overdose – she was discovered by four-year-old Tiger. Geldof filed for custody of Tiger the next day, although not directly related, to be raised with her half-sisters. Hutchence's family members were not given Geldof's permission to join the custody hearings – Patricia and Tina initiated legal proceedings to pursue custody. On 12 December 2002, Hutchence's father, Kelland, died of cancer in Sydney. Kelland had helped create and maintain a memorial website for his son from 1999.
On 20 August 2005, Melbourne's The Age reported on the disposition of Hutchence's estate and assets, estimated at between $10 to $20 million but containing virtually nothing. The remainder of his estate had been sold off and swallowed in legal fees. Millions of dollars in property and other assets, including ongoing royalties from INXS, were held in 'The Vocals Trust', a complex arrangement of international companies and trusts, of which Hutchence was not a beneficiary. Gordon Fisher, who set up the arrangement, stated that Hutchence used this structure to keep his wealth from his "thieving relatives" and "girlfriends". Others linked with this scheme are Andrew Young, Tony Alford, Andrew Paul and Colin Diamond, some of whom have had their financial and personal credibility questioned.
On 22 November 2007, the 10th anniversary of Hutchence's death, the original members of INXS created a tribute page on their official website. Rhett revealed to Woman's Day magazine that he was going to the Supreme Court to try to overturn the verdict of suicide, as he does not want Tiger growing up thinking her father intentionally left her.
The dispute between Geldof and Hutchence family members over Tiger continued. Geldof legally adopted Tiger, against the wishes of Patricia and Tina, who disagreed with Geldof changing her surname to Hutchence-Geldof. In July 2009, Patricia protested that Geldof had prevented access to her granddaughter for three years, "It's totally cruel and unnecessary. I've lost my husband and now I have a granddaughter who doesn't even know her beloved Grandpa Ross has died. We have been completely cut out of her life by Bob Geldof." Patricia requested a visit with Tiger from Geldof for the 50th anniversary of Hutchence's birth (22 January 2010) and indicated that she accepted her son's death as being a suicide. Patricia died on 21 September 2010, Tiger was not in attendance at her funeral due to Geldof's fear of attention that would be generated. Her uncle Rhett indicated that Geldof had sent condolences, that he had spoken to Tiger and agreed it was advisable to keep the 14-year-old out of the media.
Read more about this topic: Michael Hutchence
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