Each year we negotiate through the milestone days where our thoughts are captured more than any other day remembering the sad passing of family and friends. For many of us, one of those days is this day, December 12th. On this day 9 years ago after struggling with illness Kelland Hutchence, a very sweet soul, left this earth. Rest in peace dear Kelland, a husband, father, grandfather, and a dear friend to many.

Ian Patterson for Susie Hutchence, Mario and Jacqui Ferrari Co-Directors of MichaelHutchence.org

Don’t turn the radio down or off when you hear him sing – turn it up loud… be happy that he gave us such great music and many meaningful lyrics…”

Kelland Hutchence

Michael Kelland Hutchence is a name that will endure for many years to come, due to the large legacy of unique music he left behind. Michael also lives on in the memories of the hundreds of thousands of lives who encountered Michael in the street, a club, an airport, a hotel lobby or more likely in one of the great concert halls of the world. Each year the number of people discovering his music grows. More than ever younger audiences are discovering his music with equal enthusiasm to his original audiences. Many of these are the growing teens and older whose parents introduced them to INXS at a very early age. No doubt the continual touring of the band and regular releases of their back catalogue have also helped to keep Michael’s memory to the fore.

This year I invited others around the world to express their thoughts as we reach the fourteenth anniversary of his sad departure from this world. I also searched through my archives to find dear words for Michael from his Dad, the late Kelland Hutchence. Their words can be found at the end of this tribute note.

Thank you for those who offered to contribute to this year’s Memorial Tribute. And as always a hearty thank you to Mario and Jacqui for all their daily attendance to Michael’s site as part of our fulfilling a promise to dear Kelland, to do all in our power to keep Michael’s consecrated memorial site perpetual. We may need to call on all of Michael’s fans to help us do that in the near future.

We also send our love and greetings to his dear daughter, Tiger Lily, to his family and close friends.

Ian Patterson
For Michael and our Co-Directors
Susie Hutchence, Mario and Jacqui Ferrari.

We invite others now to speak. 

“I remember clearly the day I first saw this site and how emotional it got me! The first site I ever laid my eyes on and it was all about Michael!! Now here I am, almost 9 years after that and just a day before one of the most important journeys in my life, one that I’ve been dreaming about for 14 years: SYDNEY!:) I’ve been dreaming, wishing, hoping and praying to God for this glorious day to come for almost half of my life…and now I cannot believe it’s here and so close! It will be a very long and tiresome trip, but one so special!

On Nov. 22nd I won’t be posting my thoughts and feelings here as I‘ve been doing for so many years, but visiting Michael’s Memorial Garden and lay a bouquet of flowers and a part of my soul there! Michael, you were and will always be an inspiration, a kind, beautiful and humble man that was gone too soon! You brought music, love, laughter, tears, hopes and dreams into my life and I thank you for how wonderful you were and for the gift that you’ll always be in the music world! You were unique and like no other artist, you touched my heart forever! I’m filled with emotions, excitement, restlessness… I cannot wait to see a bit of your beautiful homeland!

My life, from the day you stepped in and then sadly disappeared, has been intertwined with something about you, some times when I didn’t plan as it just happened! Thank you dear Michael for the wonderful people you brought into my life and with whom I’ve been in touch for years and some of whom I even had the chance to meet! I also think you gave the strength and courage to find my soul mate, my one and only, the love of my life, my amazing husband. Somehow I know that it was meant to be for that 16 year old girl to pick up that INXS record that day, your last album and also the last copy from that store!

I love you and wish so much I could have met you!! May you rest in peace and know that you are so loved and missed and thought of!
In all that exists
None has your beauty
I see your face and
I will survive”

Alice , Bucharest, November 15th 2011

“It must have been in 2003 that INXS had a gig in Tivoli, Copenhagen. When they were just about to play ‘Never Tear Us Apart’, they said that this song was dedicated to Michael, who they felt was with us, and watching us all. I got goose bumps all over and it was like Michael was there. It was so beautiful. And everyone sang along. This is a moment I will never forget.”

Gunn Karine Sperling Opdal

“And so change came on 22nd November, change for INXS and for me. I am grateful to be creative myself, with Michael’s melodies and chemistry, which make a very magical fusion. We must never forget Michael Hutchence, because to forget would be not to listen. Never forget, you always have every song in every breeze, every gesture on every video… Michael you loved the Argentinian fans, and we all love you!!.”

Cari Vidal

“I will never forget the day he died. It was so hard to believe. I felt helpless because it was impossible to do anything. He ran to my heart with his songs and there he lives forever, in my heart he will never die.”

Roxana Montero

“November 22nd, 1997 is a day I will never forget. There are days in life that are perfect and also very ugly days. Having heard that day of his death, it is now a very dear and special day. On that day I called all my friends and said to them, ‘Did you see who died?’ Michael will stay with me forever, and his music. Michael Hutchence, eternally you will always be in my heart.”

Leo Franchitti

“I miss you Michael and I still dream of you. You’ll never be forgotten. Please say hi to my mom for me.”

Deidre Lawson

“I will forever love him for the music he shared with me. ”

Amy Logan

“A true shining star in life and death”

Tracy Wotherspoon

“Michael’s memory will always live on! His music soothes and comforts the huge loss!”

Marisa D’a 

“Michael was important part of my life growing up. He gave me music to dance to, words to live by and many moments of thrills and chills as I watched him strut across the stage. What I love about him still is his honesty onstage. He was a master showman but without the tricks. He was a generous performer who didn’t hold back and a rare talent who is still missed by fans all over the world.”

Elana Lanczi

 

“I wish I had the right words”

Jim Guest

Words from Kelland Hutchence

“Start celebrating what Michael left behind for us – his music. And what a legacy is that! Don’t turn the radio down or off when you hear him sing – turn it up loud – be happy that he gave us such great music and many meaningful lyrics –remember that sexy, soulful intelligent caring man. We will always, always miss you Michael but if we hold you close to our hearts and minds and learn to laugh and sing as well as cry over you, then you wont ever truly leave us. As you often said, Michael – love and peace.”

Daddio 22/11/98”

 

“His sad demise is something I am learning to deal with but somehow I always feel he is not far away – just out there fairly close with a smile on his face and missing us as much as we miss him.”

“His solo album is the best memorial we could ever have of this great son – the culmination of many years of his hard and endearing work I know how he struggled over the years to get this album out into the world – the notes, the lyrics, the sound- he strived to make this album as perfect as he so deeply desired it to be – and I sincerely believe he achieved just that for I think it is indeed outstanding and I hope you too enjoy it for that is what he hoped for – your appreciation of what his voice brings forth.”

“He was a good and loving man and an excellent musician – his music will live on and on. Michael – you will be in our hearts forever. God bless you.”

Copyright: www.michaelhutchence.org

With all the Wikileaks on the news, we have been sent a secrete tape from an unknown source so we are going to turn it upside down and give you Mikileaks to celebrate Michael’s Birthday!

It is just a candid tape of Michael having great fun writing music. This is a world exclusive, but be warned there are a few explicits. We think it is a great way to remember Michael, just messing around and doing what he loved so dearly, making music with his mates.

Happy Birthday Michael, you are always loved and never forgotten.
Mario and all the team at the Michael Hutchence’s Official Memorial.

Download MikiLeaks by RIGHT CLICKING on the file name and then SAVING TARGET TO DISC (about 8 MB).

Kelland Hutchence sadly departed this life on this day in 2002. We pay tribute to a wonderful man who was so endearing to those who had the privilege to be close to him. His sweet manner and infectious enthusiasm even in the face of tragedy and his own health struggles, will continue to inspire us. Michael’s Memorial site is as much a tribute to his love and devotion as a father, as it is to the lasting memory of his son.

May God’s love and peace be your eternal rest from all earthly struggles, sorrow and pain.

On behalf of family, friends and fans,
The Co-Directors
Ian Patterson, Mario and Jacqui Ferrari

If we wind the clock back 13 years before that fateful Saturday morning on 22nd November, 1997, Michael Hutchence was 24 years of age and fronting one of the most exciting new rock groups in the world. It was the first year that Michael and INXS would achieve their first number one single for “Original Sin”. They were exploding onto the international arena as well as wooing them back home in Australia. January 1984 was the final year of the historic Narara Music Festival in which INXS headlined with UK friends, Talking Heads. As Michael celebrated his 24th birthday, they were riding a crest of a new wave as the number one band in the country and millions were singing along… “Wake up to a brand new day”.

I was living and studying music in the US at the time and remember INXS had just started to make a mark there alongside other Australian bands such as Air Supply and Men At Work. Over the next 13 years Michael and the band would become arguably the greatest live rock band of the era, taking their music to audiences of millions, scooping MTV and other major music awards including being nominated for two Grammy Awards.

Those definitive 13 years have now been added to by a further 13 years since Michael departed this world. The impact he made in those previous 13 years of his life has not waned in the 13 years that have followed since. Michael is still highly esteemed by fellow musicians and the listening public alike. The current release of “tribute covers” of his songs with high-profile guest artists and INXS is testimony of his endearing influence and stature. There doesn’t seem to have been too many other great frontmen who have arrived on the scene since then. Many die-hard fans find it almost impossible to conceive an INXS without him. It is the great legacy that Michael left behind in those first 13 years that has enabled his legend to endure in the 13 years since.

These past 13 years have also been very challenging years for the rest of Michael’s family. During these years we have bid farewell to Michael’s precious partner, Paula Yates, his loving father, Kelland, his supportive aunty Croy and recently his doting mother, Patricia. But it is also the 13 year period that an adorable little girl has been growing and blossoming. In many ways too young to have felt the reality of her loss, Tiger has grown with a typical fun-loving optimism as most young girls experience reaching their early teens. The next 13 years will be her time to shine and reflect on the amazing heritage her Dad has left in this world.

What kind of world will we be living in, in the next 13 years? Make no mistake; the next 13 years will pass just as rapidly as the past 13 years have. Tiger will be a 27 year old woman, the same age as her Dad was when he was riding high on the award winning “Kick” album. And it will be 46 years since Michael first climbed the stage with Tim, Andrew, Jon, Garry and Kirk.

For we all who have survived this life to see this day, 22nd November, 2010, the message might be to thank God for His grace over our life and to “carpe diem”… that is, “seize the day”! You have this precious time right here, right now to get out there and live and to make every moment count. Wake up to a brand new day, but don’t let your dreams get washed away!

God rest and keep dear Michael Kelland Hutchence who sadly departed this life on this day, 13 short years ago.

Ian Patterson
for all the team at Michael Hutchence’s Official Memorial
Susie Hutchence, Mario and Jacqui Ferrari

We join with others in the popular music world and send our sincere condolences to James Freud’s family following his sudden death this week.

He was a fellow Australian singer/writer, contemporary and friend to Michael. His struggles in life are well documented but they don’t diminish his precious individualism and statue as great Australian artist. This was acknowledge just days before his departure by his inductance into the ARIA Hall of Fame along with fellow Models members.

May God comfort his loved ones and friends in this most difficult period.

Sincerely,
The Co-Directors,
The Official Michael Hutchence Memorial Site.

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Michael’s Mother, Patricia Glassop in Australia following an illness. Patricia was 84 years of age and had been a devoted fan of her world famous son. She leaves behind her daughter, Tina and son Rhett and her grandchildren, including Michael’s daughter, Tiger Lily. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this sad time.

Today is Friday, January 22, 2010. How would Michael have spent his 50th birthday?

Michael may have been in the middle of a concert tour or a feature film, a music collaboration or a solo recording project. The 21st Century is yesterday, and Michael’s words and music have endured. Today the current Haiti earthquake tragedy would not have been far from Michael’s heart. He wrote with Jon Farriss about universal suffering back in ’89, somewhat prophetic in the opening lyrics of “Disappear” which was INXS’ last hit in a string of hits to make the Top 10.

“I’m Crying
I’m looking at what’s on TV
Pain and suffering
And the struggle
To be free”

But despite the struggles of our times, how would Michael have spent today? Fiftieth birthdays, reaching half a century, are always very special events, bringing families together, celebrating the life of the loved one with anecdotal stories reflecting on their great achievements, comical situations, and special stories of endearment from the past.

Michael would probably have preferred a low-keyed family gathering with a few close friends. Almost certainly his preference would be to spend it in the summer climate of his home town, Sydney, Australia. Reaching fifty would have been for Michael, as for anyone, a milestone in life and a somewhat sobering shock that one’s youth doesn’t last forever!

No doubt Michael would have been sharing his birthday with his daughter Tiger, an opportunity to share with her and family some stories of his latest tour or film. But he would have also loved her to listen to his Dad, Kelland, who may have continued his story telling with accounts of courageous achievements in the Hutchence family’s past. So Tiger perhaps would have been listening to the stories of the Hutchence boys, three generations, that had come before her. We have conducted some detailed research especially for Michael’s 50th birthday to share with you how we think those stories may have been told to Tiger. Life goes on today and a fourth generation Hutchence has reached her teens. Four generations of Hutchence’s. All are different, all are great.

And so to the stories, stories about Tiger’s Great Grandfather, Captain Frank Hutchence who sailed the colonial seas over a hundred years ago. Stories about how he captained his sailors in the majestic sailing clippers that set sail from London to cross the southern seas. He sailed many trips to gather vital wheat and lucrative wool from Sydney in the latter part of the Victorian era. That was the Hutchence family’s first contact with Sydney; the city where Captain Frank eventually bought his bride to settle in 1920; the city that Kelland Hutchence was born into four years later; the city that become Michael’s first home in the heat wave of Friday, 22nd January, 1960. The city where Michael’s grandfather, Frank, had passed away 3 years before in 1957 from health complications due to damage to his organs from maleria tablets that were linked to his heroic transporting of US marines on his ship, Liberty.

Frank fearlessly sailed his vessel to the Pacific beaches of the war torn jungles of World War II. Refused a role with the Australian forces because of his old age, he had persisted and persuaded the Americans to use his maritime skills. This decision eventually cost him his life. When he died he was one of the very few sea captains to have a ticket for both steam and sailing ships.

Back to the birthday party …and perhaps as the barbecue lost it’s glow, there would be more toasts to Michael… and then the anticipated arrival of a lavish birthday cake with all those candles.

…Then more stories from Kell of how Tiger’s decorated Great Granddad, who was born in India, had captained HMAT Bakara, a medium sized steam ship that had been captured as an enemy raider and then converted for transporting Australia’s heroic Lighthorse regiments into the battlefields of World War I. Captain Frank spent the war years from 1914-1918 making dangerous trip after trip, loaded with horses and soldiers from Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide to the frontline in the Middle East and Europe.

Then stories of Kell’s years in the RAAF in the 1940’s where he trained in new radar technology. According to his squadron mates, Kell took his duties very seriously. The early warning alerts of enemy aircraft were vital to Australia’s defense. Kell later used his air traffic experience to manage tropical outposts for Australia’s premier airline company, QANTAS.

And stories of Kell’s Indiana Jonesque escapades in an old DC4, flying across enemy lines in North Vietnam to deliver fresh supplies to US troops during the Vietnam War. And of Kell’s exotic career in management in the days when he spanned the globe setting up manufacturing plants and distribution warehouses.

Need we say that standing beside each of these gallant Grandfathers at their passing was a great woman, an adoring wife. Kell’s mother, Tiger’s Great Grandmother, spent a part of her day praying for her children and her children’s children, children.

And not least Tiger’s Father’s stories of great accomplishments. “Did your Daddy tell you about the time he recorded with the great Ray Charles?” Kelland might say. “He was in Ray Charles’ studios in LA and actually had to teach Mr Charles how to sing your Daddy’s song!”

Michael teaches Mr Charles

To continue with the great Hutch stories is perhaps more appropriate for a future article. So, what do you think was Michael’s most important achievement? There were so many. But in the last years of his life, he spoke of Tiger at any opportunity. For Michael, Tiger was everything.

And so because today is very special, for the first time we include some special media to link to and remind us of those great stories. A photo of Captain Frank’s WWI troop transport ship, HMAT Bakara; a father and son photo of Kell and Michael taken at the airport in Hong Kong; and a radiant photo of Michael, Paula and Tiger that Michael sent to his family. And as a final present for Michael’s loved ones, friends and fans, a world exclusive release, an audio excerpt of two sadly missed music legends, Michael Hutchence and Ray Charles in a rare studio conversation.

All little reminders that life comes and goes, and always continues on… from parent to children, generation to generation, story to story. God bless the child, and God bless the parents that have gone before them.

All your family, friends and fans say a huge, “Happy 50th Birthday, dear Michael!”

Dennis Ian Patterson
On behalf of all the Team at Michael’s Official Memorial Site.