On the first anniversary of Michael’s death a memorial was unveiled on the afternoon of November 22, 1998. About 300 friends, family and fans attended the service at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium.
The service was brief and sweet and, in a way, Michael himself said more than anybody else, in the form of a transcript of an interview that he gave Swiss radio in June 1997, just six months before he committed suicide. Asked about Tiger Lily, Hutchence said that, while on tour, what he missed most was “the stupid things … a new front tooth growing, that kind of thing”.
“You have to say, OK, this is what I do. And she (Tiger Lily) wants me, whether she knows it or not, to do what I want to do, because ultimately, it’s for her. But it gets very difficult,” he said.
Then he paused.
“You know, I haven’t seen my baby for four months. I don’t even know if she knows who I am any more.”
Hutchence went on to say that he envied those with nine-to-five jobs, so he could leave in the morning, then count the hours “until I could get back to her”.
Hutchence’s family chose the theme of “love and peace” for the service.