INXS’ Hutchence Joins Tragic Figures of Rock

For a while in the late ‘80s, INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence seemed destined to be remembered as one of rock’s most celebrated figures. Instead, his apparent suicide Saturday in Sydney, Australia, means he will probably go down as another of the music’s more tragic ones.

Hutchence, 37, was found dead in his fifth-floor room in the plush Ritz-Carlton by a hotel worker shortly before noon. Police did not disclose the cause of death, but Australian TV stations and Australian Associated Press reported that Hutchence was found hanged.

Hutchence’s sensual vocals and charismatic performance style led to frequent comparisons early in INXS’ career to such rock icons as Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison, though the group’s music ultimately fell far short of the individuality or sociological impact of either the Rolling Stones or the Doors.

Hutchence is the latest in a long list of rock stars who died prematurely--through plane crashes (Buddy Holly), drug overdoses (Janis Joplin) and suicides.

The most notable suicide in recent years was Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, the acclaimed, 27-year-old singer and songwriter who shot himself in the head with a shotgun in 1994. Others over the years have included Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, the Band pianist and vocalist Richard Manuel, Badfinger songwriter and guitarist Pete Ham and folk singer/songwriter Phil Ochs.

No illegal drugs were found in Hutchence’s hotel room, although there were a number of prescription medications, according to investigators, who removed a leather belt from the scene. Inspector Christopher Hogg said an autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

The body was found after Hutchence failed to appear for a morning appointment with the Australian Broadcasting Corp. to promote the Australian band’s 20th anniversary tour. The series of shows, billed as the “Lose Your Head” tour, was to have started Tuesday. Band members made no immediate comments about the singer’s death.

A lawyer for Hutchence’s fiancee, Paula Yates, said that Yates, who was in London where the couple lived with their daughter, “heard this devastating news through a friend and myself.”

“I would ask that she be left alone . . . to enable her to absorb and cope with what has happened,” attorney Anthony Burton said.

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After building a strong fan base in Australia, INXS broke into the U.S. and European charts in the mid-’80s with a sexy, dance-minded rock style that produced such hit singles as “Original Sin,” “What You Need” and “Need You Tonight.”

The latter recording, which went to No. 1 on the U.S. charts in January 1988, was also featured on INXS’ “Kick” album, which sold more than 4 million copies in this country and 5 million worldwide.

It was a heady time for Hutchence and the rest of the six-piece group, whose flashy videos were a fixture on MTV at the time. And Hutchence loved the attention.

In a 1991 interview with England’s Q magazine, the lean singer spoke of the thrill of being on stage. “That’s one of the best feelings on the market, when you walk up those steps to the stage,” he said. “It feels like sparks are flying through you. I get tears in my eyes and, I know this sounds really schmaltzy, but I just want to give.”

As it turned out, “Kick” was the commercial high point for the group. Sales of subsequent albums declined steadily and INXS--whose music won only modest critical praise--was such a minor presence on the U.S. record market by the time a greatest hits package was released in 1994 that the album stayed on the Top 200 charts for only three weeks. A subsequent studio album, “Elegantly Wasted,” was released in the spring and fell out of the charts after eight weeks.

Despite the commercial decline, Hutchence remained a high-profile member of the London rock scene.

Rock music commentator Ian “Molly” Meldrum said Hutchence’s death came as a surprise. He reported seeing Hutchence and Yates in Los Angeles a few weeks ago and said he had never seen the singer “more peaceful and happier in his life.”

Hutchence had announced last month that he and Yates were planning to be married on the Tahitian island of Bora Bora in January.

Associated Press contributed to this story.