(Gibson) On this day in 1997, INXS singer Michael Hutchence was found dead in his hotel suite in Sydney. He was 37. Hutchence's body was found at 11: 50 a.m. naked behind the door to his room. He had apparently hanged himself with his own belt and the buckle broke away and his body was found kneeling on the floor and facing the door. Gibson takes a look back: Being a performer was always in Michael Hutchence's blood. Born Michael Kelland John Hutchence on January 22, 1960 in Sydney, Australia, the Hutchence family moved to Hong Kong when Michael was four. His first real taste of performing happened when he appeared in a local toy store commercial when he was eight. The Hutchence family moved back to Sydney when Michael was in his late teens, and he soon befriended Andrew Farriss at Davidson High School, who convinced him to join his band, Doctor Dolphin.
In 1977, Andrew's older brother, Tim, invited Andrew, Hutchence and Doctor Dolphin's bass player, Garry Beers, to join him and his schoolmate, Kirk Pengilly, in a new band. With the addition of Andrew and Tim's younger brother, John, they formed the Farriss Brothers, with Andrew on keyboards, Jon on drums, Tim on lead guitar, Geoff Kennelly on drums, Pengilly on guitar and sax, and Hutchence on lead vocals. The Farris Brothers made their debut in August of 1977 at Whale Beach, just north of Sydney. - more on this story
