Editing Michael Hutchence (section)

==Death==
[[File:Hutchence_memorial_at_Northern_Suburbs_Crematorium.jpg|thumb|right|Hutchence memorial at [[Northern Suburbs Crematorium, Sydney|Northern Suburbs Crematorium]], [[North Ryde, New South Wales|North Ryde]], New South Wales. Inscription reads: "In loving memory of Michael Kelland Hutchence, 22 January 1960 - 22 November 1997. Beloved son of Patricia and Kelland, Brother of Rhett and Tina, Partner of Paula, Father of Tiger Lily. A sensitive and loving soul who touched hearts around the world. So dearly loved - so sadly missed. 'Stay young'. Ashes Scattered in Rose Bay 22 January 1998."]]
On 22 November 1997, at the age of 37, Hutchence was found dead in his room at the [[Ritz-Carlton]] hotel in the [[Double Bay]] suburb of Sydney. His cause of death was recorded as [[suicide by hanging]].<ref name="McF" /><ref name="Hand" /> Actress [[Kym Wilson]], who visited Hutchence in his hotel room the previous evening, was the last person to see him alive.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tonedeaf.com.au/michael-hutchences-brother-writes-about-the-late-singers-biggest-secret/|title=Michael Hutchence biggest secret is still safe|date=30 May 2016|access-date=16 September 2018|website=tonedeaf.com.au|archive-date=21 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221061729/http://tonedeaf.com.au/michael-hutchences-brother-writes-about-the-late-singers-biggest-secret/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Earlier that year, Hutchence and INXS had started a world tour to support the April 1997 release of ''[[Elegantly Wasted]]''.<ref name="McF" /> The final 20th anniversary tour was to occur in Australia in November and December. During the tour, Paula Yates planned to visit Hutchence with their daughter and Yates's three other children, but Bob Geldof had taken legal action to prevent the visit.<ref name="MTV18Aug99">{{cite news |title=Michael Hutchence Solo LP Date Reset; Suicide Controversy Continues |publisher=MTV ([[Viacom (2005–present)|Viacom]]) |date=18 August 1999 |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1430341/19990818/inxs.jhtml |access-date=9 December 2010 |archive-date=14 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114021625/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1430341/19990818/inxs.jhtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Geldof and Yates each gave police statements concerning the phone calls they exchanged with Hutchence on the morning of his death, but did not volunteer their phone records. Yates's statement on 26 November indicated that she had informed Hutchence of the Geldof girls' custody hearing being adjourned until 17 December, which meant that Yates would not be able to bring their daughter and the Geldof girls to Australia for a visit as previously intended. According to Yates, Hutchence "was frightened and couldn't stand a minute more without his baby ... [he] was terribly upset and he said 'I don't know how I'll live without seeing Tiger'." She indicated that Hutchence said he was going to call Geldof "to let the girls come to Australia".<ref name="Hand" /><ref name="HandInquestReport">{{cite web |url=http://www.destinytours.com.au/factsheet3.doc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901015306/http://www.destinytours.com.au/factsheet3.doc |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 September 2007 |title=Inquest into the death of Michael Kelland Hutchence |publisher=destinytours.com.au |format=doc |access-date=9 December 2010 }}</ref>

Geldof's police statements and evidence to the coroner indicated he did receive a call from Hutchence, who was "hectoring and abusive and threatening" during their phone conversation. The occupant in the room next to Hutchence's heard a loud male voice and swearing at about 5:00&nbsp;am; the coroner was satisfied that this was Hutchence arguing with Geldof.<ref name="Hand" /><ref name="HandInquestReport" />

At 9:54&nbsp;am on 22 November, Hutchence spoke with a former girlfriend, [[Michele Bennett (film producer)|Michele Bennett]]. According to Bennett, Hutchence was crying, sounded upset and told her he needed to see her. Bennett arrived at his hotel room door at about 10:40&nbsp;am, but there was no response. Hutchence's body was discovered by a hotel maid at 11:50&nbsp;am. Police reported that Hutchence was found "in a kneeling position facing the door. He had used his [[snakeskin]] belt to tie a knot on the automatic door closer at the top of the door, and had strained his head forward into the loop so hard that the buckle had broken."<ref name="Hand" />

On 6 February 1998, after an [[autopsy]] and [[Coroner's inquest|coronial inquest]], New South Wales's [[Coroner's Court of New South Wales|state coroner]], Derrick Hand, presented his report. The report ruled that Hutchence's death was suicide while depressed and under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.<ref name="Hand">{{cite book |last1=Hand |first1=Derrick |last2=Fife-Yeomans |first2=Janet |title=The Coroner: Investigating Sudden Death |orig-year=2004 |year=2008 |publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]] |location=Sydney, NSW |isbn=978-0-7333-2221-1}}</ref> "An analysis report of Hutchence's blood [indicated] the presence of alcohol, [[cocaine]], [[Fluoxetine|Prozac]] and prescription drugs."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/michael-hutchence-death-explained-the-coroners-account-in-his-own-words/news-story/26dae2274fadfcbb10beb994f7cf7d26|title=Michael Hutchence death explained: the Coroner's account in his own words|date=29 January 2014|access-date=15 January 2018|newspaper=Herald Sun|archive-date=21 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121200214/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/michael-hutchence-death-explained-the-coroners-account-in-his-own-words/news-story/26dae2274fadfcbb10beb994f7cf7d26|url-status=live}}</ref> In producing his coroner's report, Hand had specifically considered the suggestions of accidental death (coupled with the fact that Hutchence left no [[suicide note]]), but had discounted them based on substantial evidence presented to the contrary.<ref name="Hand" /><ref name="HandInquestReport" /><ref name="MTVNews">{{cite news |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1430349/19980206/inxs.jhtml |title=Hutchence death ruled suicide under the influence of drugs and alcohol |publisher=MTV ([[Viacom (2005–present)|Viacom]]) |date=6 February 1998 |access-date=9 December 2010 |archive-date=12 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612192020/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1430349/19980206/inxs.jhtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> In a 1999 interview on ''[[60 Minutes]]'' (and in a documentary film on [[Channel 4]]), Yates claimed that Hutchence's death might have resulted from [[autoerotic asphyxiation]]; this claim contradicted her previous statements to police investigators and the coroner.<ref name="BBC10Aug99">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/416509.stm |title=Paula challenges Hutchence verdict |date=10 August 1999 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |access-date=9 December 2010 |archive-date=27 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327122637/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/416509.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Funeral and memorial===
On 27 November 1997, Hutchence's funeral was held at [[St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney|St Andrew's Cathedral]] in Sydney and was attended by 600 people, including his family, bandmates, Paula Yates and their daughter, Hutchence's favourite singer, [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]], and former girlfriends [[Kylie Minogue]] and [[Helena Christensen]].<ref name="rockstar"/> The funeral was broadcast live on Australian television.<ref name="BBCNov1997">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/34997.stm |title=Celebrities and fans share Hutchence family grief |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=27 November 1997 |access-date=11 December 2010 |archive-date=28 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628022708/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/34997.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> His casket was carried out of the cathedral by members of INXS and his younger brother, Rhett; "[[Never Tear Us Apart]]" was played in the background.<ref name="mtv">{{Cite web |last=Corr |first=Nick |date=27 November 1997 |title=INXS Leader's Funeral Celebrates 'Life Of Michael' |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/m22kvo/inxs-leaders-funeral-celebrates-life-of-michael |website=[[MTV]] |access-date=7 May 2024 |archive-date=7 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507224640/https://www.mtv.com/news/m22kvo/inxs-leaders-funeral-celebrates-life-of-michael |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Nick Cave]], a friend of Hutchence, performed his 1997 song "[[Into My Arms]]" during the funeral and requested that television cameras be switched off.<ref name="BBCNov1997"/> Hutchence's parents asked that in lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to [[UNICEF]] and the [[Starlight Foundation]].<ref name="mtv"/> Rhett claimed in his 2004 book, ''Total XS'', that on the previous day at the funeral home, Yates had put a gram of heroin into Michael's pocket.<ref name="RhettH">{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/01/1096527923523.html |title=Death comes calling |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=2 October 2004 |access-date=9 December 2010 |archive-date=5 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605175740/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/01/1096527923523.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Hutchence was cremated and his ashes were divided into thirds between his parents, his siblings and Yates and their daughter, following a battle between his family and Yates that started over Hutchence's wish to be cremated.<ref name="RhettH"/> The portion that went to his mother was buried at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]] in Hollywood Hills, California.<ref name="Bell">{{Cite web |last=Bell |first=Adam |date=12 February 2016 |title=INXS' Michael Hutchence and Johnny O'Keefe lie at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/the-hills/inxs-michael-hutchence-and-johnny-okeefe-lie-at-northern-suburbs-memorial-gardens/news-story/684ca5b4cecffe40fb9e49a5410e3445 |website=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=10 March 2024 |archive-date=10 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310065642/https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/the-hills/inxs-michael-hutchence-and-johnny-okeefe-lie-at-northern-suburbs-memorial-gardens/news-story/684ca5b4cecffe40fb9e49a5410e3445 |url-status=live }}</ref> The portion that went to his father was scattered into [[Sydney Harbour]], in [[Rose Bay, New South Wales|Rose Bay]], on what would have been Hutchence's 38th birthday on 22 January 1998,<ref name="Bell"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Scattering of Michael's Ashes |url=https://michaelhutchence.org/memorial/ashes-ceremony/ |access-date=14 March 2024 |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202084117/https://michaelhutchence.org/memorial/ashes-ceremony/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and a tombstone was placed at [[Northern Suburbs Crematorium, Sydney|Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens]] in North Ryde, Sydney.<ref name="Bell"/> Yates kept her portion of Hutchence's ashes in a cushion she slept with.<ref name="Bell"/>