INXS singer died in apparent suicide
By Rohan Sullivan
Associated Press Writer
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Just hours
before he apparently hanged himself in a
Sydney hotel, INXS lead singer Michael
Hutchence made plans to meet somebody later
that day, police said Sunday.
Police investigating the death said they have
interviewed a woman who said Hutchence
called her at about 9:30 a.m. Saturday and that
they had arranged to meet later.
The singer’s body was found by a hotel
worker in his fifth floor room at the Ritz
Carlton shortly before noon. Police took into
their possession a leather belt and some pre
scription drugs.
They said there were no suspicious circum
stances in the death.
“There was a phone call with a friend. We know
who it is, but are not releasing the name. It plays no
purpose other than helping us pinpoint the time of
death,” Inspector Dennis Smith said Sunday.
Police also want to talk with others who
reportedly spoke with or met the rock star in the
hours before his death. These included
Australian TV actress Kym Wilson and two
unidentified women who witnesses reported
seeing sharing a drink at the hotel bar with
Hutchence at about midnight Friday.
The death has sent shock waves through Australia’s
entertainment industry and around the globe.
Other band members, who were waiting for
Hutchence to arrive at a television studio when
news of his death broke, issued a statement Sunday.
“The band members of INXS are all in
extreme shock at the loss of their dear friend
and lead singer Michael Hutchence,” they said.
They asked that the band and family’s privacy
be respected “in this time of extreme grief.”
Hutchence’s fiancee Paula Yates and their
16-month-old daughter Heavenly Hiraani Tiger
Lily were flying from London to Sydney, where
they were expected to arrive early Monday.
Yates’ lawyer Anthony Burton said, “She is
deeply upset and devastated. It is her intention to go to
Australia as soon as possible with their daughter Tiger
Lily.” She knew of no reason for the death, he said.
Hutchence, 37, had flown from London to his
hometown of Sydney last week to prepare for the
band’s 20th anniversary “Lose Your Head” tour,
which was due to start Tuesday. Promoter Michael
Gudinski said the tour has been canceled.
Tributes flowed for Hutchence, who conser
vative Prime Minister John Howard said was
“one of the outstanding products in rock of the
past generation.”
Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer said he
hoped fans would not be influenced by the sui
cide.
“What a waste. I hope there are no copycat
examples,” he said.
Smith said police are still trying to trace
Hutchence’s last movements, and were waiting
for the results of toxicology and forensic tests on
the belt and other items seized from the hotel
room. An autopsy was to be carried out Monday.
Police interviewed Hutchence’s father, Kell,
who had dinner with his son at a restaurant near
the hotel Friday. The newspaper Sunday
Telegraph reported that the two men and
Hutchence’s stepmother were seen smiling and
laughing during the meal.
But restaurant staff said Hutchence Sr. at
one stage looked concerned.
“His father put his hand on top of his, asking
Michael if everything was all right and if he was
OK,” the paper quoted waitress Susan Murtagh as
saying.
“Michael said, ‘Dad, I’m fine,”’ she was
quoted as saying.
Police also confirmed Sunday that Hutchence
ordered room service “several times" during the
night. They declined to say whether Hutchence
was alone when the service was delivered.
Australian rock historian Glenn A. Baker
said Hutchence was an unlikely candidate for
suicide.
“Michael was the consummate rock star. He
took upon the role of a rock star so comfortably,
he floated above the pressures,” Baker said.
“Why he would choose this moment to
throw in the towel I think will always remain a
mystery.”
Formed in Perth in 1977, INXS shot to
international success a decade later with the
album “Kick,” which sold 9 million copies. In
its two-decade history, the band’s 10 albums
sold 20 million copies.
The tour was to be the first in their home
land of Australia in three years, and was some
thing of a comeback after dwindling sales of the
last album “Elegantly Wasted.”
«
Why he would choose this moment to throw in the
towel I think will always remain a mystery”
Glenn Baker
Australian rock historian
Modem English pop
melts into ’90s mode
By Bret Schulte
Senior Reporter
They may still be English, but
the ’80s synth-pop group is strug
gling to remain modern.
Modem English, famous for its
two-time hit “I Melt With You,” is
bringing its keyboard and a passel
of what lead singer Robbie Grey
calls “very ’90s sounding” music to
Knickerbockers, 901 O St., tonight.
Grey, the last original member
of Modern English, has been a
constant in the band’s turbulent
and shaky tenure as Brit-pop roy
alty. The group, having gone
through almost as many labels as
band members, is currently fight
ing its image as a one-hit wonder
band from a regrettable decade of
glam and keyboard bands.
Grey retorts that any such per
ception of his band is “bollocks.”
“We have nothing to do with
the ’SOs^Grey said. “We have
done some retro-type concerts but
we try not to because we have new
material that was written in 1997.”
In 1982, Modern English
topped the British and then
American pop charts with what
would ultimately become its defin
itive and only memorable track, “J
Melt With You.” Although a few
minor hits followed, the band
seemed to stagnate. When group
members decided to leave the 4 AD
label, also home to moody pop
groups like Lush, Throwing Muses
and Belly, the band found that life
wasn’t always mesh and lace.
TVT Records picked up the
j band at the turn of the decade and
struck a deal with Modem English
to re-record “I Melt With You,”
releasing it on the new album,
“Pillow Lips.”
It was a huge success, earning
Modern*JEnglish a permanent
place in the rock ‘n’ roll annals as
the first rock group to have a num
ber one hit with the same song in
two different decades, Grey said.
After also running through
brief stints with Sire and Imago
Records, Modern English current
ly is seeking a new label to support
the band, which has revamped its
previously synthesized sound with
a new “electronic-music” groove.
Sure, it seems a bit redundant, or
possibly a manifestation of per
sonal denial, but Grey says, “It’s
the best stuff I’ve done with
Modern English in a long time.”
On tour, reactions to the group
have been mixed, Grey said. While
songs like “Sixteen Days,” “After
the Snow” and “I Melt With You”
are demanded by the crowd, Grey
said audiences have kept the
requests to a minimum.
“There are some of them, but a lot
of them now are 45 years old, and they
don’t have their hair down anymore,”
he said. “They are off having kids and
have grown up, and I haven’t.”
“I Melt With You” is easily the
best thing to happen to the frequent
ly jobless band. It almost surely
accounts for SO percent of crowd
attendance at concerts in the United
States, and also carried members
through some lean times when
Burger King used the track to pro
mote a new burger a few years ago.
Broke at the time, Grey said he and
other band members each earned
$ IOjQQQ from the commercial.
“It was quite funny because our
original keyboardist was vegetari
an,” Grey said. “But he didn’t com
plain when he saw the money.”
Grey admits that the turn-out for
Modem English concerts is “half and
half,” but he knows why people are at
the concert - Burger King or no.
“The crowd goes nuts every
time we play (‘I Melt With You”),
Grey said. “We put it'at the end of
the set so they have to stay.’
Call Knickerbockers af(402)
476-6865 for more information.
PHOTO COURTESY OF fttflAMOUNt PICTURES
RUDY (Matt Damon) and Deck (Danny DeVito) leave the courthouse having argued their first motion in “The Rainmaker.”
‘Rainmaker’ yields trite treat
By Sean McCarthy
Film Critic
“The Rainmaker” is the best John
Grisham film adaptation so far. But
that’s like saying “Hysteria” is Def
Leppard’s best album.
Though Grisham’s last film, “The
Chamber,” flopped, “The Rainmaker”
will likely attract audiences for the
Thanksgiving weekend. Director
Francis Ford Coppola has made an
enjoyable, well acted and sometimes
humorous movie. Unlike past Grisham
films, “The Rainmaker” has no chase
scenes. Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon)
gets to use a gun, but never Fires it.
The story follows Ba^oVs first
case, a suit filed by Donny Ray Black
(johnny Whitworth), a leukemia vic
tim, against a large, sinister insurance
corporation. Whitworth supplies
some of the most poignant moments
of the film with his subtle portrayal of
a withered man.
s Baylor decides to forgo the settle
ment offered by Leo Drummond (Jon
Voight), the head lawyer of the Great
Benefit firm. Drummond’s reptilian
smile and stare give off an intimidation
that keeps Baylor off guard. With
“Anaconda” and “The Rainmaker,” one
wonders if Voight has some snake fixa
tion when it comes to selecting his roles.
In what could have been a great
example of how the poor are con
stantly exploited by big business,
Coppola sticks to a “Rocky”-in-the
courtroom format. Some of
Drummond’s lawyers are fat; all of
them laugh and have the slippery
anile of most mqyie lawyer fiends.
Baylorisnot intimidated, though.
Deck Shifflet {Danny DeVito) shows
Baylor the ropes of the system. Never
shying from chasing an ambulance or
giving his number to a kid with a cast
at a funeral, DeVito is the scone steal
er of “The Rainmaker.”
Just in case a two-hour courtroom
movie may bore audiences, Coppola
adds a subplot about an abused spouse
that shares about the same time as the
insurance case. Kelly Riker (Claire
Danes) plays the victim who quickly
The Facts
Title: John Grisham's
“The Rainmaker*
Stars: Matt Damon, Claire Danes, Jon Voigt
Danny Devito
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Rating: PG-13 (violence, lawyers, language)
Grade: C+
Five Words: Underdogs battle fat, mean
lawyers.
becomes Baylor’s love interest.
Danes undoubtedly has talent. She
just needs the right director. In “The
Rainmaker,” she is expected to play a
frightened battered wife who immedi
ately latches on and falls in love with
Baylor when he visits her at a hospital.
Though die subplot seems like it does
n’t fit in with the flow of the film, it is
nice to see Andrew Shue get pulverized
with a bat near the end of the film.
Shue plays Cliff, who savagely batters
Kelly, even when she is in the hospital.
Other members of the cast do their
best with two-dimensional characters.
Mickey Rourke, always hurting for
Please see REVIEW on 10