INXS Documentary ‘Mystify’ Shows Dark Life Of Singer Michael Hutchence

A new documentary detailing the life of INXS singer and songwriter Michael Hutchence reveals the darker side of the life of the 1980s frontman and the circumstances that led to his untimely death at the age of 37 by suicide.

The first official trailer for Mystify just dropped, and the upcoming documentary about the life and death of one of the biggest rock stars to ever emerge from the Australian music scene features interviews with his family and friends, as well as previously unseen footage. The film paints a picture of the man that fans of INXS thought they knew through his music, but in fact, likely didn’t know at all.

In the trailer, one of Hutchence’s pals states in a voiceover, “You know when there’s one person in the room that has that special light? That was him.”

Billboard reported that the film is named after the final single from the band’s iconic smash 1987 album Kick. It was directed by Richard Lowenstein, the same director for the band’s music videos for the tunes “What You Need,” “Need You Tonight,” and “Never Tear Us Apart.” Lowenstein also directed Hutchence in his 1986 feature film debut, Dogs in Space.

Billboard also reported that the film reveals a little-known fact about the singer, who once dated supermodel Helena Christensen. The outlet wrote that there was an incident in 1992 when Hutchence was bicycling with Christensen while on vacation together and an angry taxi driver knocked the INXS frontman to the ground, causing him to hit his head on the curb and lose consciousness. This incident led Hutchence to lose his senses of taste and smell.

Hutchence began an affair with Paula Yates in the year before his death. Yates was married to singer and humanitarian Bob Geldof at the time, and the couple shared three daughters — Fifi, Peaches, and Pixie. Yates and Hutchence would go on to have one child together, daughter Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, in 1996.

Reportedly, the singer suffered a brain injury after he hit his head, and this exacerbated his already dark thoughts, leading him to take his own life on November 22, 1997, hanging himself with his own belt. Just three years after Hutchence’s death, Yates died of a heroin overdose at the age of 41. Tiger Lily would eventually be brought up by Geldof along with his other three daughters.

In a tragic twist to this sad story, the daughter of Yates and Geldof, Peaches Geldof, died at the age of 25, also of a heroin overdose.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. For readers outside the U.S., visit Suicide.org or Befrienders Worldwide for international resources you can use to find help.