Michael Hutchence | |
|---|---|
 Hutchence in 1986 | |
| Born | (1960-01-22)22 January 1960 Sydney, Australia |
| Died | 22 November 1997(1997-11-22) (aged 37) Sydney, Australia |
| Cause of death | Suicide by hanging |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1977–1997 |
| Partner(s) | Michele Bennett (1982–1987) Paula Yates (1995–1997) |
| Children | Tiger Hutchence-Geldof |
| Parents |
|
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | michaelhutchence |
Musical artist | |
Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lead singer and lyricist of the rock bandINXS from 1977 until his death in 1997. The band sold over 50 million records worldwide, making them one of Australia's highest-selling music acts of all time. They were inducted into theARIA Hall of Fame in 2001.
Hutchence was also a member of the short-lived bandMax Q and recorded some solo material, alongside acting in films such asDogs in Space (1986) andFrankenstein Unbound (1990). He was known for his string of love affairs with actresses, models and singers and his private life was often covered in the international press. He had a daughter,Tiger Hutchence-Geldof, with British television presenterPaula Yates. Hutchence died by suicide in aSydney hotel room on 22 November 1997 at the age of 37.
Michael Hutchence was born in theCrows Nest suburb of Sydney on 22 January 1960,[1][2] the son of make-up artistPatricia Glassop and businessman Kelland Frank "Kell" Hutchence.[3] He had an elder half-sister named Tina.[4] His paternal grandparents were an English couple who had relocated to Sydney in 1922,[5] while his maternal grandfather was fromCounty Cork, Ireland.[6]
Following Kell's business interests, the Hutchence family moved toBrisbane, where Hutchence's younger brother Rhett was born. They later left Australia forHong Kong. During the early years in Hong Kong, both boys attendedGlenealy Junior School andBeacon Hill School. Hutchence showed promise as a swimmer before badly breaking his arm. He then began to show interest in poetry and performed his first song in a local toy store commercial. He later attendedKing George V School during his early teens. The family returned to Sydney in 1972, buying a house inBelrose.[7]
Hutchence attendedDavidson High School, where he met and befriendedAndrew Farriss. Around this time, the two spent a lot of time jamming with Farriss's brothersTim andJon in the garage. Farriss convinced Hutchence to join his band, Doctor Dolphin, alongside their classmates Kent Kerny and Neil Sanders. BassistGarry Beers and drummer Geoff Kennelly from nearbyForest High School completed the line-up.[8]
Hutchence's parents separated when he was 15 and he lived with his mother and half-sister inCalifornia for a short time in 1976.[9] He later returned to Sydney with them. In 1977, a new band called the Farriss Brothers was formed with Andrew on keyboards, Tim on lead guitar and Jon on drums. Hutchence joined on vocals and Beers on bass, whileKirk Pengilly joined on guitar and saxophone.[10][11] The band made their debut on 16 August 1977 at a venue inWhale Beach.[12]
Hutchence, the Farriss brothers, Kerny, Sanders, Beers and Kennelly briefly performed as the Vegetables, singing "We Are the Vegetables".[12] Ten months later, they returned to Sydney and recorded a set of demos.[8] The Farriss Brothers regularly supportedhard rockersMidnight Oil on thepub rock circuit, and were renamed as INXS in 1979.[12] Their first performance under the new name was on 1 September at the Oceanview Hotel inToukley.[8] In May 1980, the group released their first single, "Simple Simon"/"We Are the Vegetables", which was followed by the debut albumINXS in October.[10] Their first Top 40 Australian hit on theKent Music Report Singles Chart, "Just Keep Walking", was released in September 1980.[13] Hutchence became the main spokesman for the band,[10] and co-wrote almost all of the band's songs with Andrew Farriss.[9]
According to Hutchence, most of the songs on the band's second album,Underneath the Colours, were written within a fairly short space of time: "Most bands shudder at the prospect of having 20 years to write their first album and four days to write their second. For us, though, it was good. It left less room for us to go off on all sorts of tangents."[8] Soon afterrecording sessions forUnderneath the Colours – produced byRichard Clapton – had finished, band members started work on outside projects. Hutchence recorded "Speed Kills", written byDon Walker of hard rockersCold Chisel, for the soundtrack to the 1982 filmFreedom, directed byScott Hicks. It was Hutchence's first solo single and was released byWEA in April 1982.[8]
In March 1985, after Hutchence and INXS recorded their albumThe Swing (1984), WEA released the Australian version ofDekadance as a limited editioncassette onlyEP of six tracks includingremixes from the album. The cassette also included acover version ofNancy Sinatra andLee Hazlewood's hit "Jackson", which Hutchence sang as aduet withJenny Morris, a backing singer forThe Swing sessions.[10] The EP reached No 2 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart.[13] Hutchence provided vocals for new wave bandBeargarden's 1985 single release.[14]
On 19 May 1984, INXS won seven awards at theCountdown Music and Video Awards ceremony, including Best Songwriter for Hutchence and Andrew, and Most Popular Male for Hutchence.[10][15] They performed "Burn for You" dressed inAkubras (a brand of hats) andDrizabones (a brand of outdoor coats/oilskin jackets) followed by Hutchence and Morris singing "Jackson" to close.[15]
In 1986, Hutchence played Sam, the male lead in the Australian filmDogs in Space, directed by long-time INXS music video collaboratorRichard Lowenstein. Hutchence provided four songs to the film's soundtrack.[16][17] Also working on the film and its soundtrack, as music director, wasOllie Olsen (ex-Whirlywirld).[18][19]
Late in 1986, before commencing work on a new INXS album and while supposedly taking an eight-month break, the band's management decided to stage theAustralian Made tour as a series of major outdoor concerts across the country. The roster featured INXS,Jimmy Barnes (Cold Chisel),Models,Divinyls,Mental as Anything,the Triffids andI'm Talking.[12] To promote the tour, Hutchence and Barnes shared vocals onthe Easybeats cover "Good Times" and "Laying Down the Law", which Barnes co-wrote with Beers, Andrew Farriss, Jon Farriss, Hutchence and Pengilly.[20] "Good Times" was used as the theme for the concert series of 1986–1987.[12] It peaked at No. 2 on the Australian charts,[13] and months later was featured in theJoel Schumacher filmThe Lost Boys and itssoundtrack,[21] allowing it to peak at No. 47 in the US on 1 August 1987.[22] Divinyls' lead singerChrissy Amphlett enjoyed the tour and reconnected with Hutchence, stating that "[he] was a sweet man, who said in one interview that he wanted me to have his baby".[12] In 1987, Hutchence provided vocals for Richard Clapton's albumGlory Road, which was produced by Jon Farriss.[14]
INXS releasedKick in October 1987, and the album provided the band with worldwide popularity.Kick peaked at No. 1 in Australia,[13] No. 3 on the USBillboard 200,[23] No. 9 in UK,[24] and No. 15 in Austria.[25] The band's most successful studio album,Kick has been certified six times platinum by theRIAA and spawned four US top 10 singles ("New Sensation", "Never Tear Us Apart", "Devil Inside" and "Need You Tonight", the last reaching the top of the USBillboard singles charts).[26][27] According to1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them, the single "Need You Tonight" is not lyrically complex; it is Hutchence's performance where "he sings in kittenish whisper, gently drawing back with the incredible lust of a tiger hunting in the night" that makes the song "as sexy and funky as any white rock group has ever been".[28] In September 1988, the band swept the MTV Video Music Awards with the video for "Need You Tonight/Mediate" winning in five categories.[29]
In 1989, Hutchence collaborated further with Olsen for theMax Q project and was joined by members of Olsen's previous groups including Whirlywirld,No andOrchestra of Skin and Bone.[19] They released aself-titled album and three singles, "Way of the World", "Sometimes" and "Monday Night by Satellite". Max Q disbanded in 1990.[18][19]Max Q showed Hutchence exploring the darker side of his music and, with Olsen, he created "one of the most innovative dance music albums of the decade". Hutchence wrote most of the music and provided "an extraordinary performance ... it was one of the most significant statements Hutchence was to make".[28] In 1990, Hutchence portrayed nineteenth-century Romantic poetPercy Shelley inRoger Corman's film version ofFrankenstein Unbound, which was based on a science fiction time travel story of the same name written byBrian Aldiss.[30]
In 1990, INXS releasedX, which spawned more international hits such as "Suicide Blonde" and "Disappear" (both Top 10 in the US).[22] "Suicide Blonde" peaked at No. 2 in Australia and No. 11 in the UK.[24] Hutchence, with Andrew Farriss, wrote the song after Hutchence's then-girlfriend,Kylie Minogue, used the phrase "suicide blonde" to describe her look during her 1989 filmThe Delinquents; the film depicted Minogue in a platinum blonde wig.[31] Hutchence won Best International Artist at the1991 BRIT Awards with INXS winning the related group award.[10] Hutchence provided vocals for pub rockersNoiseworks' albumLove Versus Money (1991).[14]Welcome to Wherever You Are was released by INXS in August 1992. It received good critical reviews and went to No. 1 in the UK.[24]
Hutchence and INXS faced reduced commercial success withFull Moon, Dirty Hearts, especially in the US. The band took time off to rest and be with their families, while Hutchence remained in the public eye through his romances.[10][32] He commenced work on a self-titled solo album in the mid-1990s.[10] After a period of inactivity and releases that received lukewarm reviews, INXS recorded the band's 10th official album,Elegantly Wasted, in 1996.
Hutchence was abaritone.[33][34][35] His vocal range spanned from thebass B1 to the hightenor F#5.[36] In 2013,News.com.au ranked Hutchence fourth in a list of the 15 greatest Australian singers of all time.[37]Billboard described Hutchence as "charismatic" with a "seductive purr and [a] lithe, magnetic stage presence".[38] Paul Donoughue, of Australia'sABC, wrote that Hutchence had "a phenomenal voice — moody, sexual, and dynamic, able to shift effortlessly from fragile to cocksure".[39] Reviewing an INXS concert, Dave Simpson ofThe Guardian wrote that "Watching Hutchence, hair flailing, crotch thrusting, a mischievous smile forever creeping across his leathery face, I realised that here was a man born to be onstage, living and loving every minute, an explosion of sexual energy."[40] Hutchence biographer Toby Creswell asserted that "Hutchence was, without question, one of the truly great frontmen — he expressed the music in a dynamic way that few others could."[41]
According toPeople, Hutchence's "public brawls and onetime open drug use" led London tabloids to dub him the "wild man of rock".[42] Between 1982 and 1987, he dated Australian film producerMichele Bennett,[43] with whom he shared a flat inPaddington along with New Zealand-Australian singerJenny Morris, who was INXS's backing vocalist.[44] Bennett inspired INXS's 1988 hit song "Never Tear Us Apart",[45] and introduced Hutchence to Australian filmmakerRichard Lowenstein, who ended up directing several music videos for INXS, including the one for "Never Tear Us Apart".[46] According to Hutchence's sister, Tina, Bennett was the only woman that Hutchence said he had considered marrying.[47] Lowenstein, who was close friends with Hutchence, also said that he believed that Bennett was the only woman that Hutchence would marry; "I always felt that, after everything, he'd go back and marry Michele and have a baby with her," he toldThe Independent in 1998.[48] Bennett and Hutchence remained close friends after the end of their relationship and she was described as Hutchence's "first real love",[49] his "closest friend and confidante".[48]
He was romantically linked to Australian singer and actressKylie Minogue between 1989 and 1991,[50] American singerBelinda Carlisle,[51][52] Danish modelHelena Christensen between 1991 and 1995,[53] and Australian actressKym Wilson.[54]
In August 1992, Hutchence and Christensen were riding their bicycles at night inCopenhagen when he refused to move for a taxi.[55] They were eating pizza when, unbeknown to him, the taxi tried to get through the narrow street but "didn't beep its horn or anything".[56] The taxi driver assaulted Hutchence, causing him to fall backwards and hit his head on the pavement; he suffered afractured skull.[48] Hutchence did not immediately seek medical assistance for the injury and waited several days before seeing a doctor. He was left withbrain damage and almost completely lost his sense of smell, as well as losing a significant amount of his sense of taste.[57][58] The injury led to periods of depression and increased levels of aggression, and he had still not fully recovered after two weeks in a Copenhagen hospital. According to INXS bandmate Beers, Hutchence brandished a knife and threatened to kill him during the 1993 recording ofFull Moon, Dirty Hearts. Beers recalled, "Over those six weeks, Michael threatened or physically confronted nearly every member of the band."[59]
In the mid-1990s, Hutchence became romantically involved with British television presenterPaula Yates.[60] They met in 1985, during an interview for the British TV programThe Tube. Yates interviewed him again in 1994 for herBig Breakfast show, and their affair was soon uncovered by the British press.[32] At the time, Yates was married tothe Boomtown Rats singer andLive Aid organiserBob Geldof.[61] Media scrutiny was intense, and Hutchence assaulted a photographer who had followed them. Yates's separation from Geldof in February 1995 sparked a public and at times bittercustody battle over their daughters. Yates and Geldof divorced in May 1996.[62]
On 22 July 1996, Yates gave birth to her daughter with Hutchence,Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, who was born in the bathroom of their London home while Hutchence helped with the delivery.[63][64][65] In September 1996, Yates and Hutchence made headlines when they were arrested for suspicion ofdrug possession after the family nanny reportedly found a small amount ofopium in a shoebox underneath their bed. The case was dropped due to lack of evidence.[66] Yates died on 17 September 2000 of an accidental heroin overdose; she was discovered in the presence of her and Hutchence's then four-year-old daughter.[67] Soon after Yates's death, Geldof assumed foster custody of their daughter so that she could be brought up with her three older half-sisters, Fifi,Peaches andPixie.[68] In 2007, their daughter was adopted by Geldof,[69][70][71] who legally changed her surname, despite opposition from Hutchence's mother and sister.[72] Her full legal name became Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence-Geldof.[73]
On 22 November 1997, at the age of 37, Hutchence was found dead in his room at theRitz-Carlton hotel in theDouble Bay suburb of Sydney. His cause of death was recorded assuicide by hanging.[74][10][75] ActressKym Wilson, who visited Hutchence in his hotel room the previous evening, was the last person to see him alive.[76]
Earlier that year, Hutchence and INXS had started a world tour to support the April 1997 release ofElegantly Wasted.[10] 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.[77]
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".[75][78]
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 am; the coroner was satisfied that this was Hutchence arguing with Geldof.[75][78]
At 9:54 am on 22 November, Hutchence spoke with a former girlfriend,Michele Bennett, who was the last person that he called on the morning of his death.[79] According to Bennett, Hutchence was crying, sounded upset, said he could not sleep and told her he needed to see her.[80] Bennett arrived at his hotel room door at about 10:40 am, but there was no response, so she thought he had fallen asleep and wrote him a note and left it at reception.[81][82] Hutchence's body was discovered by a hotel maid at 11:50 am.[81] Police reported that Hutchence was found "in a kneeling position facing the door. He had used hissnakeskin 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."[75]
Following Hutchence's death, some of his friends, relatives and doctors provided statements to the police.[81] Bennett, who made her phone records available to the detectives without them requesting it,[83] said on her police statement that Hutchence had never expressed previous suicidal inclinations.[81] Hutchence's mother, Patricia Glassop, said that he was in a depressed state.[81] On 17 October 1997, Hutchence consulted a London psychiatrist, Mark Collins, in regard to a minor depression that he was experiencing. Dr. Collins stated that there was no hint of suicidal thinking by Hutchence.[81] Hutchence was prescribedProzac for the first time in December 1995 by Dr. J. Borham, a London medical practitioner, to treat a depressive problem. He was prescribed Prozac for the last time on 1 November 1997, three weeks before his death.[81]
On 6 February 1998, after anautopsy andcoronial inquest, New South Wales'sstate 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.[75] "An analysis report of Hutchence's blood [indicated] the presence of alcohol,cocaine,Prozac and prescription drugs."[81] In producing his coroner's report, Hand had specifically considered the suggestions of accidental death (coupled with the fact that Hutchence left nosuicide note), but had discounted them based on substantial evidence presented to the contrary.[75][78][84] In a 1999 interview on60 Minutes (and in a documentary film onChannel 4), Yates claimed that Hutchence's death might have resulted fromautoerotic asphyxiation; this claim contradicted her previous statements to police investigators and the coroner.[85]
While researching for his 2019 documentaryMystify: Michael Hutchence, directorRichard Lowenstein found six or seven interviews where Hutchence mentioned suicide, stating things such as: "no one minds if you kill yourself".[57] Lowenstein also found stick figures that Hutchence had made of himself with a noose around his neck in his diaries from the 1980s.[57] Lowenstein had access to Hutchence's full autopsy report[86] and said there was no evidence of autoerotic asphyxiation in it.[57] Hutchence's body being found naked also contributed to the myth created by Yates and spread by British tabloids that his death was the result from autoerotic asphyxiation. But his sister Tina said in her 2000 bookJust a Man: The Real Michael Hutchence that he had the habit of sleeping naked since his teens.[87] Lowenstein stated in a 2019 interview that Hutchence would often lounge naked in his hotel room, even when Lowenstein visited him. "Unfortunately, Michael dying from autoerotic asphyxiation was a rumour spread after he died for certain people wanting to hide that he wasn't depressed, that he was more than happy. The press went berserk, but there was absolutely no evidence. [...] It just didn't add up. He's ringing his longtime girlfriend, Michele (Bennett), 20 minutes before (his death). You don't ring someone crying, balling your eyes out and then go off and have some autoeroticism 20 minutes later when she's banging on the door and you're not alive anymore. I don't think that's possible", he said.[88] Lowenstein also asked all of Hutchence's girlfriends if he liked being strangled or tied up, but all of them said "no".[89]
On 27 November 1997, Hutchence's funeral was held atSt 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, and former girlfriendsKylie Minogue andHelena Christensen.[48] The funeral was broadcast live on Australian television.[90] 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.[91]Nick Cave, a friend of Hutchence, performed his 1997 song "Into My Arms" during the funeral and requested that television cameras be switched off.[90] Hutchence's parents asked that in lieu of flowers, donations should be sent toUNICEF and theStarlight Foundation.[91] 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.[92]
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.[92] The portion that went to his mother was buried atForest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California.[93] The portion that went to his father was scattered intoSydney Harbour, inRose Bay, on what would have been Hutchence's 38th birthday on 22 January 1998,[93][94] and a tombstone was placed atNorthern Suburbs Memorial Gardens in North Ryde, Sydney.[93] Yates kept her portion of Hutchence's ashes in a cushion she slept with.[93]
After Hutchence's death, INXS continued recording and performing until 2012. According to theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), INXS have sold 15 million units in the United States alone.[95] As of 2018, INXS have sold over 50 million records worldwide.[96][97] INXS were inducted into theARIA Hall of Fame in 2001.[98]
Hutchence's solo album,Michael Hutchence, was released in October 1999.[10] He had started on the album in 1995, recording songs in between INXS sessions; he had last worked on it three days before his death. The last song he recorded was "Possibilities".[10] The album includes "Slide Away", a duet with U2'sBono;[99] Bono's vocals were recorded after Hutchence's death.[99] The 1999 movieLimp includes acameo by Hutchence.[100]
On 18 June 2000, Hutchence's motherPatricia Glassop and his sister Tina Hutchence released their bookJust a Man: The Real Michael Hutchence,[101] which has been described as "an odd biography ... [that] combines the basic facts of Hutchence's early life ... with an almost too-intimate view of the authors' feelings".[102]
On 20 August 2005, Melbourne'sThe Age reported on the disposition of Hutchence's estate and assets, which, although estimated at between $10 million and $20 million, amounted to virtually nothing. The remainder of his estate had reportedly been sold off or swallowed in legal fees.[103]
A documentary about Hutchence,Michael Hutchence: The Last Rockstar, aired on Australia'sSeven Network in 2017.[104][105] In 2019,Mystify: Michael Hutchence—another documentary about Hutchence's life directed byRichard Lowenstein—was released.[106]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [107] | UK [108] | |||
| Michael Hutchence |
| 3 | 90 | |
| Mystify: A Musical Journey with Michael Hutchence |
| 28 [110] | — | |
| Title | Release | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [107][111] | |||
| "Speed Kills" | 1982 | — | Freedom (soundtrack) |
| "Rooms for the Memory" | 1987 | 11 | Dogs in Space (soundtrack) |
| "A Straight Line" | 1999 | 44 | Michael Hutchence |
| "Friction"[112] | 2015 | — | Non-album single |
| "Spill the Wine"[113] | 2019 | — | Mystify: A Musical Journey with Michael Hutchence |
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Forest Theme" (with Don Walker) | 1982 | Freedom (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
| "Dogs in Space", "Golf Course" and "The Green Dragon" | 1987 | Dogs in Space (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
| "Under My Thumb" (with theLondon Symphony Orchestra) | 1994 | Symphonic Music of the Rolling Stones |
| "Baby Let's Play House" (withNRBQ) | It's Now or Never: The Tribute to Elvis | |
| "The Passenger" | 1995 | Batman Forever Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
| "Spill the Wine" | 1996 | Barb Wire Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
| "Red Hill" | One Voice: The Songs of Chage & Aska | |
| "The King Is Gone" (withthe Heads) | 1996 | No Talking, Just Head |
TheAPRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by theAustralasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982.[121]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | "Break My Heart" byDua Lipa (Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence, Dua Lipa, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Ali Tamposi, Andrew Watt) | Song of the Year | Shortlisted | [122] |
| Most Performed Pop Work | Nominated | [123] | ||
| Most Performed Australian Work | Nominated |
The Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 2004 to honour the lifetime achievements of some of Australia's greatest songwriters.[124]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Himself | Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame | inducted |
Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcasterABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazineTV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.[125][126]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Himself (withAndrew Farriss) | Best Songwriter | Won |
| Himself | Most Popular Male Performer | Won | |
| Himself ("Burn for You" by INXS) | Best Male Performance in a Video | Nominated | |
| 1986 | Himself | Most Popular Male Performer | Nominated |
The only woman I have ever heard him say he would wed, is Michele Bennett.
