Never Tear Us Apart: Remembering INXS Frontman Michael Hutchence 15 Years After His Death

They don't really make rock stars like Michael Hutchence anymore.

The lead singer and co-founder of INXS died 15 years ago today.

According to rock historian Ian McFarlane, Hutchence was "the archetypal rock showman. He exuded an overtly sexual, macho cool with his flowing locks, and lithe and exuberant stage movements."

It looks like he'll be getting the film treatment, too: screenwriter Bobby Galinsky announced today that he's working on a screenplay titled 'Two Worlds Colliding,' based on the book 'Just a Man: The Real Michael Hutchence,' which was written by the singer's mother and sister.

INXS got started in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. They put out their self-titled first album in 1980, which spawned their first Top 40 hit in Australia, 'Just Keep Walking.'

But their breakthrough came with album number five, 'Listen Like Thieves,' released in '85. The song 'What You Need' was a top five single in the U.S., marking their first major international success.

Their next album, 'Kick,' was their best-selling (it sold over 6 million units).

And how rock 'n' roll is this? When Atlantic Records first heard the album, they hated it. They even offered the band $1 million to go back to Australia and record something else.

Seems like they were wrong. 'Kick' spawned four U.S. top 10 singles: 'New Sensation,' 'Never Tear Us Apart,' 'Devil Inside,' and 'Need You Tonight.'

The band also won some awards for their work: they took home six Australian Recording Industry Awards (ARIA), and they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001, four years after Hutchence's death.

They also took home two Brit Awards in 1991 (Best International Group and an individual award for Hutchence - Best International Male), and were nominated for three Grammy Awards over the course of their career.

But success didn't necessarily mean happiness for Michael.

Although he was an international star, and regularly in the press for his relationships with actresses, models and singers, he offered a word of caution for people who believed that fame would solve their problems:

"I don't think success arrives and you're suddenly happy," he said. "If people think like that they'll be very disappointed."

On November 22, 1997, Michael took his own life in a Sydney hotel room, according to the official coroner's report - although there has been some controversy over the cause of death, and whether he intended to end his life.

Paula Yates, a TV presenter with whom Hutchence had a child the year before, gave an interview in 1999 contradicting the coroner's report. She claimed his death was an accident, and that he was practicing auto-erotic asphyxiation. Yates committed suicide in September, 2000.

INXS continued after Hutchence's death with a series of lead singers. But on November 12, they announced they are breaking up, after 35 years making music together.

Check out our tribute to Hutchence on the latest episode of the Strombo Show.

And in honour of Michael Hutchence's life and legacy, here are George's 15 top picks from the INXS discography.

Don't Change - Shabooh Shoobah