Michael Hutchence (coming to the big screen) & INXS

15 years ago this week, the charismatic frontman of Aussie rock gods INXS, Michael Hutchence, took his own life.

And now there's a biopic in the works: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20459079

"It's a big task," said screenwriter Bobby Galinsky, best known for the hit 1990 film Flatliners, starring Julia Roberts and Kiefer Sutherland.

"I've been a writer for 35 years and this is something I've wanted to do for over a decade and everything has now come together," he told ABC radio.

The film will be based on a book by the late INXS singer's mother and sister.

Galinsky, who obtained the rights to the book Just A Man - The Real Michael Hutchence, intends the film to be a biopic in the style of Oscar-nominated movies Ray and Walk The Line, covering the entirety of Hutchence's life.

And it wouldn't be a thread of mine if I didn't have some music shows to review on the subject...

The Loved One: The Michael Hutchence Story
This was an entertaining hour from 2004, covering the story from the early days of INXS, the slow rise to success, the impact of 'Kick', his personal romances with Kylie Minogue, Helena Christiansen and ultimately Paula Yates, the unfortunate accident which left him with a hairline fracture of the skull, his subsequent problems with medicines, and his fateful suicide, and the funeral. The most interesting talking heads were INXS' manager, the record producer who helped them with their biggest successes, but mostly Michael's father Kell, who sadly died soon after this show was made. Hutch was a great 'lost' frontman, comparable with the Bonos or Dave Gahans of this world, but who was cut short in his prime.

INXS: Kick - Track by Track
Three of the band talk through their biggest album success, with some archive additions from Michael. They fondly remember the pain of making the 'New Sensation' video in Prague, how 'Need You Tonight' sprang to life from a dodgy demo, that 'Deviate' s video homaged 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' and that 'Never Tear Us Apart' cemented their reputation for songwriting.

Taken together (or separately), these shows do much to reiterate what a great band INXS were, and how much was lost on that tragic night in November 1997

INXS: Live at the Rockpalast
From Jun 1997, Michael Hutchence tries to be the Australian rock god frontman. Again, many familiar hits and big choruses, although sadly they seem to have become rather forgotten these days.

Behind The Music: Michael Hutchence
Family and friends sing the praises of the Aussie rock god. I maybe never appreciated how they had become steadily more successful in the USA before hitting the UK, but 'Kick' is generally agreed as their peak, whereafter the wheels started to fall off. But possibly things might still have been different were it not for the fateful fight where he sustained a head injury which he didn't get checked out for weeks, and which left him with some permanent sensory loss. With his daughter Tiger Lily approaching maturity, it seems there's probably still more mileage left in the story, not least from 'forgotten' solo album tracks.

Sad news for INXS fans: INXS guitarist Tim Farriss severs finger in accident

INXS guitarist Tim Farriss has said he may never play the guitar properly again after severing his finger in a boating accident.

Farriss, 57, caught his left hand while operating a winch on his boat in Sydney last month, severing his ring finger.

He has undergone surgery twice to try to reattach the finger but has been left with permanent hand damage.

Ouch

Still no sight of the project from the OP.

INXS - Live Baby Live
A famous show from Wembley Stadium, in July 1991, and a good hour or so of hits. Hutchence was in great form, and the rest of the band sounded good.

Mystify - Michael Hutchence
A new & lengthy effort, done with audios. INXS were going fairly good guns until Michael's fateful attack and a combination of poor medical care and poor self-medicating didn't help. His revolving love-life was another area where he seemed to be self-destructive (after brief runs with Kylie Minogue and Helena Christensen, he finally settled with Paula Yates, who was even more of a case than him). Yates' stormy break-up with Bob Geldof led unfortunately to Michael's breaking point. Crazy to realise the band packed in so much into a relatively short career - they would otherwise no doubt still be touring and wowing to this day.