"He was amazing and interesting and then tragic," his friend Bono says. Photo / Getty Images
"He was amazing and interesting and then tragic," his friend Bono says. Photo / Getty Images
KATHY McCABE News Corp Australia Network
EXCLUSIVE
It is Michael Hutchence as you have never seen him, a haunting picture of a father, son, brother and artist brought to life in a revealing new Seven documentary.
After the Never Tear Us Apart miniseries restored the INXS legacy, the Seven Network'sMark Llewellyn embarked on a two-year quest to document the charismatic frontman's final years, reports news.com.au.
The rock legend was found dead in a Sydney hotel room in November 1997.
The first look at Michael Hutchence - The Last Rockstar reveals private photos of the singer and actor asleep with his baby daughter Tiger Lily on his chest.
Home movies show the singer kissing his then partner, supermodel Helena Christensen as they celebrate Christmas with his family including late father Kel, brother Rhett and sister Tina. Llewellyn was given unprecedented access to the singer's estate, unearthing diaries, home movies, photos, instruments and prized possessions. But most sensationally, the documentary trailer reveals the last lyrics he is believed to have penned before he died in a hotel room in the Ritz Carlton hotel in Double Bay on November 22, 1997.
"Look at the mess Your making Look at the mess Across your face All the bitterness Has started showing Five years No one hears Just another heart Too scared to b ..."
The final word is difficult to discern in his handwriting, which he had written over a few times as he composed the lyrics.
The documentary also interviews the musicians who became his closest confidants in his final years including U2 frontman Bono, who he would holiday with at their homes in the south of France.
"He was amazing and interesting and then tragic," his friend Bono says.
"We're all realising just how great a singer we lost as well as a friend."
INXS perfoms in London - 1996, Michael Hutchence And Shaun Ryder. Photo /Getty Images
The promo is soundtracked by Don't Save Me From Myself, a song from his self-titled debut album released in 1999, two years after his death and dedicated simply "To Tiger".
The Last Rockstar has also unearthed the last songs Hutchence recorded with the two men he collaborated with in the last few years of his life, Andy Gill and Danny Saber.
They co-wrote and helped him produce dozens of songs, some released on his debut solo record.
Llewellyn said the documentary took two years to make across five countries and it will air before the 20th anniversary of his death in November.
"This is not Michael Hutchence defined by how he died but by how he lived: a brilliant musician, a brilliant man, a loving father, a true rock star," said executive producer Mark Llewellyn.
"This is not a biopic treading over old territory - this will make headlines around the world."
New music, new revelations, and the most beautiful home video and insights from his closest friends and family - most of whom have never spoken publicly before.
"Michael left more questions than answers when he left us, and this documentary will provide those answers and much, much more," Mr Llewellyn said.
Seven's investigation will be the first comprehensive Hutchence documentary to air in the wake of the phenomenal success of the miniseries which catapulted INXS back into the charts in 2014 and has kept them there since.
The band's manager Chris Murphy also announced last year he was producing a feature film on Hutchence in a major deal with Universal Music Group.
It is being directed by another of the singer's closest friends, filmmaker Richard Lowenstein, who shot several of the band's videos including What You Need and Never Tear Us Apart.
Former owner of the X Studios in Kings Cross, Ron Creevey also announced last year he had been working on a Hutchence project.
Seven's film The Last Rockstar will air as INXS unveil their plans to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary at a masquerade party in Sydney in October.
