BBC Music today announces MYSTIFY Michael Hutchence, a major new documentary about the life of the INXS frontman, which will be broadcast on BBC Two. The film is an intimate portrait that uncovers the secret and mysterious side of the lead singer and songwriter.
Written and directed by Richard Lowenstein, who worked on some of the band’s early music videos, the film is co-produced by the BBC. Featuring rare archive footage and intimate insights from friends, lovers, family, colleagues and Michael Hutchence himself, the film portrays his life from the beginning of his fractured family background to the peaks of rock stardom.
Sophisticated and gregarious, yet shy and insecure, Michael Hutchence was the perfect mix of contradictions. He came to epitomise the very definition of leather clad sexually magnetic rock front man, but underneath it all he was a poetic and gentle soul. While seducing the world’s most desirable women, his childhood sweetheart remained a life-long confidante until the day he died. His famously uninhibited stage performances were only made possible when protecting himself from the audience in a myopic out-of-focus cocoon. MYSTIFY presents an intimate narrative portrait imbued with authenticity, warmth and humour as Michael’s friends, lovers, band-members, family, collaborators - and Hutchence himself - guide viewers through a trajectory from unconventional fractured childhood to charismatic, turbulent and ultimately tragic public stardom… the quintessential Rock God.
Jan Younghusband, Head of TV commissioning, BBC Music says: “Michael Hutchence was one of the most influential and charismatic rock stars of the modern era, and I'm delighted that this moving documentary will air on BBC Two.”
Those who were closest to him are interviewed for the film, including Helena Christensen and Michele Bennett – neither of whom have ever spoken publicly about Michael until now, Kylie Minogue, Kathy Lette, Bono, Garry Gary Beers, Andrew Farriss, Jon Farriss, Tim Farriss, Dennis Farriss, Tina Hutchence, Rhett Hutchence, Susie Hutchence, , Ananda Braxton-Smith, Belinda Brewin, Chris Bailey, Nick Conroy, Gary Grant, Erin Hamilton, Dr Rachel Hertz, Nick Launay, Leslie Lewis, Lian Lunson, John Martin, Jenny Morris, Chris Murphy, Kirk Pengilly, Chris Thomas and Martha Troup.
It features personal footage filmed by and courtesy of Michael Hutchence, Kylie Minogue, Michele Bennett, his family - Kell Hutchence, Susie Hutchence, Rhett Hutchence and Tina Hutchence, INXS bass guitarist Garry Gary Beers and others.
MYSTIFY Michael Hutchence is produced Maya Gnyp, John Battsek, Sue Murray, Mark Fennessy, Richard Lowenstein, Lynn-Maree Milburn and Andrew de Groot. A Ghost Pictures and Passion Pictures production, co-produced by BBC Television.
BBC Music is the corporation’s strongest commitment to music in 30 years – comprising of new partnerships and ground-breaking music initiatives. BBC Music has created music mixes for the BBC Sounds app, which brings together unmissable music, radio and podcasts, live and on-demand in a personalised single app and website. Highlights from last year include BBC Music’s Biggest Weekend (a music festival across four sites in four nations with over 175 000 people in attendance) in May as well as live coverage of the Mercury Prize on TV and Radio in September. Ten Pieces, the classical music initiative for schools which aims to open up the world of classical music to children, returns for its sixth year. BBC Music will present at many summer festivals around the UK this summer including Glastonbury 2019. Recent TV programming includes: Kylie Live at Radio 2 in Hyde Park (which reunited her onstage with Jason Donovan), Ariana Grande at the BBC and Madness Rocks Big Ben Live on BBC One; Later… with Jools Holland, Our Classical Century, BBC Young Musician and David Bowie: Finding Fame on BBC Two; Primal Scream: The Lost Memphis Tapes, Back to Black, Boys on Film – A Night with Duran Duran, BROS: After the Screaming Stops (which had the largest number of iPlayer requests for a music programme broadcast in 2018) and The Defiant Ones on BBC Four. Coming up this year, BBC One presents The Hit List a new music quiz show hosted by Rochelle and Marvin Humes as well as the ABBA special.
