Michael: My Brother, Lost Boy of INXS

This quick read is a good deep dive into the life of one of rock music’s most talented frontmen. What I appreciate most is the honest take of Michael’s life from someone separate from the biz: his own sister. She sets record straight on a number of things that the tabloid media conveniently left out: that this was a sensitive, intelligent & caring man.My only criticism is the divergence into The who-what-where of Michael’s career. He worked with a lot of people & felt it was not needed. Dragged story down.

It must have been very bittersweet for Tina and her collaborator to write this book. Michael's early departure on this earthly plane is still painful to me, and I'm not even related to him. It fills in a lot of blanks. Not a day goes by that I don't think about Michael or listen to INXS music.

I have read Tina Hutchence’s book Michael My Brother, Lost Boy of INXS and found her book to be very well written and a very enjoyable read for anyone who is a fan of Michael Hutchence and INXS to this day. You can feel the love she has for her brother and here sincere wish that fans and anyone who knew or heard of her brother to know the truth about his life. Michael is truly an enigma and Tina’s book sheds a wonderful light on him. He was shy, charismatic, complex, gentle, intelligent, funny and had a beautiful heart. Michael’s story is funny, sweet, complicated, at times angering because of injustices, and full of adventure as you read about INXS and Michael climbing to the top as one of the worlds most successful bands. It’s heartbreaking that we lost this lovely man too soon. However, Michael packed a lot of life, adventure, love and hard earned success into his 37 years. You will enjoy reading Tina Hutchence’s book about her brother. I couldn’t put it down. I’m glad I know the truth about this man who is so missed by everyone who knew him.

I have read both this biography and the other biography written by Michael's mother and sister, Just A Man. I preferred this one to Just A Man as it was better written and seemed to go deeper.However, having read other material about Michael, including his brother, Rhett's, book Total XS, and watched documentaries about him, including the acclaimed Mystify, I feel that this only portrays a part of Michael, not the whole.That being said, it is impossible for only one person, especially a sibling, to really know everything about anyone. We are all so complex and multi-faceted.In any case, this is an important insight into Michael's background, private life and personality, and if you, like me, are a huge fan of Michael Hutchence and INXS, you will definitely want to make it one of your first ports of call for learning more about Michael.

This book gives an amazingly personal look into the private life of Michael, as told by his sister, Tina. I read this book in a few short days because I couldn't put it down! The stories suddenly brought me back to my teenage years when I first discovered Michael and INXS. After reading this one and Tina's other book co-written with her mother, I have a new-found appreciation, love and deep respect for the man who captivated the world. I am so sad that Michael is no longer with us, but there has been some comfort knowing he lived an incredible life most of us only dream of living. Thank you, Tina, for sharing your sweet brother with us!

As a lifelong INXS fan, Michael: My Brother, Lost Boy of INXS was an amazing account of a man I loved and never truly knew. Tina's account of her brother's life is at once heartfelt and riveting. So easy and enjoyable to read, yet I had to put it aside a few times just so I could stretch it out as long as possible. While the last few chapters made me weep, it was a cathartic cry. Michael will forever be missed, and Tina brought us all closer to knowing him. Even if you are not a fan, it is a great account of a life lived to the fullest. I highly recommend it.

I found the timing of the release of this book apropos (along with the release of Mystify, the documentary on Michael). Like a lot of Michael Hutchence fans, I long for him to be recognized and remembered fairly, accurately, and appropriately. Tina, as his sister has the devotion and inside knowledge to do justice to this talented, sensitive soul's career and life. I found the book fascinating and heartbreaking. She does not skirt over the unpleasant details of parts of his life but it is not lurid or sensational.

Beautifully written by the woman who knew him so well, and has such a genuine and enduring love for her little brother. A heartfelt and honest look into the life and mind of the stunning and stunningly talented Michael Hutchence. I’ve been a fan for soooo many years. His music has always told a story and this wonderful book helps fill in many of the remaining blanks. A true gift to INXS and Michael Hutchence fans. Thank you, Tina!

I was really looking forward to reading this book, and having read up on Michael Hutchence in other books, namely Total Excess by his brother Rhett, and another book by Gerry Agar( which was extremely detailed) and having watched countless interviews and documentaries with his past lovers and friends. I find a very detailed book about his younger life up until he joins the band, and the rest is fill ins from other people and a very one sided account, with the author clearly favouring two girlfriends and being passive aggresive about the others. At times, she is rather rude, and she has no part in Tiger Lily’s (Michael’s daughter with Paula Yates) life, as she tried and gave up as she’s a “Geldof” now. The book is angry, upset, and makes a queen out of “our mother” who wasn’t the most kindest of people by all accounts, and it’s a shame because it could have been amazing. I really wouldn’t bother buying it, because the view you get is distorted. I feel she is painting him to be a martyr and Paula Yates the devil woman, which isn’t true. He needed support constantly, and Paula was a married woman with young children. Yes, she shouldn’t have had an affair, but she fell in love, so what? Haven’t we all? She was trying to keep him happy and satisfied, and sadly it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t Paula’s fault completely that he died. Michael was his own man and I think he liked being adored and when the fame wained he struggled. He was still having affairs and was sex addicted even when Tiger was born. Maybe they shouldn’t have been together while they had their issues, but calling Yates the “englishwoman” in this book is rude. He wasn’t an angel. He was a whole person at each end, and that’s why we loved him. He also had brain damage he never really had treated, and he sought solace in women and drugs, and then enjoyed the family dynamic with Paula.A lot of this book is repeated stories of other interviews and books. I feel for Tina, to lose a brother is awful, but the book feels empty and sad and I really don’t reccomend it. I do however reccomend the “Mystify” documentary by Richard Lowenstein which is a full and rounded deciption of the man we all loved on stage. Michael was a wonderful singer and rockstar and I commend Tina for recognising his huge fanbase, but it feels very much like a rant, and I feel “Just A Man” co written with her mother was good as it was. It says something, that Michael’s own dad and her brother Rhett, didn’t invite them to the scattering of his one third of ashes in Australia, and that Tina and her mother seemed to have a strange dynamic and being so estranged from the family. I’m not surprised Bob kept them away from Tiger, as they took Paula’s name in vain and don’t really get the real man. It’s a shame really. A very bizarre read.

As with "Just a Man" the author's previous book about the life of her brother that was co-written with their mother, it's the demonisation and character assassination of Paula Yates, amongst others that makes this an uncomfortable read. Whatever the author's personal opinion of Yates, it is unfair to completely blame her for the mess and heartache their relationship caused to so many people, and the terrible and tragic consequences, still reverberating so many years later. Michael Hutchence and Paula Yates were both intelligent and self-aware adults, who were both responsible and accountable for the choices they made, and unfortunately those choices affected not only their lives, but the lives of four children, all left without a mother, and one who ended up losing both parents. To trash the mother of Michael Hutchence's only child, the author's own neice, so viciously and completely in print, especially when she can no longer defend herself is unnecessary and unkind, and it is this that makes the book more about the author than the intended subject. It lacks depth, and objectivity, and considering the claims the author has made of the close relationship she shared with her brother, it is a surprisingly shallow and terse account, lacking in empathy and with little insight into the character and nature of this very complex and talented man, whose life and work touched so many people. I've watched a couple of documentaries and many of those who knew him personally spoke of him with great love and respect, describing him as a sweet and generous soul, though troubled, especially after his brain injury, and I suppose I expected that generosity of spirit to be present in his sister's memory of him, rather than an account that seems more intent on attacking the many other people in his life, with no consideration or understanding that as humans we are all flawed, though rarely completely. I can now understand why there is little or no relationship between TigerLily and her father's family, something I had always thought quite sad until recently. After reading this , and the previous biography of her brother by Tina Hutchence, I can understand why she perhaps needed to be protected from the vitriol and deeply personal attacks on her mother by her aunt, Its just very sad.

This is not as good as 'Just A Man' and I found myself flicking through the pages towards the end. I know she is his sister but they don't seem to be a loving brother and sister. She seems to repeat what she has been told by his friends, producers, lovers etc. and is also bias towards his relationship with Michelle, a former girlfriend, whom she really liked. It is clear she does not like Paula Yates and blames her for Michael's death and can't forgive her so she keeps writing these books.For music lovers there is a lot about Michael's earlier years in his band.Not recommended. Sorry!

First off, I am aware of the more critical reviews done on this book and their belief that Tina's views have been compromised by bias, but I did myself a favour by choosing to ignore these reviews and go ahead and purchase the book anyway and I have no regrets. As a Michael Hutchence fan I thoroughly enjoyed this read and felt wiser to the enigmatic frontman of perhaps one of the most ingenious bands in rock and roll history. Besides, Tina is Michael's sister, and she is entitled to have her own feelings on events. If I ever became famous and passed away, I would entrust no other than my family to tell my story and for the record, especially considering that she is his sister, I think she did a terrific job at remaining impartial at times whilst giving a factual account of events.The biography is everything you want to find out about Michael, INXS and more. From the outset, it takes you into an exclusive behind the scenes account of their ultimate Wembley performance- the pinnacle of INXS's career, the moment when they ruled the world- and then proceeds to take you on a journey of Michael's life from birth until death. The book is littered with interesting facts about their songs and albums. I particularly enjoyed the detail that she went into about the individual cover art for the albums. I never knew that so much thought got put into them! It's such an interesting insight into the work of Michael Hutchence and his bandmates, so much so that I found I had a renewed, more developed taste for INXS upon finishing. Before picking up this book I always considered their songs to be like poetry, so like any poetry it was cathartic to gain an understanding of the messages the songs were trying to convey.Michael truly was an endearing front man, but it was his sensitivity to the world that made him so likeable. What I liked most about this book was the family stories and the stories from his girlfriends and friends that highlighted as to how much of a good man he was and how fun he was to be around. These anecdotes are so heart-warming, and you cannot help but smile reading some of them. I read this book some time after finishing university, at a very uncertain time in my life, and as a man living in an age of social media filled with men who try project their masculinity on to you, I am of course referring to the likes of Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson, I can't help but feel like men like Michael Hutchence have been forgotten about. Michael who was always so humanely himself, but shy and so soft spoken, yet there was a time when every man wanted to be him. I am glad that Tina is continuing to remind us of him because he will always be an inspiration to me whose character and music has forever shaped my outlook on life. So, Tina, if you ever read this, thank you!It might be a bit of a reach, but I can't help but be reminded of Fitzgerald's Gatsby upon having read this. The two were so similar in more ways than one and you are left with those same feelings: the elation of reading about their wild and erratic parties; the lament of empathising with their hopeless romanticism; and ultimately their mystical qualities that will forever haunt you...All I can say is that, if you are interested in Michael Hutchence or a fan of INXS then go ahead and buy this book. I also highly recommend that you read it in conjunction with watching Richard Lowenstein's 'Mystify'- both the biography and documentary compliment each other very well.

I consider myself to be one of the biggest Inxs fans in the world and I didn't know about this book until this week...which is weird but anyway, having read the other books about Michael, I was expecting to be re-reading the same old stuff we already knew. I'm half-way through the book now and felt compelled to write a review about it as I am grateful for the new information about the small details of Michael's life. It's very nice to know more about his personal life. Excellent book. Thank you.