Who Killed Michael Hutchence...? from Spike EP on Vimeo.
"Police won't confirm the cause of death - but they've taken a leather belt into possession for scientific examination."
INQUEST INTO THE DEATH OF MICHAEL KELLAND HUTCHENCE
I have received a completed police brief into the death of Michael Kelland Hutchence on 22nd November, 1997, at Ritz Carlton Hotel, Double Bay. I am satisfied that the cause of death was "hanging". I am also satisfied that there was no other person involved in causing the death.
The question of whether the death was a suicide or not has to be considered. The deceased was found at 11.50am naked behind the door to his room. He had apparently hanged himself with his own belt and the buckle broke away and his body was found kneeling on the floor and facing the door.
It has been suggested that the death resulted from an act of auto eroticism. However, there is no forensic or other evidence to substantiate this suggestion. I therefore, discount that manner of death.
With regard to the question of suicide I have to be satisfied on a strong balance of probabilities before I am able to come to such a conclusion. There is a presumption against suicide. Having considered the extensive brief I am satisfied that the standard required to conclude that this death was a suicide has been reached for the following reasons:
Ms Paula Yates provided a statement. She provided background to the custody dispute between her and Sir Robert Geldof. She stated that she rang the deceased at some time prior to 5.38am on the 22nd November and he told her he was going to beg Geldof to let the children come out to Australia. She had told the deceased that the custody matter had not been finalised and was adjourned until the 17th December and she would not be bringing the children out. Ms Yates stated that the deceased sounded "desperate" during the conversation.
Sir Robert Geldof received two telephone calls from the deceased, the first at about 6.30pm London time on (the) evening of 21st November. It was of a short duration and Geldof asked the deceased to call back. The second call was received by Geldof about 5.30am on 22nd November, Sydney time. This call was of some length. Geldof refers to the deceased's demeanour as being "hectoring and abusive and threatening" in nature. He refers to the deceased as "begging" to allow him to let the children come to Australia. He did not sound depressed during the conversation. A friend of both Geldof and Paula Yates, Ms Belinda Brewin, confirms the substance of the conversation between the two. A statement obtained from a Gail Coward, the occupant of the room directly next to the deceased's room, alludes to her hearing a loud male voice and expletives emitting from the deceased's room about 5am that morning. I am satisfied that she was hearing the telephone conversation between the deceased and Geldof.
An analysis report of the deceased's blood indicates the presence of alcohol, cocaine, Prozac and other prescription drugs. On consideration of the entirety of the evidence gathered I am satisfied that the deceased was in a severe depressed state on the morning of the 22nd November, 1997, due to a number of factors, including the relationship with Paula Yates and the pressure of the on-going dispute with Sir Robert Geldof, combined with the effects of the substances that he had ingested at that time. As indicated I am satisfied that the deceased intended and did take his own life.
I am also satisfied that this death is one in which nothing will be gained by holding a formal Inquest.
The identity of the deceased, the date and place of death and the manner and cause of death are clearly set out and the time and expense of holding an Inquest is not warranted and therefore such will be dispensed with. May I offer to the family of Michael Hutchence my sincere condolences on their sad loss.
INQUEST DISPENSED WITH.
(D.W. HAND)
NSW STATE CORONER
Glebe. 6th February, 1998
The detectives have told of finding evidence of a man hell-bent on self-destruction, his fingers dark with nicotine stains and an old cigarette burn so deep that it exposed the bone.
'The cigarette went right through his fingers and it was sort of infected,' Mr Gerondis told Sydney's Sunday Telegraph.
Never Tear Us Apart: Remembering Michael Hutchence
OKLAHOMA CITY – As we remember November 22, 1963 as the day of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and the day a part of America died, on this same day 16 years ago – November 22, 1997 – INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence also died in the Sydney Ritz-Carlton hotel in his hometown of Sydney, Australia.
Hutchence’s death was ruled a suicide, except that the 37-year-old had so much to live for. He was getting along great with his family and preparing for a 20th anniversary tour with INXS. Even Quentin Tarantino was looking to include Hutchence in a film. He was wanting to return to Sydney to live and just be in London and Los Angeles to record with INXS.
And yet when a maid went to clean Hutchence’s room on November 22nd, she found the room in disarray and a belt looped around his neck. He had died of asphyxiation.
In his excellent book, The Covert War Against Rock, writer Alex Constantine notes that at the time, Rolling Stone music critic David Fricke mentioned that Hutchence’s body “bore the marks of a severe beating,” noting a broken hand, split lip and lacerations on his body.
Constantine mocks the New South Wales authorities in their report that “no evidence” of foul play could be found. They did not bother to note the “protruding contradictions,” including how did Hutchence break his own hand, bludgeon himself, causing his lip to bleed and then beat himself into a pulp before lopoping the belt through the door brace and around his neck, long enough to hang?
Constantine speculates that Hutchence may have been targeted by shadowy elements within the underworld and that he was not suicidal. A friend who saw Hutchence prior to his death said the singer was excited about the future and she “had really never seen him with so much to look forward to.” His father, who had eaten with him at the Flavour of India restaurant said his son was in good spirits, going so far as "dancing away" when he dropped him off at the hotel that fateful night.
"He was a very happy guy," Kell Hutchence says in the documentary.
Sir Bob Geldof was married to Paula Yates, the woman who would leave Geldof for Hutchence in 1996 – the year before Hutchence’s death.
Hutchence and Yates, an unmarried couple at the time of his death, were fighting for custody of her children, Peaches and Pixie Geldof. The couple also had a child named Tiger Lily in the summer of ’96. Yates had told law enforcement that Geldof – a really sinister character and one of the key people involved with Live Aid and “Spoiled-Grain Gate" - had told Yates he was “above the law” and had threatened them.
Yates told The Daily Express that Bob Geldof killed Michael Hutchence.
“That bastard killed Michael,” she reportedly said. “He is called Saint Bob. That makes me sick. He killed my baby. We have had three years of this.”
Geldof, who plans to be the first Irishman in space in 2014 by taking a trip on the Space XC commercial service spacecraft, is reportedly worth 32 million pounds.
Yates, who said after Hutchence’s death that the man thought suicide was “the most cowardly act in the world” and that his daughter “was his reason to live” would allegedly die of a “heroin overdose” in 2000. After that, the girls would all be given over to Geldof.
Rhett Hutchence, Michael’s brother, said in a 2007 that his brother did not commit suicide. He wanted Tiger Lily to know the truth about her father.
Plus there were a number of strange deaths linked to Hutchence. He was friends with Gianni Versace, who was murdered a few months earlier. Princess Diana died a few months earlier as well. There is speculation that their deaths were linked to a Mob hit.
And on a thread, posted one day after Hutchence was reported dead, someone suggested “Did Hutchence commit suicide over a porn ring in the UK?” Posters speculated, one named “Ian” says “OK, I’ll kick this one off … Geldorf (sic) must have been involved somewhere.” Indeed. So, within a day, a conspiracy theory involving Bob Geldof was being suggested.
As for the auto-erotic asphyxiation angle, father Kell Hutchence said in a documentary called “In Excess: The Death of Michael Hutchence,” that he thought that suggestion is “a lot of nonsense … nothing to back it up.” The documentary does explore Hutchence’s sexual escapades and his relationship with Paula Yates and his run-ins with the media.
And despite all that, Michael Hutchence’s memory is still fresh. His “sexiest man in rock” persona reminding many of a latter-day Jim Morrison, but with more style and energy. INXS still had a lot of music left in them and it was a matter of time before a new album would be forthcoming. Just last month, Billboard reported that INXS has signed a global publishing deal with Universal with films, documentaries, and a musical "on the way." A representative stated: "We're looking forward to connecting with new generations of fans with the band's timeless music." A two-part biopic on Hutchence, appropriately titled "Never Tear Us Apart," will air in Australia in 2014.
In Donnie Darko, the opening scene shown in theaters and on the original release of the DVD shows Donnie waking up as Echo & The Bunnymen’s haunting-yet-sinister song “The Killing Moon” plays.
On “The Killing Moon,” singer Ian McCulloch sings: “Fate, up against your will / Through the thick and thin / He will wait until / You give yourself to him.”
But in Richard Kelly’s Director’s Cut of Donnie Darko, “The Killing Moon” is replaced by the powerful 1988 ballad “Never Tear Us Apart,” featured on the band’s 1987 album Kick. A bittersweet choice, considering how the song is viewed now.
Apparently, the rights to the INXS song were too expensive for young director Kelly to use in the theatrical release. But Kelly had wanted “Never Tear Us Apart” (my favorite INXS song, by the way) used and was able to insert it in the Director’s Cut, as originally intended.
Wikipedia notes that after Hutchence’s death, his coffin was carried out of Sydney's St. Andrew’s Cathedral “by the remaining members of INXS and younger brother Rhett, as ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ was played in the background. This song is now thought of by many original INXS fans as Hutchence’s anthem.”
Sings Hutchence: “I was standing, you were there, two worlds collided and they could never tear us apart …”
To learn more, go to www.inxs.com
Solace in the shires enticed a peer's granddaughter to quit London society to start again after the death of her best friend Paula Yates from a heroin overdose.
Belinda Brewin had been devastated by the 40-year-old TV presenter's death. She hoped to find peace and permanence for herself and her daughters in an idyllic country setting in the heart of Devon.
Instead it was the beginning of a nightmare which has still not ended. Her life has since been threatened and she has been forced to move yet again.
Her latest ordeal was sparked after a chance encounter with a manipulative maverick - Kenneth Regan - in the stylish top bar of Harvey Nichols store in London a few years earlier. He was to later ensnare Ms Brewin in a web of death and deceit.
Unknown to her, Regan, a ruthless career criminal later convicted of drug dealing, would use her new sanctuary to dig a mass grave for murdered businessman Amarjit Chohan and three generations of his family.
Regan had wiped five members of the family out so he could seize control of Mr Chohan's haulage business and use it as a cover for drug running.
He cynically exploited the vulnerable Ms Brewin - with whom he had become sexually obsessed. The rolling 50 acres fields around her 15th century farmhouse was an ideal place to dispose of Chohan's murdered and probably tortured body.
Even when she later gave evidence against him at his Old Bailey trial, Regan tried to use her again to gain credibility for his defence in the eyes of the jury.
He maintained he was just obeying orders of a mystery Asian gang - who he claimed was responsible for the murders - by disposing of Mr Chohan's body. If he had not, he maintained, they had threatened to go after Ms Brewin and her daughters.
Ms Brewin rejects the account as a total lie, invented in desperation at the last minute.
She had always spurned his advances and gifts and - in her own words - "went ballistic" when she discovered what he had done and how she was manipulated.
After she gave detailed evidence against Regan at his trial, she received a death threat. Stoically, she ignored it.
But friends said the toll on her children had been the worst for her.
They had endured taunts about her mother's involvement with a man on trial for five murders.
Ms Brewin felt she could dance when Regan was finally convicted. He had ruined her life. Because of the impending case and all that it encompassed, she has been unable so far to start another job.
Regan had become fixated with Ms Brewin after meeting her through a mutual friend at Harvey Nichols in 1997 - three years before Paula Yates' death.
After bumping into her again in a pub at Chelsea football club, he persistently rang and asked her out.
Regan had offered to take her to the Grand Prix in Monaco and a £4,000 Cartier watch. She refused both.
He claimed to own a bonded warehouse and to be a businessman. He had a top of the range Mercedes and carried vast sums of money in a briefcase in its boot.
Ms Brewin continued to refuse to go out with him. She privately said she would not sleep with him even if she was drunk as a skunk.
Even so, he became fixated with her and kept pictures of her at his property.
He was jailed in 1998 for drug dealing. He only served four years and had turned informer to get a lighter sentence.
By his release in 2002, Ms Brewin had moved to Devon to start afresh.
But while Regan was in jail he had sent her a condolence card after reading of Paula Yates death.
Once free, he started offering Ms Brewin respectable commercial propositions - at a time she had become strapped for cash.
Although she had the outward trappings of wealth, her partner had left her, she was left with mortgage repayments and school fees and risked losing her estate at Great Colefield House, Stoodleigh, Devon.
"She was certainly vulnerable. A suggestion to earn money was a quick fix. The phrase she used was 'needs must'," Anthony Arlidge QC, defending one of Regan's co-defendants said at his trial.
"Regan was someone she should not have touched with a barge pole. But she was sufficiently vulnerable that needs must ..."
The commercial propositions came to nothing, but gave her confidence in what he did.
"She was drawn closer into the web," said Mr Arlidge.
Then Regan had told her he owned Mr Chohan's company and wanted to buy 10 acres of land near Heathrow airport.
"He wanted to know if I knew anyone who could get change of usage for the land from agricultural to development," Ms Brewin told the jury at his trial.
"I said I would speak to a couple of lawyers friends of mine."
Miss Brewin said she then accepted an offer from Regan to act as managing director and credit controller for the company, working two days a week for £4,000 a month.
Later he increased the offer to £72,000 after saying she needed more to cover her mortgage and children's school fees.
She said: "I could not quite believe it to be honest. I said 'thank you very much'. I was not qualified to do the job."
Regan was using her and repaid that use by burying at least one body on her land.
Ms Brewin, a plain speaking, intelligent and fashionable woman was undisputedly, once a "Chelsea girl."
Her grandfather was the late millionaire and Labour peer, Lord Alston.
"She is smart, slim, drove a powerful sports car and frequented the top-floor bar at Harvey Nichols. She was friends with the son of a well-known comedian. She had a seven-bedroomed, 15th century house, horses and children at private school.
"That was the outside picture which Regan wanted to buy and use," said Mr Arlidge.
"He had come out of prison. He needed someone to run the company - someone he could use as a respectable front," said Mr Arlidge.
"Of course, the reality of her situation was far different, as he was aware.
"She and her partner had moved down to Devon, selling up in London. Then her partner left her with the whole of the mortgage and school fees to pay."
Brewin's friendship with Paula Yates dates back a long way. They met when both were pregnant and living in Chelsea
Ms Brewin broke to her the news of Michael Hutchence suicide.
She is godmother to Tiger Lily, Yates and Hutchence daughter, and looked after her when her best friend was being treated for depression in a Wiltshire clinic.
When Paula died of an overdose in 2000 Ms Brewin was at her home within hours gathering up toys for Tiger Lily.
In 1994 she and her younger sister Miranda were accused of smuggling £500,000 of cocaine into Britain in shampoo bottles.
They were stopped at Dover as they drove off a cross-Channel ferry.
In court they argued they had been tricked into carrying the drugs by a man they met in a Calais hotel and were both cleared by the jury.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-354302/Quiet-country-life-turned-horror.html#ixzz33bW9puKP
HEARTBROKEN PAULA - "WE LOVED EACH OTHER TOO MUCH"(Australian Woman's Day - 23 February,1998)
Written by: Martin Townsend
Paula Yates tells of her despair over lover Michael Hutchence's death.
This month's verdict by the coroner that singer Michael Hutchence's death was a suicide has caused a fresh wave of grief for an already devastated Paula Yates. For her, this is the latest in a series of blows. We were so much in love, she says. It is as if he has died again.
I met Paula in her London home the day before what would have been Michael's 38th birthday. Dressed in a black, polo-necked sweater and black jeans - she has sworn to remain in mourning for a year - Paula, 37, looks pale, drained and curiously small; as if Michael's death last November has somehow shrunk her.
In her arms is their 19-month-old daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tigerlily, who is swept away by an old friend, Belinda Brewin, for the duration of our interview - only the second time, says Paula, that she and the child have been apart. Paula admits she is not coping well with the loss of Michael. During our interview, her voice often subsides to a near whisper, particularly when discussing the effects of Michael's death on her children. Tears well in her eyes.
I was talking to Michael's dad this morning, she says, and afterwards I was thinking he is definitely getting better adjusted. But I just think, is this it? To be lonely? And if anything, it just gets worse every day.
It doesn't sound very brave, does it? Paula says, turning her red-rimmed eyes on mine. Well, I don't feel very brave about it. I try my hardest because I have my girls, but...
From the bizarre circumstances of Michael's death, strangled by his own belt in a Sydney hotel room, through the funeral and it's aftermath, Michael's death was dogged by rumours - particularly before the coroner brought down the suicide verdict. Was his death suicide or a tragic accident caused by sexual experimentation? Was there an old rift between Michael's family and Paula grotesquely reopened at the funeral? It all added to the enormous pressure on Paula.
On the day before his death Paula was in court for a custody hearing. She had hoped to take her girls and join Michael for a three-month break in Australia where she had been offered work: a documentary about Australia seen through an Englishwoman's eyes, a top-rating breakfast radio show, plus two cover photo shoots for Vogue magazine.
It would have been her first work since Paula and Michael began their relationship. He could hardly wait to see them in Australia. He thought that for three months, just three months, we would have a life, she says.
Then came the hammer blow: the hearing was adjourned and Paula was unable to take her three eldest daughters out of England. She knew she could not be parted from her children for that period of time. And she knew that it would devastate Michael. I left the court and turned to my barrister, and said, "This will kill Michael", and he died a few hours later.
Paula has tears in her eyes now, and through the sobs, her voice is choked with anger. How much can you take? What did we do? I loved him too much; we loved each other too much. In their last telephone call, Michael and Paula discussed names for a baby girl they planned. Paula says she would definitely have another girl. Michael, who was raised in and adored the Far East, favoured Shanghai, Paula like Violetta.
At the end of the call Michael said, I love you and I love Tiger and I'm gonna ring Bob and beg him to let the girls come.
In the middle of that night the doorbell rang at Paula's home, waking Paula, who was asleep in bed with Pixie, seven, Peaches, eight, and Tiger (Fifi, 14, was at boarding school). I went downstairs and my friend Belinda walked in says Paula, and she was just sobbing. She said, I've got terrible news for you - Michael's dead, and I punched her right in the face. It was awful. I was crying and saying, How can you say something like that to me? It was just like I was dead from then on.
Anthony Burton, Paula's friend and lawyer in England, arrived later, plus Australian Andrew Young, who took care of Michael's legal affairs and acted as a protector for Paula and the family when Michael was away.
By this time, the children had woken up. Paula, half-mad with grief - the sort of crying when you don't know any more what's happening? - went upstairs to break the news. However long I live, she says, I will never forget how Pixie cried. Like someone had ripped her heart out. She lay on the floor and it was just terrible. She just cried and cried.
Little Tiger, upset by all the grief and confusion happening around her, was inconsolable until Anthony Burton put on an INXS record and gently laid her down next to the speaker. She stopped crying almost immediately and went to sleep listening to her dad.
Peaches took on the role that I've noticed she's tried to take on, of trying to take care of Pixie and Tiger. Fifi arrived from school to try and take care of her mum. I was just so proud of her. In the meantime, Paula had been mildly sedated as preparations began for the 19,000km flight to Australia.
Here, she whisked straight from the airport to the mortuary. Paula's voice is barely a whisper now. Tiger and I went in and just stayed with Michael. I was relieved to get to him, actually. It seemed like the longest 24 hours of my life just to get to someone. I got to him too late, but I got to him. Tiger saw her dad and then I sent her out and I stayed with Michael.
She then adds, I had never seen anyone dead and I didn't realize that they're that cold. It's really weird, they are like ice. I made the mortuary send out for a duvet and I wrapped him up in it. Tucked him in.
Did she hold him? Yes. I spent a long time with him. I just kept trying to look after him. She talked to him. It was the most private time I'll ever have with Michael, ever. I would have taken him home with me. But it's all so strange because your automatic reaction is to want to make it better and you can't make it better; you can't do anything. The powerlessness is just ... unimaginable.
The tears are flowing again. She had barely arrived in Sydney when a senior policeman, in that fantastic Australian way, told her that there had been no girl in the hotel room when Michael died. But, you know, I was always kind of impressed with Michael's ability to be very faithful to me and the girls because it's not easy when everyone thinks your handsome.
She has no hesitation in dismissing suicide as the cause of death. I don't believe he would have left Tiger deliberately. I truly don't believe that, and I'm not just saying it to make me feel better or try to make Tiger feel better in the future. I just know him.
The other theory, rejected by the coroner, was that Michael died accidentally in the midst of some kind of sexual experiment. Is this something he would do? There is a long pause, but Paula's answer is forthright. I don't think there's anything on earth Michael wouldn't do.
Paula would prefer that verdict to suicide. I suppose it would be easier to bear, in a weird way, easier than thinking of someone you loved that much being in such despair. What does she think happened in that hotel room? I think he was beside himself. With anger and a loss of hope, and pain, and missing the girls. And I think he was drunk.
Michael then spoke to Bob Geldof and ... whatever happened, happened. I think it was a lot of things meeting head on. But I don't think he meant to die. And nor does anyone who knew him as well as me. A cry for help, A cry for understanding. But not a Bye-bye, Tiger. Never, never, never.
Paula says she writhed with pain at the funeral. I never realised how it literally does feel, as if someone has punched you or broken something. Your heart actually does break.
Paula was unhappy that the funeral was televised because she felt that Michael would not have like it. She says that it was Michael's mother's decision. She has since been quoted, as saying that she did not believe her son would ever have married Paula. Michael's mother is an old lady and she's very unhappy. And I don't think she'd say that, she says simply. We would have married this year and we would have definitely had another child this year.
Despite her reservations about its being televised, Paula was impressed with the funeral. I thought that every girl looked beautiful, she says. I thought every girl thought she was going to the greatest cocktail party in the world and I think Michael would have liked that.
Next week: Paula shows us the Sussex seaside cottage she and Michael shared, and talks about drugs, Michael's obsessions with being a dad and the wonderfully romantic times they shared.
© Woman's Day 1998
HEARTBROKEN PAULA - "WE LOVED EACH OTHER TOO MUCH"(Australian Woman's Day - 23 February,1998)
Written by: Martin Townsend
Paula Yates tells of her despair over lover Michael Hutchence's death.
This month's verdict by the coroner that singer Michael Hutchence's death was a suicide has caused a fresh wave of grief for an already devastated Paula Yates. For her, this is the latest in a series of blows. We were so much in love, she says. It is as if he has died again.
I met Paula in her London home the day before what would have been Michael's 38th birthday. Dressed in a black, polo-necked sweater and black jeans - she has sworn to remain in mourning for a year - Paula, 37, looks pale, drained and curiously small; as if Michael's death last November has somehow shrunk her.
In her arms is their 19-month-old daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tigerlily, who is swept away by an old friend, Belinda Brewin, for the duration of our interview - only the second time, says Paula, that she and the child have been apart. Paula admits she is not coping well with the loss of Michael. During our interview, her voice often subsides to a near whisper, particularly when discussing the effects of Michael's death on her children. Tears well in her eyes.
I was talking to Michael's dad this morning, she says, and afterwards I was thinking he is definitely getting better adjusted. But I just think, is this it? To be lonely? And if anything, it just gets worse every day.
It doesn't sound very brave, does it? Paula says, turning her red-rimmed eyes on mine. Well, I don't feel very brave about it. I try my hardest because I have my girls, but...
From the bizarre circumstances of Michael's death, strangled by his own belt in a Sydney hotel room, through the funeral and it's aftermath, Michael's death was dogged by rumours - particularly before the coroner brought down the suicide verdict. Was his death suicide or a tragic accident caused by sexual experimentation? Was there an old rift between Michael's family and Paula grotesquely reopened at the funeral? It all added to the enormous pressure on Paula.
On the day before his death Paula was in court for a custody hearing. She had hoped to take her girls and join Michael for a three-month break in Australia where she had been offered work: a documentary about Australia seen through an Englishwoman's eyes, a top-rating breakfast radio show, plus two cover photo shoots for Vogue magazine.
It would have been her first work since Paula and Michael began their relationship. He could hardly wait to see them in Australia. He thought that for three months, just three months, we would have a life, she says.
Then came the hammer blow: the hearing was adjourned and Paula was unable to take her three eldest daughters out of England. She knew she could not be parted from her children for that period of time. And she knew that it would devastate Michael. I left the court and turned to my barrister, and said, "This will kill Michael", and he died a few hours later.
Paula has tears in her eyes now, and through the sobs, her voice is choked with anger. How much can you take? What did we do? I loved him too much; we loved each other too much. In their last telephone call, Michael and Paula discussed names for a baby girl they planned. Paula says she would definitely have another girl. Michael, who was raised in and adored the Far East, favoured Shanghai, Paula like Violetta.
At the end of the call Michael said, I love you and I love Tiger and I'm gonna ring Bob and beg him to let the girls come.
In the middle of that night the doorbell rang at Paula's home, waking Paula, who was asleep in bed with Pixie, seven, Peaches, eight, and Tiger (Fifi, 14, was at boarding school). I went downstairs and my friend Belinda walked in says Paula, and she was just sobbing. She said, I've got terrible news for you - Michael's dead, and I punched her right in the face. It was awful. I was crying and saying, How can you say something like that to me? It was just like I was dead from then on.
Anthony Burton, Paula's friend and lawyer in England, arrived later, plus Australian Andrew Young, who took care of Michael's legal affairs and acted as a protector for Paula and the family when Michael was away.
By this time, the children had woken up. Paula, half-mad with grief - the sort of crying when you don't know any more what's happening? - went upstairs to break the news. However long I live, she says, I will never forget how Pixie cried. Like someone had ripped her heart out. She lay on the floor and it was just terrible. She just cried and cried.
Little Tiger, upset by all the grief and confusion happening around her, was inconsolable until Anthony Burton put on an INXS record and gently laid her down next to the speaker. She stopped crying almost immediately and went to sleep listening to her dad.
Peaches took on the role that I've noticed she's tried to take on, of trying to take care of Pixie and Tiger. Fifi arrived from school to try and take care of her mum. I was just so proud of her. In the meantime, Paula had been mildly sedated as preparations began for the 19,000km flight to Australia.
Here, she whisked straight from the airport to the mortuary. Paula's voice is barely a whisper now. Tiger and I went in and just stayed with Michael. I was relieved to get to him, actually. It seemed like the longest 24 hours of my life just to get to someone. I got to him too late, but I got to him. Tiger saw her dad and then I sent her out and I stayed with Michael.
She then adds, I had never seen anyone dead and I didn't realize that they're that cold. It's really weird, they are like ice. I made the mortuary send out for a duvet and I wrapped him up in it. Tucked him in.
Did she hold him? Yes. I spent a long time with him. I just kept trying to look after him. She talked to him. It was the most private time I'll ever have with Michael, ever. I would have taken him home with me. But it's all so strange because your automatic reaction is to want to make it better and you can't make it better; you can't do anything. The powerlessness is just ... unimaginable.
The tears are flowing again. She had barely arrived in Sydney when a senior policeman, in that fantastic Australian way, told her that there had been no girl in the hotel room when Michael died. But, you know, I was always kind of impressed with Michael's ability to be very faithful to me and the girls because it's not easy when everyone thinks your handsome.
She has no hesitation in dismissing suicide as the cause of death. I don't believe he would have left Tiger deliberately. I truly don't believe that, and I'm not just saying it to make me feel better or try to make Tiger feel better in the future. I just know him.
The other theory, rejected by the coroner, was that Michael died accidentally in the midst of some kind of sexual experiment. Is this something he would do? There is a long pause, but Paula's answer is forthright. I don't think there's anything on earth Michael wouldn't do.
Paula would prefer that verdict to suicide. I suppose it would be easier to bear, in a weird way, easier than thinking of someone you loved that much being in such despair. What does she think happened in that hotel room? I think he was beside himself. With anger and a loss of hope, and pain, and missing the girls. And I think he was drunk.
Michael then spoke to Bob Geldof and ... whatever happened, happened. I think it was a lot of things meeting head on. But I don't think he meant to die. And nor does anyone who knew him as well as me. A cry for help, A cry for understanding. But not a Bye-bye, Tiger. Never, never, never.
Paula says she writhed with pain at the funeral. I never realised how it literally does feel, as if someone has punched you or broken something. Your heart actually does break.
Paula was unhappy that the funeral was televised because she felt that Michael would not have like it. She says that it was Michael's mother's decision. She has since been quoted, as saying that she did not believe her son would ever have married Paula. Michael's mother is an old lady and she's very unhappy. And I don't think she'd say that, she says simply. We would have married this year and we would have definitely had another child this year.
Despite her reservations about its being televised, Paula was impressed with the funeral. I thought that every girl looked beautiful, she says. I thought every girl thought she was going to the greatest cocktail party in the world and I think Michael would have liked that.
Next week: Paula shows us the Sussex seaside cottage she and Michael shared, and talks about drugs, Michael's obsessions with being a dad and the wonderfully romantic times they shared.
© Woman's Day 1998
HEARTBROKEN PAULA - "WE LOVED EACH OTHER TOO MUCH"(Australian Woman's Day - 23 February,1998)
Written by: Martin Townsend
Paula Yates tells of her despair over lover Michael Hutchence's death.
This month's verdict by the coroner that singer Michael Hutchence's death was a suicide has caused a fresh wave of grief for an already devastated Paula Yates. For her, this is the latest in a series of blows. We were so much in love, she says. It is as if he has died again.
I met Paula in her London home the day before what would have been Michael's 38th birthday. Dressed in a black, polo-necked sweater and black jeans - she has sworn to remain in mourning for a year - Paula, 37, looks pale, drained and curiously small; as if Michael's death last November has somehow shrunk her.
In her arms is their 19-month-old daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tigerlily, who is swept away by an old friend, Belinda Brewin, for the duration of our interview - only the second time, says Paula, that she and the child have been apart. Paula admits she is not coping well with the loss of Michael. During our interview, her voice often subsides to a near whisper, particularly when discussing the effects of Michael's death on her children. Tears well in her eyes.
I was talking to Michael's dad this morning, she says, and afterwards I was thinking he is definitely getting better adjusted. But I just think, is this it? To be lonely? And if anything, it just gets worse every day.
It doesn't sound very brave, does it? Paula says, turning her red-rimmed eyes on mine. Well, I don't feel very brave about it. I try my hardest because I have my girls, but...
From the bizarre circumstances of Michael's death, strangled by his own belt in a Sydney hotel room, through the funeral and it's aftermath, Michael's death was dogged by rumours - particularly before the coroner brought down the suicide verdict. Was his death suicide or a tragic accident caused by sexual experimentation? Was there an old rift between Michael's family and Paula grotesquely reopened at the funeral? It all added to the enormous pressure on Paula.
On the day before his death Paula was in court for a custody hearing. She had hoped to take her girls and join Michael for a three-month break in Australia where she had been offered work: a documentary about Australia seen through an Englishwoman's eyes, a top-rating breakfast radio show, plus two cover photo shoots for Vogue magazine.
It would have been her first work since Paula and Michael began their relationship. He could hardly wait to see them in Australia. He thought that for three months, just three months, we would have a life, she says.
Then came the hammer blow: the hearing was adjourned and Paula was unable to take her three eldest daughters out of England. She knew she could not be parted from her children for that period of time. And she knew that it would devastate Michael. I left the court and turned to my barrister, and said, "This will kill Michael", and he died a few hours later.
Paula has tears in her eyes now, and through the sobs, her voice is choked with anger. How much can you take? What did we do? I loved him too much; we loved each other too much. In their last telephone call, Michael and Paula discussed names for a baby girl they planned. Paula says she would definitely have another girl. Michael, who was raised in and adored the Far East, favoured Shanghai, Paula like Violetta.
At the end of the call Michael said, I love you and I love Tiger and I'm gonna ring Bob and beg him to let the girls come.
In the middle of that night the doorbell rang at Paula's home, waking Paula, who was asleep in bed with Pixie, seven, Peaches, eight, and Tiger (Fifi, 14, was at boarding school). I went downstairs and my friend Belinda walked in says Paula, and she was just sobbing. She said, I've got terrible news for you - Michael's dead, and I punched her right in the face. It was awful. I was crying and saying, How can you say something like that to me? It was just like I was dead from then on.
Anthony Burton, Paula's friend and lawyer in England, arrived later, plus Australian Andrew Young, who took care of Michael's legal affairs and acted as a protector for Paula and the family when Michael was away.
By this time, the children had woken up. Paula, half-mad with grief - the sort of crying when you don't know any more what's happening? - went upstairs to break the news. However long I live, she says, I will never forget how Pixie cried. Like someone had ripped her heart out. She lay on the floor and it was just terrible. She just cried and cried.
Little Tiger, upset by all the grief and confusion happening around her, was inconsolable until Anthony Burton put on an INXS record and gently laid her down next to the speaker. She stopped crying almost immediately and went to sleep listening to her dad.
Peaches took on the role that I've noticed she's tried to take on, of trying to take care of Pixie and Tiger. Fifi arrived from school to try and take care of her mum. I was just so proud of her. In the meantime, Paula had been mildly sedated as preparations began for the 19,000km flight to Australia.
Here, she whisked straight from the airport to the mortuary. Paula's voice is barely a whisper now. Tiger and I went in and just stayed with Michael. I was relieved to get to him, actually. It seemed like the longest 24 hours of my life just to get to someone. I got to him too late, but I got to him. Tiger saw her dad and then I sent her out and I stayed with Michael.
She then adds, I had never seen anyone dead and I didn't realize that they're that cold. It's really weird, they are like ice. I made the mortuary send out for a duvet and I wrapped him up in it. Tucked him in.
Did she hold him? Yes. I spent a long time with him. I just kept trying to look after him. She talked to him. It was the most private time I'll ever have with Michael, ever. I would have taken him home with me. But it's all so strange because your automatic reaction is to want to make it better and you can't make it better; you can't do anything. The powerlessness is just ... unimaginable.
The tears are flowing again. She had barely arrived in Sydney when a senior policeman, in that fantastic Australian way, told her that there had been no girl in the hotel room when Michael died. But, you know, I was always kind of impressed with Michael's ability to be very faithful to me and the girls because it's not easy when everyone thinks your handsome.
She has no hesitation in dismissing suicide as the cause of death. I don't believe he would have left Tiger deliberately. I truly don't believe that, and I'm not just saying it to make me feel better or try to make Tiger feel better in the future. I just know him.
The other theory, rejected by the coroner, was that Michael died accidentally in the midst of some kind of sexual experiment. Is this something he would do? There is a long pause, but Paula's answer is forthright. I don't think there's anything on earth Michael wouldn't do.
Paula would prefer that verdict to suicide. I suppose it would be easier to bear, in a weird way, easier than thinking of someone you loved that much being in such despair. What does she think happened in that hotel room? I think he was beside himself. With anger and a loss of hope, and pain, and missing the girls. And I think he was drunk.
Michael then spoke to Bob Geldof and ... whatever happened, happened. I think it was a lot of things meeting head on. But I don't think he meant to die. And nor does anyone who knew him as well as me. A cry for help, A cry for understanding. But not a Bye-bye, Tiger. Never, never, never.
Paula says she writhed with pain at the funeral. I never realised how it literally does feel, as if someone has punched you or broken something. Your heart actually does break.
Paula was unhappy that the funeral was televised because she felt that Michael would not have like it. She says that it was Michael's mother's decision. She has since been quoted, as saying that she did not believe her son would ever have married Paula. Michael's mother is an old lady and she's very unhappy. And I don't think she'd say that, she says simply. We would have married this year and we would have definitely had another child this year.
Despite her reservations about its being televised, Paula was impressed with the funeral. I thought that every girl looked beautiful, she says. I thought every girl thought she was going to the greatest cocktail party in the world and I think Michael would have liked that.
Next week: Paula shows us the Sussex seaside cottage she and Michael shared, and talks about drugs, Michael's obsessions with being a dad and the wonderfully romantic times they shared.
© Woman's Day 1998
