Michael Hutchence Memorial

Michael Hutchence — the lead singer and co-founder of INXS, one of the most successful and charismatic rock frontmen in Australian history — died on November 22, 1997, aged 37, in a room at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Double Bay, Sydney. His cremated remains are interred at the Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium in North Ryde. A memorial gathering on the first anniversary of his death drew around 300 fans, friends, and family to the site. For INXS devotees, the North Terrace memorial garden at the crematorium has become a quiet place of remembrance and pilgrimage.

Hutchence had the rare gift of being both a genuinely great rock vocalist and a magnetic stage presence capable of filling stadiums. INXS spent the 1980s becoming one of the biggest bands in the world, with records like Kick — which spawned 'Never Tear Us Apart', 'Devil Inside', and 'Need You Tonight' — achieving extraordinary global success. In Australia, the band's hold on the cultural imagination was even more intense: they were the home team, and Hutchence was their star. His death — ruled a suicide — sent a wave of grief through the country.

The Northern Suburbs Crematorium is set in landscaped memorial gardens open to the public. Hutchence's memorial sits near that of Banjo Paterson — an unlikely proximity that somehow suits the strange, layered nature of the site. Fans leave flowers, notes, and mementos, and the memorial has been maintained with care by the facility.