Shine Like it Does

Casts Aside the Hype and Sex God Stereotypes

Ultra-shy INXS front man. Jim Morrison poseur wannabe. Chameleon, hedonist, promiscuous rock star. Who was Michael Hutchence?

Hutchence was one of those rare creatures, charismatic, gorgeous, the classic rock & roll frontman. A true superstar, one of the one-of-a-kinds, an internationally respected and much-loved musician.

Born into an eccentric and difficult marriage, Hutch grew up in different countries before settling into suburban Sydney. He made friends with Andrew Farriss who provided a surrogate family. Andrew's musicality and Michael's charisma was from the start till the end the basis of INXS. For five years INXS were single-minded in their pursuit of being the biggest band in the world. When they got to the top of that precipice, Michael felt the need to move away from a strictly pop life and pushed himself into more challenging areas. That brought him into conflict with the band, his band of brothers.

To mark the 20th anniversary of his death, music journalist and Rolling Stone Australia's founding publisher, Toby Creswell, casts aside the hype and sex god stereotypes, the drugs and sex, to get close to the real Michael Hutchence, talking to others who knew him personally, and who loved and respected the complex and sensitive person he was, as well as those who followed his growth as a singer and songwriter.

This is a warm, heartfelt biography, a tribute to the man and his music that brings us closer to understanding how an insecure vocalist from Sydney's northern suburbs grew into an accomplished lyricist and ultimately, a despairing wanderer in search of a real home and a family of his own.

Toby Creswell is an award-winning journalist, writer, publisher and film producer and has been writing about popular culture for 30 years. Toby Creswell wrote for various magazines and newspapers before becoming founding editor of Rolling Stone Australia after forming a partnership to relaunch and publish the magazine in Australia. He was also the founding editor of Juice magazine. In 1993 he co-formed the magazine publishing house Terraplanet, a media company that published 10 consumer magazines and a range of corporate titles. Toby Creswell has written and co-authored 11 books on music, history and pop culture, including: 1001 Songs, Love is in the Air, Notorious Australians, Too Much Ain't Enough, 1001 Australians, The 110 Best Australian Albums, History of Australia in 100 Objects and Rockwiz Decades. In addition to his writing, Toby has developed TV and film projects, written and produced several history and music documentaries, and was an executive producer of the film Paul Kelly: Stories of Me. He lives in Sydney.

Shine Like it Does
Echo
Author: Toby Creswell
RRP: $32.99