starsgoblue
Blue Crack Addict
On Monday, it will be the seventh anniversary of Micheal Hutchence's untimely death that sadly occured by his own hands November 22nd, 1997. I wanted to take the time to remember him before the excitement of the new album sweeps through here. Micheal was a man who was close to Bono's heart....
I can remember growing up along with INXS and U2 together...as a young child I can recall pouring over the liner notes of Kick and even as a young girl, I could see the beauty of Micheal's spirit.
As an adult, I can remember being at an Elevation concert and seeing a fan toss up an INXS t-shirt during Stuck In A Moment. Bono was visibly moved and he lovingly draped the shirt across his mike stand during the song--a testament to the fact that Micheal had left a lasting impact on so many people during his short time here. I saw alot of tears during that song, my own included.
Below is an excerpt of his funeral address:
PREACHER: THE VERY REV BOAK JOBBINS,
DEAN OF SYDNEY
St Andrews Anglican Cathedral
We are here as people whose lives have been touched by Michael Hutchence -
some of us remotely, some of us in the closeness of family life and
friendship. We are here in a Christian Cathedral, brought face to face with
death, an untimely death, a death that did not come in the way we expect or
believe that death should come. What do you do in the face of death?
1. Be Thankful
All of us here have memories, recollections of Michael; some of them are
longstanding, from the intimacy of family life; for others they are more
recent, from the circles of friendship, members of the band, professional
colleagues, fans. We are grateful to those who have already spoken for
bringing these memories to our minds.
What we must do is to take the opportunity to thank God for the person
whose life we shared and who made these memories possible:
Michael, the loyal son and brother who always kept in touch;
Michael, the devoted partner, thrilled at being a father;
Michael, to those who knew him closely, the gentle and generous one;
Michael, who shared his time and talents with charities for the
wellbeing of others;
Michael, who brought joy and delight to millions.
2. Be Human
Someone you loved is dead, and you will not see him, someone you counted on
is gone, and he won't be there; someone who was your rock is no more. And
in that, there is pain, loss, hurt: and it must be.
The pain, the loss, the hurt are made worse by the suggestion that this was
a death of despair: what was it about his life- its circumstances, its
nature, its pressures - that it could be beyond bearing?
Funerals bring us face to face with questions like that. They are one of
the few opportunities we have to share our humanness with each other - our
pain, our loss, our questions, our despair. With a word, a touch, an act
of kindness to say "I hurt and I know you hurt - I feel for you - I so wish
it were otherwise".
So often, we don't say those things to each other, perhaps because we're
busy, or embarrassed or afraid, afraid we'll say the wrong thing, afraid we
won't say the right or clever thing.
There is no right thing, no clever thing to say: nothing we say will change
death or change the pain of grief today. There is simply the opportunity
to stand with other human beings and identify with them in their grief.
Our presence, our fumbled words, our practical helps, all of them ways of
being human, all of them ways of seeking to comfort and support each other.
Gone but not forgotten:
A note from Bono and Ali
Feel free to use this thread to express sentiment of Micheal's and Bono's relationship. Or to leave your thoughts as your hearts lead....
I can remember growing up along with INXS and U2 together...as a young child I can recall pouring over the liner notes of Kick and even as a young girl, I could see the beauty of Micheal's spirit.
As an adult, I can remember being at an Elevation concert and seeing a fan toss up an INXS t-shirt during Stuck In A Moment. Bono was visibly moved and he lovingly draped the shirt across his mike stand during the song--a testament to the fact that Micheal had left a lasting impact on so many people during his short time here. I saw alot of tears during that song, my own included.
Below is an excerpt of his funeral address:
PREACHER: THE VERY REV BOAK JOBBINS,
DEAN OF SYDNEY
St Andrews Anglican Cathedral
We are here as people whose lives have been touched by Michael Hutchence -
some of us remotely, some of us in the closeness of family life and
friendship. We are here in a Christian Cathedral, brought face to face with
death, an untimely death, a death that did not come in the way we expect or
believe that death should come. What do you do in the face of death?
1. Be Thankful
All of us here have memories, recollections of Michael; some of them are
longstanding, from the intimacy of family life; for others they are more
recent, from the circles of friendship, members of the band, professional
colleagues, fans. We are grateful to those who have already spoken for
bringing these memories to our minds.
What we must do is to take the opportunity to thank God for the person
whose life we shared and who made these memories possible:
Michael, the loyal son and brother who always kept in touch;
Michael, the devoted partner, thrilled at being a father;
Michael, to those who knew him closely, the gentle and generous one;
Michael, who shared his time and talents with charities for the
wellbeing of others;
Michael, who brought joy and delight to millions.
2. Be Human
Someone you loved is dead, and you will not see him, someone you counted on
is gone, and he won't be there; someone who was your rock is no more. And
in that, there is pain, loss, hurt: and it must be.
The pain, the loss, the hurt are made worse by the suggestion that this was
a death of despair: what was it about his life- its circumstances, its
nature, its pressures - that it could be beyond bearing?
Funerals bring us face to face with questions like that. They are one of
the few opportunities we have to share our humanness with each other - our
pain, our loss, our questions, our despair. With a word, a touch, an act
of kindness to say "I hurt and I know you hurt - I feel for you - I so wish
it were otherwise".
So often, we don't say those things to each other, perhaps because we're
busy, or embarrassed or afraid, afraid we'll say the wrong thing, afraid we
won't say the right or clever thing.
There is no right thing, no clever thing to say: nothing we say will change
death or change the pain of grief today. There is simply the opportunity
to stand with other human beings and identify with them in their grief.
Our presence, our fumbled words, our practical helps, all of them ways of
being human, all of them ways of seeking to comfort and support each other.
Gone but not forgotten:
A note from Bono and Ali
Feel free to use this thread to express sentiment of Micheal's and Bono's relationship. Or to leave your thoughts as your hearts lead....