Michael was born in Sydney, but was subsequently raised in Hong Kong. The Hutchence family eventually returned to Sydney in Michael's late teens, and it was there that Hutchence befriended Andrew Farriss at Davidson High School on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Shortly, Michael and Andrew joined with Andrew's brothers Tim and Jon, as well as friends Garry Gary Beers and Kirk Pengilly to form their first band, The Farris Brothers which would ultimately become INXS. When in 1979 the Farriss family moved to Perth, Western Australia, the rest of the band followed, returning to Sydney soon after. In 1980, the group released their first album, INXS, and put out their first single, Simple Simon, which was soon followed by their first moderate Australian hit, Wishy Washy. By virtue of his role as the band's lead singer, Hutchence became the main spokesperson for the band, and gained a reputation as a confident, sexy frontman, although his close friends and family always maintained he was much more introverted than his on-stage persona. A talented lyricist, he co-wrote almost all of INXS's songs with Andrew Farriss, who has attributed his own success as a songwriter to Hutchence's 'genius'. Hutchence's private life was often reported in the Australian and international press, with a string of love affairs with prominent models and singers, including a brief affair with the much-older transsexual model and singer April Ashley, who wrote of their relationship in her memoirs. In 1990, he began a highly publicised relationship with Kylie Minogue. INXS spent the mid-1990s trying to develop a successful new album after a series of less-than-spectacular releases. During this time, Hutchence's relationship with Kylie Minogue ended, and for a time he dated supermodel Helena Christensen before starting a relationship with Paula Yates, who he had met some years earlier during an interview. Paula and Michael's affair was soon discovered by the English press. Hutchence, aged 37, was found dead in his room at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Double Bay, Sydney. A belt found at the 'scene of crime' suggested that he had hanged himself. The New South Wales coroner initially determined his death was suicide but analysis of the witness statements in the report, the lack of a suicide note and other evidence has since been interpreted to suggest that the cause of death may have been accidental, resulting from autoerotic asphyxiation (strangling himself while masturbating).