When INXS frontman Michael Hutchence died in 1997, he had been working on his first solo album, which featured collaborations with Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill, Black Grape producer Danny Saber and Bomb the Bass‘ Tim Simenon. It was posthumously released in 1999, featuring mostly the Gill collaborations, but two songs Hutchence made with Saber are now seeing the light of day via a new 10″ picture disc single that will be out May 15 via Boss Sonics. Preorder it here.
“I have been working towards bringing this music to the public for over 20 years,” Saber says now. “Some of the songs were featured in the Last Rockstar documentary, but the full mastered versions were not released with the airing of the film as the Last Rockstar was only broadcast in Australia and New Zealand.” He adds, “One of the fundamental reasons for releasing this music is to give the fans the opportunity to hear Michael’s voice on something new and fresh offering a glimpse into what might have been, and, in turn, reawakening millions of people who may have simply forgotten about him. I want to share that perspective as I really feel Michael’s story has so much relevance and value on so many levels. And along the way we can hopefully shift the focus to how he lived, and not how he died.”
We’ve got the premiere of the single’s A-side, “One Way,” which is the kind of big, anthemic (and very mid-’90s) rock song that needs someone with as much charisma and presence as Hutchence had. Listen to “One Way” below.