INXS say no to use of songs, footage in Hutchence film
Sydney Morning Herald, Vanda Carson September 24, 2010
MICHAEL HUTCHENCE'S former bandmates in INXS have refused to give their permission for the use of songs and footage in a documentary of his life aimed at raising funds for his orphaned daughter.
The film is a venture by a mysterious company based in the Virgin Islands, called Chardonnay Investments.
Sources close to the Hutchence family insist Chardonnay Investments is the corporate guise of Tiger Lily Hutchence Geldof. They say the 14-year-old will receive the funds held by the company when she turns 18 or 21.
The five surviving members of Hutchence's band refused to comment about the documentary and refused to answer questions over allegations they conspired to deprive his daughter of a share of the band's royalties.
Instead they released a statement implying they had reservations about who would really benefit, because the company had declined to reveal who was behind it. They implied Tiger Lily was not behind the company and that it was a stalking horse for others. But they would not name who that might be.
''As family men, all we hope and pray for is for the proceeds of Michael Hutchence's income going to Tiger Lily's benefit,'' they said. Chardonnay claimed to have ''far greater rights than Michael Hutchence himself ever had'', the band said.
Members of the band yesterday attended a press conference in the lead-up to their performance at the AFL grand final in Melbourne tomorrow.
In legal action over Hutchence's estate in 1998 it was suggested Chardonnay Investments was run by Colin Diamond, a Gold Coast lawyer who was Hutchence's financial adviser and Tiger Lily's godfather.
Chardonnay's lawyer also refused to comment about who was behind the company. The dispute over the documentary is one of several issues inflaming tensions between members of the band and the company.
