INXS frontman Michael Hutchence presented Oasis with an award for their hit “Wonderwall” at the BRIT Awards in 1996 but the happy occasion resulted in one of Oasis’ members hurling an insult to Hutchence as they left the stage.
1995 MTV European Music Awards
At the 1995 MTV European Music Awards, Ultimate Classic Rock reported that INXS frontman Michael Hutchence and Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher nearly came to blows backstage over Hutchence’s then-lover, Paula Yates. There wasn’t much follow-up reporting but at the 1996 BRIT Awards, it seemed like it was water under the bridge, at least initially.
“Has-beens should not be presenting f–ing awards to gonna-be’s.” – Noel Gallagher
Hutchence, who was an Oasis fan, presented an award that night to Oasis for Best British Video Of The Year for their single, “Wonderwall”. Oasis took to the stage to accept their award, but as the band left the stage, guitarist Noel Gallagher hurled an insult at Hutchence, “Has-beens should not be presenting f–ing awards to gonna-be’s.”
During the time of the BRIT awards, INXS had started writing their final album with Hutchence, 1997’s Elegantly Wasted. The band had come off an extended hiatus after their last record in 1993, Full Moon Dirty Hearts, which was a commercial disappointment due to lukewarm responses from critics and changing musical tastes.
“We really wanted to get off the old carousel for a while. – Michael Hutchence
Hutchence would tell The Album Network magazine in 1997, “We really wanted to get off the old carousel for a while. As a band, we have recorded an album every 12-18 months over the last 5 or 6 years. This helped to create a situation resulting in a lot of personal and business friction within the band, as well as the record label… It just seemed like the logical time to take a break.”
“I’m better than Oasis.” – Michael Hutchence
Sometime after the BRIT Awards, Hutchence was in Dublin, Ireland working on the INXS album, Elegantly Wasted. He was at a bar one night with Bono of U2 when Liam Gallagher supposedly walked in and got into a verbal altercation with the INXS frontman. Bono kept the peace, but Hutchence was so infuriated with the event that he headed back to the studio and added a background vocal to the title track that said, “I’m better than Oasis.”
Hutchence took his own life in November of 1997. To Michael Hutchence’s friends, Noel Gallagher’s remark was said to have humiliated him.
“…We’re the best at giving verbal abuse.” – Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher discussed the incident in 2000, 3 years after Hutchence’s death, telling Uncut Magazine, “The second night of The BRITs, 1996, we didn’t know Michael Hutchence was going to present us with an award. It was the first award of the night and there’d been words said before the ceremony in the papers. So when he came out to present the award, we went, ‘Right, these BRITs organizers have stitched us up here, because they know what’s going on.’
We decided that, every time we hit that stage, we’re going to give it to everyone, and we f–ing duly did. It wasn’t scripted or anything like that. We probably wouldn’t have done anything if Michael Hutchence hadn’t come out and said his little bit, ‘I heard Liam wants to fight me.’ We were like, ‘Don’t f–ing try and pick a fight with us, man, because we’re the best at giving verbal abuse,’ and off we went.”
While the band’s last album with Hutchence wasn’t as commercially successful as their earlier works, the title track peaked at No. 2 on the Alternative Charts in America.
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It doesn’t matter why he said it, the fact is that he did. Michael’s fans will hate Oasis forever. Michael is a legendary front man with posts devoted solely to him, so who are the real has-beens?
evieandpauls@gmail.com I’m glad that Michael said what he said in the song “Elegantly Wasted”he said that “he’s better than Oasis, They had it coming!!! It’s one thing to have a spat backstage, it’s another thing to say something like that at a ceremony into a microphone in front of millions of people!!!!! Thanks for listening, Evie🖤💋
Michael Huchence will always live on through his music as the froñtman of INXS just like Jim Morrison and other talented amazing froñtman and other bandmates we the fans have lost over the years.I think about all of them over the years l wish they were still here Their souls will live on in the afterlife.Their music helps save so many living souls Just like Chester Bennington sings One More Light I care So do I Michele
I bet Gallagher wished he had never said that to michael, considering they were has beens (Karma) in short order. INXS has an amazing collection of music that sounds just as good today as it did in the eighties. He was better than Oasis. Sadly today’s music lacks the passion, soul and creativity we all became accustomed to so many years ago.