By ninemsn staff and wires

Rhett Hutchence, the younger brother of deceased INXS frontman Michael, has defended selling some of the singer's private belongings on eBay.

The 44-year-old Byron Bay local said he has moved to sell the "unimportant" items, including a private fax sent by Michael Hutchence to his then-girlfriend Kylie Minogue, so he can afford to move to the Netherlands to be with his 28-year-old girlfriend Lissette.

"I assure you all the really important things I'm keeping," he told The Daily Telegraph.

advertisement
"I will be passing on a lot of these things to (Michael's daughter) Tiger when she's old enough."

"The fact is I'm in love ... she's young and beautiful and everything I could want."

"I just need to raise some money so I can be with her."

"Michael wouldn't have minded at all — he would be happy I'm in love and have some direction in my life."

Rhett rejected claims by New Idea magazine that his mother, Patricia Glassop, has disowned him for trying to cash in on the dead singer's private belongings.

The magazine said Rhett is "selling the star's memory on eBay", including an original sketch penned by Michael Hutchence and one of his T-shirts.

Hutchence was found hanged in his Sydney hotel room in November 1997.

New Idea said Rhett Hutchence, who in 2004 released a book detailing the early days of INXS and his brother's rise to fame, had written a "tasteless sales pitch" about the fax to Kylie.

"This is a fax Michael wrote and sent to Kylie on September 19, 1990. I have a similar, yet raunchier one I'll keep, yet this real slice of history could be yours," the pitch says.

Glassop said she was upset her son was selling the personal fax from Hutchence to pop princess Minogue.

"That was one of the worst things because that was private," she said.

"I hope Kylie finds out and addresses the issue herself, because that fax is no-one else's business."

The move has reportedly prompted Glassop to disown her only surviving son.

"Rhett's gone too far this time," she said.

"After this I don't know who he is. But I do know he's not my son any more."

http://news.ninemsn.com.a...?id=252869

-----


His Ebay username is: rhettttro

http://myworld.ebay.com/rhettttro/

what an absolute turd of a brother! WTF! Selling of your brothers personal items to go live with some slut in the Netherlands!

How about getting a job like the rest of us and earn the airfare and living expenses??!

You slimy bastard...im so f**king pissed at him right now...

It wasent bad enuff that while Mike was alive he bailed you out of jail 100 times and paid off all your debts to shady underworld charachters, now you go and do this to him!?

I swear as a Mike fan if i ever see him in the street, im gonna spit him square in the eyeball...arsehole...

sorry about my language...

You can see his listings here:

http://search.ebay.com/_W...troQQhtZ-1

the wrong brother died thats 4 sure...

xperience319 said:

While I agree with you man, a lot of the shit is just collectors shirts that h got through Michael's management. Behind, a pair of Michael's glasses and a signed photo, the stuff ISN'T that great. Still a shame he is trying to cash in on Michael's legacy. It would serve him right if Andrew or Tim addressed this issue, but I doubt they will, as it really isn't their place.

"shes young and beautiful and everything i want"??

a bit shallow!

I'm sorry, but why is it any of your business? The guy has something that's of value to other people, and of no value to himself, and needs the money. If you don't like it, don't buy it, but it's not really any of your business what the man does with his own property.

Tessa said:

read up on the history of this guy and then defend him...he's sold everything Mike has given him...Mike practically paid for this idiots entire adult life. He needs to grow up and get a job like the rest of us.

This sh*t is inexcusable. It wont stop at this either, Rhett will likely start plucking hairs off tiger lilly's head and sell them on ebay. the man is scum...

EDIT: i really hope Kylie's people shut that fax auction down. He's selling Mike's personal messages to her ffs...
[Edited 3/5/07 15:53pm]

xperience319 said:

Still, it's none of your business. It's his private property and if he doesn't want it and wants to sell it, that's his business. Have you ever had to take care of arrangements after someone died? If that hasn't happened to you yet, then I hope when your parents die there isn't an angry fanbase out there bitching when you take their clothes to Goodwill or sell them in a yard sale. Because I can guarantee you that you aren't going to be interested in keeping every piece of junk they accumulated throughout their entire lifetimes.

I'm sorry, but this is the man's brother, and this is the man's property. He owns it. He had a relationship with the man. You don't and didn't. You don't own the man or his belonings, and you have no claim on them whatsoever. You are merely a fan of the man's music. It is not your place to criticize his brother in whatever he does with his own property or how he choses to remember Michael. In fact it's really quite rude of you to presume that you have the right to intrude upon someone else's private business and how they choose to deal with such matters.
[Edited 3/5/07 15:59pm]
[Edited 3/5/07 16:00pm]

Yes i have had a family member pass and i have ZERO intention of selling or passing on their belongings.

If i want to go to the netherlands i'll save up and go.

Tessa said:

wow. he is selling his glasses. then he writes "Mum, you can have a 20% discount" in the description.

What the hell is wrong with this guy? He clearly has long-running issues with his family.

Well this is a tough one for me, being a fan of Michaels/Inxs since day one, its a tough thing, but, these items were his brothers, i would have more of an issue if Michael left these to Rhett in his will and then he started selling it all off, but at the end of the day its on Rhetts head. I dont know what kind of relation they had when Michael was alive, i dont think they were close, i know Michael was very close to his sister, but not really sure. I do know that there has been alot of disowning and law suits going on within the family which is very sad. Michael, I believe did leave it all to his daughter, and i do believe that didnt sit well with some family members. I do like the way the Band members have remained "out of " all that mess and just gone on with their lives and recording as a family which they always were. Andrew Farriss who was the closest to Michael, though they all were, has always said they arent replacing Michael cause he's with them all the time. So i guess deep down Rhett may feel that this is maybe money that Michael "should" but "Didnt" leave him, its a tough call. There are people that still curse the band for still being "INXS" without Michael, but until we are in that kind of situation we dont know what we would do.

Y'know, my name's Paul and this is between y'all but...

If you were really pissed off you wouldn't be advertising it here with a link. I would've had no idea but now I'm bidding, you really showed him. He's a dick, I get it, but any R&R collector is interested in the money and when this guy's cash runs out he'll have a reality check. Here's yours

Yeah but odds are the stuff might not even be authentic, so whos a bigger fool?

Tacky.

Slave2daGroove said:

thanks mate. ur awesome.

why get all worked up? its the dude's shit...his life...his f*cked up relationship with his mother...

and none of our business...

Situations like this... I stay out of it... It's a family matter and I don't see any reason for Non Family or Fans to even speak on such things

banks said:

Yeah i feel the same way. But i also think its true when a band chooses to go on with recording or playing when the lead singer or member dies. I think at times we all contradict ourselves when we say that bands should stop recording or give up or not use the name after the lead singer or member dies. We have to put ourselves in the bands position, whichever it maybe, Inxs,Queen, etc..if they still choose to play, why shouldnt they, they didnt die, the lead singer did and why should they stop living because of it. So i think we as fans have to do that too, because i know alot of people "curse" bands that go on with out a member either due to death or quitting etc..

lastdecember said:

i don't begrudge a band for using their old name...but i do think it makes things harder for them...unless they are doing a vegas type oldie but goodie show its a hard hurdle to overcome...they might as well change names and start from scratch.

After looking at the auctions, I can see why fans would much rather own these precious items, rather than have them stroed away forever. I think selling Michael's own glasses is a bit much, but giving a devoted fan a chance to own some handwritten lyrics isn't too bad. As long as Tiger gets the most important things, I'm not that upset. He probably shouldn't have advertised his reason or selling the items, because a lot of people find it a little selfish. If he just said, "I'd like to give Michael's fans the chance to own something of his," it would have come off much better.