As Michael’s recorded voice pleaded to slide away, Bono closed his eyes and began to improvise a response. His voice climbed into that famous, passionate register, cutting through the dark atmosphere of the track like a searchlight.
Bono knew he couldn't just sing at the track. He had to sing with Michael. He had to create a bridge between the living and the dead. Michael Hutchence feat Bono - Slideaway (NEW)
He stepped up to the microphone. He didn't warm up. He wanted the raw, unvarnished emotion of the moment. As Michael’s recorded voice pleaded to slide away,
But it was incomplete. It lacked a counterpoint. It needed a voice that could answer Michael from across the void. He had to sing with Michael
Producer Andy Gill knew there was only one person who could fill that space. He picked up the phone and called Dublin.
Michael Hutchence had been gone for two years. The shockwaves of his sudden passing in a Sydney hotel room in 1997 had settled into a dull, permanent ache for those who loved him. He left behind a vault of unfinished solo work—songs that captured a man trying to shed the skin of the leather-clad INXS rock god to reveal something raw, electronic, and deeply personal.