Kirk Pengilly addresses the anniversary.
INXS members Kirk Pengilly and Jon Farriss opened up on the 20th anniversary of band member Michael Hutchence's death at last night's ARIA Awards, saying the iconic frontman will never be forgotten.
Speaking in the Iain Shedden Media Suite, Pengilly said the anniversary has been a "hard one" for the band to to deal with.
"The thing is it's everyone else that keeps bringing up Michael's death… for us, we remember all the fun times that we had with Michael," Pengilly said.
"He was our brother and partner in crime. We always felt like we were family… "
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Pengilly went on to say that the anniversary of Hutchence's death is an opportunity for him to reflect on his relationship with the late singer.
"It kind of sucks… you think of all sorts of celebrities and often it's how they die, not what they did and their legacy and what they created. It's a hard one," he said.
"In a way, I find I almost sort of try and avoid the anniversary. Of course I think about it, but it's not something I want to celebrate. It's more the fun times we had together as a band and with Michael and what a fantastic person he was.
"So many people remember where they were when Michael died. It's one of those sort-of, significant deaths in the history of Australia. But in saying all that, we'll always miss him and... he's one of the greatest performers ever and a great guy. None of us will ever forget him, that's for sure."