12.27.00 - Reuters

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) - Australian rocker Michael Hutchence, who killed himself in 1997, had discussed suicide with U2 singer Bono who now feels guilty that he let his friend slip through the cracks, Rolling stone magazine said Wednesday.

In the upcoming issue of the magazine, Bono said that they had both agreed how "pathetic" suicide was, "(a)nd we kind of promised each other we wouldn't, we wouldn't cross that line where things get stupid."

Hutchence, charismatic frontman for rock band INXS, broke that promise in November, 1997, when he hanged himself in a Sydney hotel room. A coroner determined that Hutchence had been depressed about a custody battle between his lover, Paula Yates, and her former husband, singer Bob Geldof.

Bono wrote a song about Hutchence called "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of," which appears on the new U2 album "All That You Can't Leave Behind."

"That song is an argument. It's a row between mates. You're kind of trying to slap somebody around the face, trying to wake them up out of an idea. In my case it's a row that I didn't have while he was alive."

Describing himself in the Rolling Stone interview as a deeply loyal friend, Bono recalled feeling guilt, anger and annoyance when hearing of Hutchence's death.

He said the tune was a "really tough, nasty little number," because he felt it would be disrespectful to Hutchence to write a "soppy" song.

The issue containing the article is due out on Dec. 29. U2 are featured on the cover as band of the year, as determined by the magazine's critics.

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