Kylie Minogue has confirmed she was the inspiration behind late ex-boyfriend Michael Hutchence’s controversial INXS hit Suicide Blonde.

It’s long been believed that Kylie, who dated the musician on and off between 1987 and 1990, was the muse behind the music – speculation she confirmed in an interview with News Corp.

Revealing that the track refers to her rebellious blonde character, Lola Lovell, in the 1989 film The Delinquents, the star recalled: “Suicide Blonde came from me talking about my character in The Delinquents, we met just after that.

“My hairdresser called the (colour of the) wig I had to wear ‘suicide blonde’,” the singer, who released her latest hit Say Something, from her 15th album Disco, last month, said.

The Aussie pop princess went on to hint that other songs written at the time, for INXS’ 1990 album X, may also have been inspired by her. 

“Anything he wrote at that time, well, I was around,” she teased.

The track raised eyebrows among Michael’s fellow INXS bandmembers when he presented it to the group, with Andrew Farriss telling the paper of his own recollections: “My concerns weren’t so much about Kylie or their relationship, it was the word ‘suicide’ in a song.

“He said, ‘Don’t worry it’s not about suicide’.”

Michael was tragically found dead in his hotel room in Sydney in 1997 at the age of 37. His death was ruled as suicide by hanging.

Kylie shared fond memories of her time with the Never Tear Us Apart hitmaker in the recent documentary Mystify: Michael Hutchence, sharing of their relationship: “I felt protected. He had [an] insatiable curiosity, all the good things in life and some of the bad.

“He opened up a whole new world for me. A lot of it was based around pleasure, let’s face it,” she added.