How Hutchence changed Kylie

Aussie pop diva Kylie Minogue has spoken about how the late Michael Hutchence changed her life.

"The best way I can describe how my life changed with Michael is that up to that point it was like I had worn blinkers, and the blinkers were suddenly taken off," she told The New Review magazine in UK's The Independent newspaper.

The INXS frontman was once quoted as saying that his hobby was "corrupting Kylie", and that the song Suicide Blonde had been inspired by her.

Minogue shed her girl-next-door image when she dated Hutchence in the late '80s. She cut her long locks into a cropped peroxide pixie cut for a more adult look.

"It was a combination of him, of my age, my willingness and my desire to learn about the world," Minogue said.

Hutchence died aged 37, after he was found dead in a Sydney hotel room in 1997.

Minogue also spoke about her current beau, Spanish model Andres Velencoso, in the newspaper. "I'm up and down, he's much more consistent," she said.