From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Origin Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres New wave, pop rock, pub rock
Web site
Divinyls (often incorrectly referred to as The Divinyls) was an Australian rock band that was formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Amphlett garnered widespread attention for performing on stage in a school uniform and fishnet stockings, and often used an illuminated neon tube as a prop for displaying aggression towards both band members and the audience. Originally a five-piece, the band underwent numerous line-up changes, with Amphlett and McEntee remaining as core members, before its dissolution in 1996.
In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), as part of its 75th Anniversary celebrations, named “Science Fiction” as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time. The band was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2006 and in late 2007 Amphlett and McEntee reconvened to record a new single and begin working on a new album. The band played a short series of live gigs in Australia in late 2007 and early 2008.
Divinyls released five studio albums—four placed in the Top 10 Australian chart, while one (Divinyls) reached No. 15 in the United States (US) and No.33 for 3 weeks in Canada. Their biggest-selling single “I Touch Myself” (1990) achieved a No. 1 ranking in Australia, No. 4 in the US, No. 10 in the United Kingdom (UK), and No. 13 in Canada.
Aged 53 years, Amphlett died on 21 April 2013 at her home in New York City, USA, after a protracted battle with breast cancer. Amphlett had been unable to receive radiation or chemotherapy treatment for the cancer because she concurrently suffered from multiple sclerosis.
Amphlett was the cousin of 1960s Australian pop icon Patricia “Little Pattie” Amphlett, who had been married to Keith Jacobsen—younger brother of pioneer rocker Col Joye and leading promoter Kevin Jacobsen. In her autobiography Pleasure and Pain (2005), Amphlett described breaking into the music scene from the age of fourteen, being arrested for busking when seventeen and travelling in Spain, and how her performances drew upon childhood pain.
Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee were introduced by Jeremy Paul (ex-Air Supply) in the car park of a small music venue in Collaroy, Sydney, after Amphlett and Paul had finished a gig with their then band, Batonrouge. Amphlett and McEntee met again at the Sydney Opera House where Amphlett and Paul were singing in a choral concert in 1980. They recruited keyboardist Bjarne Ohlin later in 1980 and drummer Richard Harvey in 1981 respectively, and for almost two years they performed in pubs and clubs in Sydney’s Kings Cross. During this time, Paul negotiated publishing and recording agreements that led to the band signing with WEA. Australian film director Ken Cameron saw Divinyls performing in a club. This led to them providing the soundtrack for his 1982 film Monkey Grip and also gave Amphlett, Paul and McEntee supporting roles in the movie.The group released two singles from the soundtrack, Music from Monkey Grip EP, “Boys in Town”, which reached No. 8 on the national singles chart, and “Only Lonely”. After the band’s initial success, original manager and bassist Jeremy Paul left. He was replaced on bass, briefly by Ken Firth (ex-The Ferrets) and more permanently by Rick Grossman (ex Matt Finish). Grossman left in 1987 to replace Clyde Bramley in Hoodoo Gurus. By early 1988, Divinyls consisted of Amphlett and McEntee with augmentation by additional musicians when recording or touring.
Over the decade Divinyls released four albums, Music from Monkey Grip EP on WEA in 1982, Desperate on Chrysalis Records in 1983, What a Life! in 1985 and Temperamental in 1988. The latter two albums were also released by Chrysalis in the US. They had hit singles in Australia with, “Science Fiction” No. 13 in 1983, “Good Die Young” No. 32 in 1984 and “Pleasure and Pain” which was written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman (The Best, Love Is A Battlefield)) and went No. 1 in 1985. Their later manager Vince Lovegrove organised Divinyls’ transfer from WEA to Chrysalis and their first tours of United States. They established a fan base there, without achieving major commercial success. Divinyls also had Australian hits with cover versions of The Easybeats’ “I’ll Make You Happy”, and Syndicate of Sound’s “Hey Little Boy” (“Hey Little Girl” with the gender switched) which reached No. 25 in 1988. Amphlett became a controversial and highly visible celebrity for her brash, overtly sexual persona and subversive humour in lyrics, performances and media interviews.
At the start of their popularity, Divinyls were considered to be a hard rock band. At some point many fans referred to Amphlett as the female Angus Young, as both had similar mannerisms on stage and wore black and white school uniforms while performing in the early 1980s. The band’s image gradually changed after the release of the What A Life! album when the band began wearing elaborate clothing and producing more songs in the pop music genre. By the time of the release of their Temperamental album, the Divinyls’ image had changed to a glamour fashion style where they produced modern pop music.
Aged 53 years, Amphlett died on 21 April 2013 at her home in New York City after a protracted battle with breast cancer. Amphlett had been unable to receive radiation treatment or chemotherapy as treatment for the cancer due to the multiple sclerosis from which she suffered concurrently—the frontwoman had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007 and breast cancer in 2010. Amphlett’s cousin Patricia Thompson announced the news in an official public statement: “Our beloved Chrissy peacefully made her transition this morning. Christine Joy Amphlett succumbed to the effects of breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, diseases she vigorously fought with exceptional bravery and dignity.” In 2014, some of Australia’s leading female artists came together to reincarnate Amphlett’s anthem, “I
On 16 August 2006, Divinyls were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and made their first performance for 10 years at the award ceremony. They reformed shortly afterwards and a compilation, Greatest Hits, was released by EMI Music Australia in August 2006. The band recorded four new songs via a satellite link: Amphlett and Drayton at Palm Studios in Las Vegas, and McEntee in Perth. A single and B-side, “Don’t Wanna Do This”/”Asphyxiated”, was released in November 2007, with a third track, “All Pretty Things”, released on a compilation album for the Homebake Festival. Amphlett stated that the band would return to the studio to record a full album provided they “survived” their Homebake headline gig and national tour.
They performed during the Australian Idol grand final at the Sydney Opera House, on 25 November 2007, although their performance of “Boys in Town” (also performed by Idol winner Natalie Gauci) had to be repeated after Network Ten’s transmission feed was interrupted. A national tour of Australia followed in December 2007 with a touring band featuring Drayton on drums, Jerome Smith on bass, Charlie Owen on guitar and newest member Clayton Doley on keyboards. Amphlett revealed on 7 December 2007 that she had multiple sclerosis in an interview with Richard Wilkins on Network Nine’s A Current Affair—nevertheless she was looking forward to touring with Divinyls. The next day, Divinyls headlined the Homebake music festival[31] where Amphlett displayed an emotional fragility when attempting to get the crowd to sing along with her. In August 2009, Amphlett announced that Divinyls were finished and she had a new band in New York.
Death of Amphlett
Aged 53 years, Amphlett died on 21 April 2013 at her home in New York City after a protracted battle with breast cancer. Amphlett had been unable to receive radiation treatment or chemotherapy as treatment for the cancer due to the multiple sclerosis from which she suffered concurrently—the frontwoman had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007 and breast cancer in 2010. Amphlett’s cousin Patricia Thompson announced the news in an official public statement: “Our beloved Chrissy peacefully made her transition this morning. Christine Joy Amphlett succumbed to the effects of breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, diseases she vigorously fought with exceptional bravery and dignity.” In 2014, some of Australia’s leading female artists came together to reincarnate Amphlett’s anthem, “I touch myself”. Each provided their own interpretation and distinct style to the song in an effort to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer.
Band members
Former members
Chrissy Amphlett — vocals (1980–1996, 2006–2009; died 2013)
Mark McEntee — guitar (1980–1996, 2006–2009)
Bjarne Ohlin – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (1980–1986)
Jeremy Paul – bass guitar (1980–1982)
Richard Harvey – drums (1981—1985)
Rick Grossman — bass guitar (1982–1987)
Frank Infante — guitar (1987)
Charley Drayton — drums, percussion (1990–1996, 2006–2009)
Charlie Owen — guitar (1991, 2006–2009)
Jerome Smith – bass (1991, 2006–2009)
Clayton Doley — keyboards (2007–2009)
Touring/substitute musicians
Ken Firth — bass guitar (1982)
J. J. Harris — drums (1985–1986)
Tommy “Mugs” Cain — drums (1987)
Kenny Lyon — keyboards (1987)
Matthew Hughes – keyboards, bass guitar (1987–1988)
Warren McLean – drums (1988)
Tim Millikan – bass guitar (1988)
Roger Mason – keyboards (1988–1989, 1990)
Tim Powles – drums (1989)
Benmont Tench — keyboards, Hammond organ (1990–1991)
Randy Jackson — bass guitar (1990)
Lee Borkman – keyboards, guitar (1991)
Jim Hilbun – bass guitar (1991)
Mark Meyer – drums (1991)
Duane Jarvis – guitar (1991)
Randy Wiggins – guitar (1993-1995)