Divinyls
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Christina Amphlett and Mark McEntee on the cover of their 1991 self titled album |
Divinyls (often incorrectly referred to as "The Divinyls") are an
Australian rock music and
New Wave band. The core of the band is and has been
vocalist Christina Amphlett (born Christine Amphlett and affectionately known as 'Chrissy') and
guitarist Mark McEntee. Amphlett had impeccable pop credentials, being the cousin of Sixties Australian pop icon
Little Pattie and closely related to pioneer Aussie rocker
Col Joye and his brother, leading promoter
Kevin Jacobsen. In her autobiography "Pleasure and Pain" Chrissy talks of the early days, when she was breaking into the music scene, of being arrested for busking when a teenager travelling in Spain, and how her act drew upon childhood pain.
The duo formed after meeting at a
Sydney Opera House concert in
1980, and for the first two years they performed in pubs and clubs in Sydney's
Kings Cross. They provided the soundtrack for the movie
Monkey Grip with Amphlett also acting in the film. She received a Best Supporting Actress nomination from the
Australian Film Institute for her performance and the group had two hit singles, "Boys In Town" and "Only Lonely" from the soundtrack.
Over the next decade they released several albums, and had hit singles in Australia with songs such as "Science Fiction", "Good Die Young", "Pleasure and Pain" and "Sleeping Beauty". Their manager
Vince Lovegrove was the former co-lead vocalist of popular 60s pop band
The Valentines with
Bon Scott.
They also had hits with their
cover versions of
The Easybeats's "I'll Make You Happy", and the
Syndicate of Sound's "Hey Little Boy" ("Hey Little Girl" with the gender switched). Amphlett became a controversial and highly visible celebrity, known for her brash and overtly sexual persona, and for the subversive humour in both her lyrics and her performances. They toured and performed in the
United States and established a fan base there, without achieving major commercial success.
Original bassist Jeremy Paul (ex
Air Supply) left the group in 1982. He was replaced by Rick Grossman (ex
Matt Finish), who left in 1987 to replace Clyde Bramley in
Hoodoo Gurus.
In
1991 they released the single "
I Touch Myself" which became their only Australian number one single, and it reached number 4 in the US, and number 10 in the UK. A disagreement with their record company in the US stifled their future development, however in Australia they continued to release popular albums, and to achieve several more hit singles ("Love School", "Make Out Alright", and "I'm On Your Side"). During the 1980s and 1990s Amphlett began to collaborate as a songwriter with such artists as
Chrissie Hynde and
Cyndi Lauper, and she and McEntee worked on solo projects.
As their record company was quick to capitalize on their success by releasing the
Essential collection of hits from the first three albums, and the
Divinyls Live authorized bootleg in 1991, the band did not rush to put out new studio material. In the early 1990s they recorded a series of cover songs for various movie soundtracks, including the
Young Rascals' "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" for
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Wild Ones' "Wild Thing" for
Reckless Kelly, and
Roxy Music's "Love Is The Drug" for
Super Mario Brothers.
It wasn't until 1996 that
Underworld, the fifth album, was released in Australia by BMG. Despite the success of the previous album, Virgin did not keep the band under contract, and BMG did not release the album in the U.S. As with
What A Life!, the group worked with three producers on
Underworld, beginning with "I'm Jealous", recorded in Nashville with Peter Collins, followed by "Sex Will Keep Us Together" and "Heart Of Steel", recorded with Keith Forsey. Although "Heart of Steel" was chosen as a single, the band decided to discontinue working with Forsey, because, in Amphlett's words, "he was a bit too 'pop' for us." The remaining tracks were produced by Charley Drayton, who also provided drums on both
diVINYLS and
Underworld, and to whom Amphlett is now married.
Following
Underworld Amphlett began to focus on a stage career. In
1998, Amphlett played the role of
Judy Garland in the Australian stage production of the life story of entertainer
Peter Allen, titled
The Boy from Oz. The production was a huge success, and Amphlett's interpretation of Garland during her final troubled years, brought her critical acclaim.
From the late 1990s, Amphlett and McEntee have concentrated largely on solo projects and their collaborations with other artists. Nonetheless Divinyls, as a recording and performing entity, has never been officially disbanded.
A brand new career spanning best-of collection is due to be released by EMI Music Australia in August 2006.
Albums:*
1982:
Monkey Grip*
1983:
Desperate*
1985:
What a Life!*
1988:
Temperamental*
1991:
Divinyls*
1991:
Essential*
1994:
The Collection*
1996:
Underworld*
1997:
Make You Happy*
2006:
Greatest HitsPleasure and Pain: My Life by Chrissy Amphlett with Larry Writer. ISBN 0733619592. Published by Hachette Livre Australia (formerly Hodder Headline Australia), November 2005.
