Divinyls

Divinyls () were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Originally a five-piece, the band underwent numerous line-up changes, with Amphlett and McEntee remaining as core members, before its dissolution in 1996.

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 United States, No. 10 in the United Kingdom (UK), and No. 13 in Canada. 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 broke up in 2009. Amphlett died in 2013.

Career

1980s: Formation, Desperate, What a Life!, and Temperamental

Amphlett was the first cousin of 1960s Australian pop icon Patricia "Little Pattie" Amphlett. 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". By early 1988, Divinyls consisted of Amphlett and McEntee with augmentation by additional musicians when recording or touring.

1990s: diVINYLS & Underworld

In 1991, Divinyls released diVINYLS on Virgin Records and the single "I Touch Myself" which became their only Australian No.1 single. The song reached No. 4 in the United States and No. 10 in the United Kingdom. The majority of Divinyls' hits were co-written by Amphlett and McEntee, diVINYLS reached No. 5 on the Australian album charts The drummer for the diVINYLS sessions was Charley Drayton, who became romantically involved with Amphlett: they married in July 1999, and from 2000, lived together in New York. A disagreement with Virgin Records stifled future development outside Australia where they released popular albums and achieved two more top twenty singles with "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" No. 19 in 1992 and "I'm Jealous" No. 14 in 1995.

The song "I Touch Myself" caused such a controversy it had trouble getting airplay in many US-area markets; so much to the point that while performing their song live in Texas at Austin Aqua Fest 1991 the plug was pulled on the band mid-set by organisers.

It wasn't until 1996 that their fifth studio album, Underworld, was released in Australia by BMG. The production was a success and Amphlett's interpretation of Garland, during her final troubled years, brought her critical acclaim: she was nominated for the Helpmann Award for 'Best Female Actor in a Musical'.

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. In November 2005 Amphlett published her autobiography Pleasure and Pain: My Life co-written with Larry Writer;

2006–2012: Hall of Fame and reformation

thumb|Chrissy Amphlett in 2007

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 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 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.

2013–present: Death of Amphlett and aborted 2018 reformation

Aged 53 years, Amphlett died on 21 April 2013 at her home in New York City after a protracted battle with breast cancer since 2010. Amphlett stated that she had been unable to receive radiotherapy or chemotherapy as treatment for the cancer due to her multiple sclerosis. 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 cover "I Touch Myself" to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer.

In 2017, the band performed a one-off show in Perth with The Preatures' Isabella Manfredi and Jack Moffit joining as guests on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, respectively. McEntee, Grossman and Harvey completed the line-up.

In December 2018, McEntee announced he would be reforming the group with new singer Lauren Ruth Ward, ex-Divinyls guitarist Frank Infante and a new rhythm section for an Australian tour, to begin in 2019. However, this announcement was criticised by Drayton and several fans as an "ultimate disrespect", with Drayton stating that anyone other than Amphlett who fronted the Divinyls should "seek some trustworthy advice". On 6 February 2019, the Australian tour was cancelled.

In early January 2021, former band drummer Warren McLean died. Original drummer Richard Harvey died on 19 July 2022, his passing announced on social media by his bandmate from The Party Boys Paul Christie.

Band members

Final line-up

Chrissy Amphlett – lead vocals
Mark McEntee – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
Jerome Smith – bass
Charley Drayton – drums, percussion, backing vocals, occasional guitar, bass and harmonica
Clayton Doley – keyboards, backing vocals
Charlie Owen – guitar

Former members backing vocals

Rick Grossman – bass
J. J. Harris – drums
Kenny Lyon – keyboards
Tommy "Mugs" Cain – drums
Tim Millikan – bass
Warren McLean – drums
Roger Mason – keyboards
Tim Powles – drums
Randy Jackson – bass
Benmont Tench – keyboards

Touring/substitute musicians

Ken Firth – bass guitar
Matthew Hughes – keyboards, bass guitar
Frank Infante – guitar
Jim Hilbun – bass
Lee Borkman – keyboards, guitar
Mark Meyer – drums
Duane Jarvis – guitar
Randy Wiggins – guitar
Scott Kingman – guitar

Discography

Studio albums:

1982: Music from Monkey Grip
1983: Desperate
1985: What a Life!
1988: Temperamental
1991: Divinyls
1996: Underworld

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. Divinyls were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.

| 1991

| "I Touch Myself"

| Single of the Year

| 2006

| Divinyls

| ARIA Hall of Fame

Countdown Australian Music Awards

Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.

| rowspan="3" |1981

| rowspan="2" | "Boys in Town"

| Best Australian Single

| Best Debut Single

| Themselves

| Best New Talent

| rowspan="2" | 1982

| Monkey Grip

| Best Debut Album

| Chrissy Amphlett (Divinyls)

| Most Popular Female

|1983

| Desperate

| Best Australian Album

| 1984

| Christina Amphlett – "In My Life" (Divinyls)

| Best Female Performance in a Video

MTV Video Music Awards

Originally beginning as an alternative to the Grammy Awards, the MTV Video Music Awards were established in the end of the summer of 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year.

!Ref.

| rowspan=3|1991

| rowspan=3|"I Touch Myself"

| Video of the Year

| rowspan=3|

| Best Group Video

| Viewer's Choice

References

External links

Official MySpace page