RIP, Chrissy Amphlett (Divinyls)

[Wigwam Jones]

Someone posted it elsewhere in an unrelated thread, but I thought this deserved its own thread.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/arts/music/christina-amphlett-divinyls-singer-dies-at-53.html?_r=0

Christina Amphlett, Divinyls Singer, Dies at 53
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 22, 2013
Christina Amphlett, the lead singer of Divinyls, the Australian rock band whose hit “I Touch Myself” brought her international fame in the early 1990s, died on Sunday at her home in New York City. She was 53.
The cause was breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, her husband, the drummer and bassist Charley Drayton, said.​

 

[elicanis]

Wow.

That is a real shame.

 

[parman]

Saw that the other day, I had their big hit CD in steady rotation for quite a while. I'll play it tonight.

 

[estreeter]

I first saw the Divinyls somewhere around 1981 in a crusty old rock pub (the Astra) that sat on the hill overlooking Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach. At the time, Bondi had a fairly sordid reputation by night, and that old pub was a big part of that reputation. The band were just part of a bill that would blow a few minds in Oz in 2013, but we didn't know how good we had it. Chrissy never shied away from her onstage persona in interviews, but it was obvious to me (even as a feckless youth) that it was her way of dealing with being the only woman on stage in front of some distinctly feral audiences. The band became a lot more mainstream after that first album, but 'Boys In Town' remains the definitive Diviynls tune for mine, and it was an absolute balltearer live.

One of the 'joys' of getting older is that we have to watch contemporaries drop off the planet, but it hits a little harder when the age difference is only a few months - 53 is way too young. Chrissy was increasingly frail in recent interviews on Oz TV, but she always came across as a fighter. RIP.

 

[wizargoz]

OMG- We're OLD, Wiggy (at least I am)...

 

[elrod]

I'm gonna touch myself to honor Christina - wait, that didn't come out right....

 

[Naptown Rob]

It's a shame that they'll be remembered in most people's minds for "I Touch Myself". They were so much cooler than that.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=DMSyumchMWA&desktop_uri=/watch?v=DMSyumchMWA

 

[parman]

diVINALS~S/T
As promised the other day, this one's for Christina. If Love Was A Gun is my fav.