Chrissy Amphlett
Chrissy Amphlett |
|---|
Christina Joy Amphlett (born 25 October 1959 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia) is the lead singer of Australian rock band Divinyls. She is also known as Chrissy Amphlett.
She grew up in Geelong as a singer and dancer. She left home as a teenager and travelled to England, France and Spain where she was imprisoned[1] for three months for singing on the streets.
Divinyls
Amphlett met Mark McEntee at a concert at the Sydney Opera House in 1980, and the pair formed the Divinyls shortly after. After several years of live gigs in Sydney, they recorded several songs to be used on the soundtrack of the film Monkey Grip.
Divinyls consisted of an ever-changing lineup around the core of Amphlett and McEntee, whose relationship was volatile throughout their career. Nonetheless, the band released six albums between 1982 and 1996, culminating in 1991 with the success of the single "I Touch Myself" which reached Number 1 in Australia, 10 in the UK and 4 in the US. Divinyls did not release another album for nearly six years, splitting up around the time of Underworld's release in Australia. Amphlett lived in New York City with her husband, concentrating on a solo career and writing her autobiography Pleasure and Pain: My Life.
Amphlett and McEntee barely spoke after the band split up, but resumed contact when they were inducted in the 2006 ARIA Hall of Fame, eventually announcing a new tour and album.[2]
Other work
Amphlett has also worked as an actress. She made her film debut in the 1982 film Monkey Grip, and her performance garnered a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the Australian Film Institute Awards.[2]
In 1988, Amphlett starred alongside Russell Crowe in the first Australian production of Will Russell's stage musical Blood Brothers.[3][4]
Amphlett was originally cast to play Judy Garland opposite Todd McKenney in the original touring production of The Boy from Oz, about the life of Peter Allen. However, Amphlett was replaced in the role by Isabel Keating when the show made its Broadway debut in 2003, but she resumed the role in the Australian tour.[5]
Personal life
Since 1999, Amphlett has been married to American drummer Charley Drayton who played drums on the Divinyls' eponymous album and is currently the drummer in the reformed group. Prior to her marriage to Drayton, Amphlett had an affair with Mark McEntee who was married at the time.[5]
In an interview on the Nine Network program A Current Affair on 7 December 2007, Amphlett revealed she was battling multiple sclerosis.[6] [7]
Amphlett is the cousin of Australian singer Little Pattie (Patricia Amphlett).
Christina also announced that Divinyls are no longer together. She has a new band in New York.
References
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25986945-5012974,00.html
- ^ Pleasure and Pain: My Life by Chrissy Amphlett with Larry Writer. ISBN 0-7336-1959-2. Published by Hachette Livre Australia (formerly Hodder Headline Australia), November 2005
- ^ a b Divinyls, Countdown (ABC TV).
- ^ http://www.theatre.asn.au/musicals_and_opera/audition_blood_brothers_0
- ^ http://www.theatre.asn.au/production/2007/blood_brothers
- ^ a b Blackman, Guy: A lady on the stage, The Age, 6 August 2006.
- ^ Amphlett reveals she has MS. The Sydney Morning Herald, 8 December 2007.
- ^ Rock star Chrissy's disease fight, The Daily Telegraph, 7 December 2007.
External links
- Chrissy Amphlett at IMDb
- chrissyamphlett.com
- Rock Chicks:The Hottest Female Rockers from the 1960's to Now by Stieven-Taylor, Alison (2007). Sydney. Rockpool Publishing. ISBN 9781921295065