Cris Bonacci

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Christine "Cris" Bonacci (b. 1962) is an Australian born producer, song writer and musician.

1 Career
2 Personal life
3 Discography
4 DVD Releases
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Career

Starting in 1978 with Bonacci's first group in Melbourne, Australia -- Sweet Jayne, founded by Bonacci and bass player Sally Zylstra -- which developed a sizeable local following in Melbourne and recorded several early works, Cris has played in numerous bands, never staying with one unit for more than a couple of years. After Sweet Jayne, Bonacci joined all-female hard rock outfit She as lead guitarist. She included Jackie "Jacqui" Bodimead, whom Bonacci would later team up with in Girlschool.

During her stint in She Bonacci's musical talent was discovered by Mike Oldfield, who was impressed to the degree that he promptly invited Bonacci to the United Kingdom as session and recording musician. When UK-based hard rock outfit Girlschool heard of Bonacci they invited both her and keyboard player Bodimead to join the band. Both agreed. Bonacci recorded four albums and toured extensively with Girlschool during her time with the group (1983 to 1991); Running Wild, Nightmare at Maple Cross, Take a Bite and Girlschool. (Running Wild did not get a UK release.)

After Bonacci left Girlschool early in 1991 she joined up with Toyah Willcox, performing several notable promotional appearances in the media for Willcox' album Ophelia's Shadow. In the years 1991 and 1992 Bonacci and Willcox joined up with and Bonacci's former band mates Williams and McAuliffe and formed the She Devils. In the years 1991 and 1992 the She Devils made two smaller tours around Europe. After the She Devils project came to its conclusion, Bonacci joined Marc Almond's touring band, before ultimately focusing her career on music production. In December, 2004, however, Bonacci re-joined Girlschool for a one-off gig at the London Garage along original guitarist Kelly Johnson and present guitarist Jackie Chambers.

Bonacci has written lyrics and music for and produced a variety of artists. Mostly for the bands and artists she's been involved with at the time but she has also written for and produced other artists, such as All Saints and Samantha Fox. As of 2007 her interests are focused on studio work and production, whereas the earlier focus was on orchestral work and touring. Her latest production is ID Models' Fashion Lounge compilation album from 2003.

She is currently affiliated with Electracult, a band she formed with Michelle M Electra in January 2005. Electracult are currently in the process of producing their first full-length release Electracult Me.

[edit] Personal life

Bonacci was engaged in a non-public relationship with English pin-up icon Samantha Fox for many years. Bonacci had never been public about her sexual orientation choosing to keep it personal [1], to the point that when Fox publicly mentioned her relationship with Bonacci in a 2003 magazine interview^[1] it came as a surprise to all of Bonacci's friends, even her mother. ^[2] Bonacci and Fox met in 1995 backstage at a gig in St. Petersburg, Russia.