Divinyls

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Divinyls
Origin Sydney, Australia
Genre(s) New Wave
pop/rock
Years active 1980-1997, 2006-Present
Label(s) WEA, Chrysalis, BMG, Virgin, RCA
Associated acts Air Supply
Website Official website
Members
Christina Amphlett
Mark McEntee
Charley Drayton
Charlie Owen
Jerome Smith
Clayton Doley
Former members
Bjarne Ohlin
Jeremy Paul
Richard Harvey
Rick Grossman

Divinyls are an Australian rock band formed in 1980 in Sydney with the mainstays of Christina Amphlett as vocalist and co-songwriter with Mark McEntee on guitars, keyboards and backing vocals.[1][2] Their best known single "I Touch Myself", about female masturbation,[3][4] reached #1 on the Australian singles charts[5] and #4 in the United States on Billboard Hot 100 in 1991.[6] The accompanying album diVINYLS went to #5 on the Australian album charts[5] and #15 on Billboard 200.[7] According to Rolling Stone magazine's review, Amphlett's performance style used vengeful eroticism with a vulnerability underneath.[4]

Original members included Bjarne Ohlin (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Jeremy Paul (bass) and Richard Harvey (drums).[8] Six Divinyls' songs, including their debut single "Boys in Town", were used for an Australian 1982 film soundtrack, Monkey Grip.[9] The video for the single had Amphlett in a school uniform and fishnet stockings while gyrating over a metal grill and being filmed from below.[2] By then Paul had been replaced on bass guitar by Rick Grossman.[8] Other popular singles in Australia were "Science Fiction", "Pleasure and Pain", "I Ain't Gonna Eat out My Heart Anymore" and "I'm Jealous".[5] In 1987 Grossman left and others soon followed making Divinyls a duo, Amphlett and McEntee, plus session musicians.[1] They would use different musicians on tour and regularly changed record labels, producers and band managers.[2] From 1991 on, one of their studio musicians was drummer Charley Drayton. There was a ten-year gap between touring in support of their 1996 Underworld album and their next studio recording, 2007 single "Don't Wanna Do This".[10]

Amphlett's provocative and dynamic live performances with McEntee's powerful pop guitar led to Divinyls' iconic status being acknowledged when they were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2006.[11][12][13] After the Hall of Fame event, Divinyls reformed and toured Australia with the line-up of Amphlett, McEntee, Drayton, Charlie Owen (guitar) and Jerome Smith (bass), adding Clayton Doley (keyboards) in 2007.[8] Amphlett and McEntee had been lovers previously, and continued as a songwriting partnership until they had a falling out in 1997,[10] Amphlett and Drayton were married in 1999 and living in New York since 2000.[14][15]

Contents

[edit] 1980s: Formation and early albums

Main articles: Christina Amphlett, Jeremy Paul, and Richard Grossman (musician)

Amphlett has a pop pedigree, she is the cousin of 1960s Australian pop icon Little Pattie and closely related to pioneer rocker Col Joye and his brother, leading promoter Kevin Jacobsen.[1] 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.[16]

Amphlett and McEntee (ex-Air Supply) met at the Sydney Opera House where Amphlett was singing in a choral concert in 1980.[1][2][16] They recruited Jeremy Paul (ex-Air Supply), Bjarne Ohlin and Richard Harvey,[8] and for almost two years they performed in pubs and clubs in Sydney's Kings Cross. Australian film director Ken Cameron saw Divinyls in a club, he asked them to provide the soundtrack for 1982's Monkey Grip and also had Amphlett acting.[17] The group released two singles from the soundtrack EP,[9] "Boys in Town", which reached #8 on the National singles chart,[5] and "Only Lonely".[1] Original bassist Jeremy Paul left before the movie or first single were released.[2] He was replaced on bass, briefly by Ken Firth (ex-The Ferrets) and more permanently by Rick Grossman (ex Matt Finish).[8] Grossman left in 1987 to replace Clyde Bramley in Hoodoo Gurus.[18] By early 1988, Divinyls were reduced to the founding duo of Amphlett and McEntee with augmentation by additional musicians when recording or touring.[1]

Over the decade Divinyls released four albums, Monkey Grip Soundtrack EP on WEA Records in 1982, Desperate on Chrysalis Records in 1983, What a Life! in 1985 and Temperamental in 1988.[8] The latter two albums were also released by Chrysalis in the US.[8] They had hit singles in Australia with, "Science Fiction" #13 in 1983, "Good Die Young" #32 in 1984 and "Pleasure and Pain" #11 in 1985.[5] Their early manager Vince Lovegrove was former co-lead vocalist of 1960s pop band The Valentines with Bon Scott (later in AC/DC); Lovegrove had organised Divinyls' transfer from WEA to Chrysalis and their first tours of United States.[1] They established a fan base there, without achieving major commercial success. Divinyls also had Australian hits with cover versions of The Easybeats' "I'll Make You Happy", and Syndicate of Sound's "Hey Little Boy" ("Hey Little Girl" with the gender switched) which reached #25 in 1988.[5] Amphlett became a controversial and highly visible celebrity for her brash, overtly sexual persona and subversive humour in lyrics, performances and media interviews.[1][4][13][19]

[edit] 1990s: Divinyls duo

In 1991 Divinyls released diVINYLS on Virgin Records and the single "I Touch Myself" which became their only Australian number one single,[20] it reached #4 in the US, and #10 in the UK. The majority of Divinyls' hits were co-written by Amphlett and McEntee,[1] but in this case they wrote with Thomas Kelly and William "Billy" Steinberg.[21] diVINYLS reached #5 on the Australian album charts[5] and #15 on Billboard Top 200.[22] The drummer for the diVINYLS sessions was Charley Drayton who became romantically involved with Amphlett and from 2000 they have 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" #19 in 1992 and "I'm Jealous" #14 in 1995.[5] During the 1980s and 1990s Amphlett collaborated as a songwriter with other artists including Chrissie Hynde and Cyndi Lauper, both Amphlett and McEntee worked on solo projects.[1][2]

Their record company capitalized on their success and released Essential, a compiliation of hits from the first three studio albums, and Divinyls Live an authorised bootleg in 1991. Consequently Divinyls did not provide a new studio album for five years. 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 (1992), the Wild Ones' "Wild Thing" for Reckless Kelly (1993), and Roxy Music's "Love Is The Drug" for Super Mario Brothers (1993).[1][23]

It wasn't until 1996 that Underworld, their fifth studio album, was released in Australia by BMG.[8] Despite the success of diVINYLS Virgin had not kept them under contract and BMG did not release Underworld in the US. As with What A Life! they worked with three producers, beginning with Peter Collins recording "I'm Jealous" in Nashville, followed by Keith Forsey for "Sex Will Keep Us Together" and "Heart Of Steel".[1][2] Although "Heart of Steel" was chosen as a single, Divinyls discontinued with Forsey because according to Amphlett "he was a bit too 'pop' for us" and remaining tracks were produced by their drummer Drayton.[16] In early 1997, Amphlett and McEntee had a falling out and separated without formally disbanding Divinyls.[10]

[edit] After the separation

Following Underworld Amphlett pursued a stage career, in 1998 she played the role of Judy Garland in the Australian stage production of the life story of entertainer Peter Allen, titled The Boy from Oz.[24] 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'.[25]

Amphlett and McEntee concentrated on solo projects and collaborations with other artists. Amphlett and Drayton lived in New York City from 2000, while McEntee ran a clothing label, Wheels and Doll Baby, in Perth with his partner, Melanie Greensmith.[14] In November 2005 Amphlett published her autobiography Pleasure and Pain: My Life co-written with Larry Writer;[16] she detailed her achievements, drug and alcohol abuse, love affairs and triumphs while a member of Divinyls.[26]

[edit] 2006: Hall of Fame and reformation

On 16 August 2006 Divinyls were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and had their first performance for 10 years at the award ceremony.[10] They reformed shortly afterwards and a compilation, Greatest Hits, was released by EMI Music Australia in August 2006. A new album recorded in Las Vegas is expected to be released in 2008, with the single "Don't Wanna Do This" released in November 2007. They performed during the Australian Idol grand final at the Sydney Opera House, on November 25, 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.[27] 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.[28] Amphlett revealed on 7 December 2007 that she had MS in an interview with Richard Wilkins on Network Nine's A Current Affair nevertheless she was looking forward to touring with Divinyls.[15] The next day Divinyls headlined the Homebake music festival[29] where Amphlett displayed an emotional fragility when attempting to get the crowd to sing along with her.[30]

[edit] Members

Chronological order (includes session / tour musicians):[1][8]

  • Christina Amphlett (1980-1997, 2006-current) — vocals
  • Mark McEntee (1980-1997, 2006-current) — guitar
  • Bjarne Ohlin (1980-1986) — keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
  • Jeremy Paul (1980-1982) — bass guitar
  • Richard Harvey (1981—1985) — drums
  • Ken Firth (1982) — bass guitar, replaced Paul
  • Rick Grossman (1982–1987) — bass guitar, replaced Firth
  • J. J. Harris (1985-1986) — drums, replaced Harvey
  • Frank Infante (1987) — guitar
  • Tom Caine (1987) — drums
  • Kenny Lyon (1987) — keyboards
  • Matthew Hughes (1987-1988) — keyboards, bass guitar
  • Warren McLean (1988) — drums
  • Tim Millikan (1988) — bass guitar
  • Roger Mason (1988-1989, 1990) — keyboards
  • Tim Powles (1989) — drums
  • Charley Drayton (1990-1997, 2006-current) — drums, percussion
  • Benmont Tench (1990-1991) — keyboards: Hammond organ
  • Randy Jackson (1990) — bass guitar
  • Lee Borkman (1991) — keyboards
  • Jim Hilbun (1991) — bass guitar
  • Mark Meyer (1991) — drums
  • Charlie Owen (1991, 2006-current) — guitar
  • Jerome Smith (1991, 2006-current) — bass
  • Clayton Doley (2007-current) — keyboards

[edit] Discography

Main article: Divinyls discography

Studio and soundtrack albums:

Compilations:

[edit] Soundtrack work

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m McFarlane, Ian (1999). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Retrieved on 2008-05-30. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g The Divinyls at Howlspace. Ed Nimmervoll. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  3. ^ Henderson, Alex. Divinyls review. allmusic. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  4. ^ a b c Farber, Jim. Divinyls album review. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 (doc), Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W.. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. 
  6. ^ Divinyls at Billboard singles. allmusic (2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  7. ^ Divinyls at Billboard albums. allmusic (2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Divinyls at Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  9. ^ a b Monkey Grip Soundtrack at IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  10. ^ a b c d Adams, Cameron. "Fine line between pleasure and pain for Divinyls", The Herald Sun, 2007-11-16. Retrieved on 2008-05-31. 
  11. ^ ARIA 2008 Hall of Fame inductees listing. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  12. ^ Winners by Award: Hall of Fame. ARIA. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  13. ^ a b 2006 ARIA Hall of Fame Awards. ARIA. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  14. ^ a b Divola, Barry. "I write the songs", The Sun Herald, 2003-01-28. Retrieved on 2008-05-31. 
  15. ^ a b "I have MS, says Aussie rock legend Amphlett", ninemsn, 2007-12-07. Retrieved on 2008-06-01. 
  16. ^ a b c d Amphlett, Christina; Larry Writer (November 2005). Pleasure and Pain: My Life. Sydney: Hachette Livre Australia. ISBN 0-7336-1959-2. 
  17. ^ Monkey Grip at Internet Movie Database (IMDb). IMDb. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  18. ^ Rick Grossman at Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  19. ^ The Divinyls: Best Music from the 80s. '80s Music Lyrics. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  20. ^ Divinyls discography. australian-charts.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  21. ^ Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). APRA. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  22. ^ Divinyls at Billboard singles. allmusic (2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  23. ^ a b c Christina Amphlett at Internet Movie Database (IMDb). IMDb. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  24. ^ Woods, Mark (March 1998). The Boy from Oz theater review. Find Articles at BNET.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  25. ^ Rafferty, Adam (2007-07-10). Helpmann Award Nominations. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  26. ^ Dwyer, Michael. "Pleasure and pain : my life - book review", The Age, 2005-12-03. Retrieved on 2008-05-31. 
  27. ^ Montgomery, Garth. "Natalie Gauci wins but Ten loses on Idol", The Daily Telegraph, 2007-11-25. 
  28. ^ Official website. divinyls.com.au. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  29. ^ Winterford, Brett. "Divinyls: gig review", The Sydney Morning Herald, 2007-12-07. Retrieved on 2008-06-01. 
  30. ^ Palathingal, George. "Cookin', with the femmes at Homebake", The Sydney Morning Herald, 2007-12-09. Retrieved on 2008-06-01. 

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