Divinyls singer Chrissy Amphlett dies
Posted April 22, 2013 9:14 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Rock singer Chrissy Amphlett, who fronted the Australian group the Divinyls best known for the hit I Touch Myself, has died
Amphlett died in New York on Monday at the age of 53 after battling breast cancer and multiple sclerosis.
Her husband and former Divinyls drummer Charley Drayton said Amphlett died in her sleep, surrounded by close friends and family.
Amphlett, who founded the Divinyls in 1980 in Sydney, was best known for her performances as a pouting, brash singer in her signature school uniform with fishnet stockings.
The Divinyls recorded five studio albums between 1982 and 1996 when they split up. The 1991 hit I Touch Myself, the band’s biggest hit, climbing the charts in both Britain and the United States as well as Australia.
“Chrissy trailblazed rock and roll, not only for women in this country but for the whole Australian music scene and she was one of those people that when she hit the stage it was a hundred miles an hour,” said former manager Andrew McManus.
Former husband and guitarist with the band Mark McEntee also paid tribute.
“She was a great poet she had an incredible voice that was instantly recognisable and she was underneath all that delicate,” he said.
Last month Amphlett was named as one of Australia’s top 10 singers of all time.
“I think many Australians, who like me grew up with the music will be feeling this loss today,” Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.
In 2007, Amphlett said she had multiple sclerosis (MS)and in 2010 announced she was also fighting breast cancer.
Watch the video for I Touch Myself below:
