www.chrissieamphlett.com
"I'd travelled the world, done stuff on my own, been in jail in Spain, but none of it prepared me for being on the road with a rock & roll band"
This interview features in Australian Rolling Stone Magazine Dec. 1997
When the Divinyls exploded onto the local music scene in 1980 with their smash single "Boys in Town", Australia didn't know what had hit it. Here was a screeching, screaming, maniacal singer, belting out the ultimate rebellion song with lyrics about being low, being desperate, and about being a clumsy lust object for sweaty boys. The catch was that Christina Amphlett, the band's female singer, didn't flounce nor flirt. She gave the impression that she'd sooner bit your head off than give a lusty pout.
The great irony is, as Amphlett explains, that despite her early anti-image, the promotional campaign for the Divinyls biggest hit, the international smash " I Touch Myself" (a song about masturbation) featured Amphlett scantily clad in a revealing fishnet dress. But, as Amphlett is happy to concede - that's rock & roll. With the Divinyls on hiatus, Amphlett currently lives in New York City. In March 1998 she will play Judy Garland in the Australian production of "The Boy From Oz", a musical about Peter Allen.
Why did you want to be a rock and roll singer?
I was very active as a child - ballet, singing and performing at drama school but that had a lot of discipline. Rock and roll was my rebellion. I joined my first band when I was 14 and went on my first trip to Sydney with a band called Daisy Clover. We caught the train up from Melbourne to play a week at chequers (an infamous Sydney club). I was young, and pretty wild and pretty crazy.
Didn't your mother mind?
She couldn't stop me. I was always very driven and hard to control. I used to have whole bands rehearsing in our lounge room and she'd be sent to the bedroom. She was always very supportive, though. She always has been.
Who were your role models?
When I heard Janis Joplin that changed everything. I was also into Aretha Franklin, as well as the Supremes. The first Australian singer to influence me was Wendy Saddington. She had a song called "Looking Through My Window at My Wall" in the early '70s. She was incredible. She had the soul, the craziness, and the wildness but she was quite sensitive on the inside.
You had a musical family didn't you?
My parents ran dances in Geelong. Mum would take the money at the door and Dad was the bouncer, while keeping a very watchful eye on me with braids and stockings sitting in the corner. Oh, and Little Pattie was my cousin, of course. *(For all that don't know Little Pattie is best know as very popular and well loved Australian singer/entertainer in the 60's, her career is still going strong and she is still a very popular Australian entertainer, and a lovely friendly lady. - Karen*)
Is it easier for women in the industry now than when you first get involved?
The business was very male dominated then - and it still is. When I started out I was loud and scary and a real brat. I put up a wall and people were scared of me. I screamed. I wore a school uniform. People thought I pissed on stage - and I probably did. I may have been tough on the outside but I was a cream puff on the inside. At least it's now cool for girls to play instruments in bands - and they play them well.
How was it being on the road?
I wasn't babied, by any means. I used to give it and I'd get it back. I recall belting a roadie on stage with the neon tube used on "Boys In Town". He came back with a hammer and proceeded to beat my foot. I came off stage limping, I built a facade which got me through, but you need that for survival. I remember a tour the Divinyls did with Simple Minds and Icehouse around Australia on a bus. I was the only girl. It was my first tour and I used to fall asleep and when I woke up there'd be road crew standing over me - peering at me. I'd travelled the world, done stuff on my own, been in jail in Spain, but none of it prepared me for being on the road with a rock & roll band.
How do you feel about using sex as a marketing tool?
When I first started I rebelled against all that. I wouldn't wear makeup and I'd wear clumsy shoes. I had holes in my stockings and I'd smear lipstick on my face. But everyone still saw me as a sexual object? Gradually, I felt comfortable with my sexuality and I embrace it. It will always be a part of rock & roll.
And "I Touch Myself"?
I couldn't believe the reaction that got - especially in America. They were really positive - it was quite a turning point. Of course, I was standing on the record cover in that fishnet dress, naked underneath. I pushed the whole thing to the hilt. I think - now - the song was a bit too gimmicky and the fact that we couldn't get anything else off after that was frustrating for us, though, especially as we thought we had some good stuff.
Which term do you prefer: girl, chick, babe, woman, or lady?
Girl. It's kind of playful. I'm proud to be a girl. But I'm also proud to be a woman. Some days I feel like a woman and some days I feel like a girl - it depends on my frame of mind. I'm fickle - I'm a female!
If you could swap places with one male rock star for a day who would it be?
Iggy Pop. I first saw him in about 1980, in New York at the Peppermint Lounge. It was so powerful that I didn't sleep for three days. It scared me - and I love to be scared by a performer....................
Article by Matthew Hall, Pic by Jimmy Pozarnc
This interview features in Australian Rolling Stone Magazine Dec. 1997
When the Divinyls exploded onto the local music scene in 1980 with their smash single "Boys in Town", Australia didn't know what had hit it. Here was a screeching, screaming, maniacal singer, belting out the ultimate rebellion song with lyrics about being low, being desperate, and about being a clumsy lust object for sweaty boys. The catch was that Christina Amphlett, the band's female singer, didn't flounce nor flirt. She gave the impression that she'd sooner bit your head off than give a lusty pout.
The great irony is, as Amphlett explains, that despite her early anti-image, the promotional campaign for the Divinyls biggest hit, the international smash " I Touch Myself" (a song about masturbation) featured Amphlett scantily clad in a revealing fishnet dress. But, as Amphlett is happy to concede - that's rock & roll. With the Divinyls on hiatus, Amphlett currently lives in New York City. In March 1998 she will play Judy Garland in the Australian production of "The Boy From Oz", a musical about Peter Allen.
Why did you want to be a rock and roll singer?
I was very active as a child - ballet, singing and performing at drama school but that had a lot of discipline. Rock and roll was my rebellion. I joined my first band when I was 14 and went on my first trip to Sydney with a band called Daisy Clover. We caught the train up from Melbourne to play a week at chequers (an infamous Sydney club). I was young, and pretty wild and pretty crazy.
Didn't your mother mind?
She couldn't stop me. I was always very driven and hard to control. I used to have whole bands rehearsing in our lounge room and she'd be sent to the bedroom. She was always very supportive, though. She always has been.
Who were your role models?
When I heard Janis Joplin that changed everything. I was also into Aretha Franklin, as well as the Supremes. The first Australian singer to influence me was Wendy Saddington. She had a song called "Looking Through My Window at My Wall" in the early '70s. She was incredible. She had the soul, the craziness, and the wildness but she was quite sensitive on the inside.
You had a musical family didn't you?
My parents ran dances in Geelong. Mum would take the money at the door and Dad was the bouncer, while keeping a very watchful eye on me with braids and stockings sitting in the corner. Oh, and Little Pattie was my cousin, of course. *(For all that don't know Little Pattie is best know as very popular and well loved Australian singer/entertainer in the 60's, her career is still going strong and she is still a very popular Australian entertainer, and a lovely friendly lady. - Karen*)
Is it easier for women in the industry now than when you first get involved?
The business was very male dominated then - and it still is. When I started out I was loud and scary and a real brat. I put up a wall and people were scared of me. I screamed. I wore a school uniform. People thought I pissed on stage - and I probably did. I may have been tough on the outside but I was a cream puff on the inside. At least it's now cool for girls to play instruments in bands - and they play them well.
How was it being on the road?
I wasn't babied, by any means. I used to give it and I'd get it back. I recall belting a roadie on stage with the neon tube used on "Boys In Town". He came back with a hammer and proceeded to beat my foot. I came off stage limping, I built a facade which got me through, but you need that for survival. I remember a tour the Divinyls did with Simple Minds and Icehouse around Australia on a bus. I was the only girl. It was my first tour and I used to fall asleep and when I woke up there'd be road crew standing over me - peering at me. I'd travelled the world, done stuff on my own, been in jail in Spain, but none of it prepared me for being on the road with a rock & roll band.
How do you feel about using sex as a marketing tool?
When I first started I rebelled against all that. I wouldn't wear makeup and I'd wear clumsy shoes. I had holes in my stockings and I'd smear lipstick on my face. But everyone still saw me as a sexual object? Gradually, I felt comfortable with my sexuality and I embrace it. It will always be a part of rock & roll.
And "I Touch Myself"?
I couldn't believe the reaction that got - especially in America. They were really positive - it was quite a turning point. Of course, I was standing on the record cover in that fishnet dress, naked underneath. I pushed the whole thing to the hilt. I think - now - the song was a bit too gimmicky and the fact that we couldn't get anything else off after that was frustrating for us, though, especially as we thought we had some good stuff.
Which term do you prefer: girl, chick, babe, woman, or lady?
Girl. It's kind of playful. I'm proud to be a girl. But I'm also proud to be a woman. Some days I feel like a woman and some days I feel like a girl - it depends on my frame of mind. I'm fickle - I'm a female!
If you could swap places with one male rock star for a day who would it be?
Iggy Pop. I first saw him in about 1980, in New York at the Peppermint Lounge. It was so powerful that I didn't sleep for three days. It scared me - and I love to be scared by a performer....................
Article by Matthew Hall, Pic by Jimmy Pozarnc