I Touch Myself

"I Touch Myself" is a song recorded by the Australian rock band Divinyls and written by Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg with Christine Amphlett and Mark McEntee of the Divinyls. It was released in November 1990 as the lead single from their fourth album, '' diVINYLS'' (1991), and is a paean to eroticism, orgasm and female masturbation. The single achieved great success, reaching number four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 18 May 1991 and number one in Australia. It was featured in the 1997 comedy film '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' and has been covered by numerous artists.

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "I Touch Myself" was ranked number 60.

Composition and recording

Chrissy Amphlett and Mark McEntee wrote the song in 1990 with the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg (who have written songs such as " I'll Stand by You," " Like a Virgin," "Eternal Flame," " True Colors" and " So Emotional"). Billy Steinberg had "I Touch Myself" in his notebook; he had written the first verse and the chorus lyric. Amphlett liked it immediately. The next day, McEntee, Steinberg, Kelly, and Amphlett got together and wrote the rest, an unusual move, as Steinberg and Kelly rarely collaborated with others. Putting the song together took a lot of trial and error. It was recorded to two-inch tape, making it difficult to edit. After significant experimentation they came up with an unusual structure with the bridge placed after the first chorus. It is written in the key of F major.

Critical reception

Alex Henderson from AllMusic described the song as "infectious", while another editor, Adrian Zupp called it a "lascivious headline-grabber". A reviewer from ''Billboard'' stated that it is a "modern rock smash", noting lead singer Christina Amphlett's video appearance as "eye-catching". Pan-European magazine ''Music & Media'' wrote that "once you have heard this excellent pop song, it will stay in your mind for the rest of the week. On the one hand it's only a step away from Blondie bubblegum, on the other hand it has the same fatal attraction as Maria McKee's Is This Heaven". Alan Jones from ''Music Week'' commented, "I Touch Myself has already been a number one single in their native Australia, and is now in the US Top 10. It won't do that well here, but its loose, post-punk execution and killer hook add up to a hit." Caroline Sullivan from ''Smash Hits'' called it "one of pop's finer nanoseconds" in her review of the '' Divinyls'' album.

Music video

The song's accompanying music video, directed by Michael Bay, was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year.

Promotion and chart performance

In Australia "I Touch Myself" was released on 19 November 1990 on 7" and cassette, and the CD single was released on 3 December 1990. The single debuted at No. 77 on 2 December 1990. On its tenth week on the chart, the song reached No. 1, replacing Vanilla Ice's debut single "Ice Ice Baby", and stayed there for another week. The single was certified Platinum in Australia.

"I Touch Myself" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at No. 69 and on its eighth week it peaked at No. 10, spending a total of twelve weeks in the chart. When released in the United States, the song caused a minor controversy. However, it managed to reach the top five of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 4, and at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart after receiving extensive play on modern rock radio, which was more accepting of the song's subject matter. Divinyls are considered a one-hit wonder in the US, as "I Touch Myself" was their only Stateside Top 40.

I Touch Myself Project

The ''I Touch Myself Project'' was launched in 2014, twelve months after the passing of Amphlett's to breast cancer. Amphlett was passionate about spreading awareness of the importance of early detection and wanted the song to be adapted as an anthem for breast health around the world. The Project was created in Chrissy’s honour with a mission to create educational forums to remind women to check their breasts regularly and to take action if there are any changes.

In June 2014, Connie Mitchell, Deborah Conway, Kate Ceberano, Katie Noonan, Little Pattie, Megan Washington, Olivia Newton-John, Sarah Blasko, Sarah McLeod and Suze DeMarchi released a version of "I Touch Myself", each provided their own interpretation and distinct style to the song. This version, credited to ''I Touch Myself Project'' peaked at number 72 on the ARIA Charts.

In 2016, the I Touch Myself Project partnered with Berlei to create ''The Chrissy Bra'' – a bra to remind women to touch themselves when getting dressed and a ''Chrissy Post-Surgery Bra'' – a rock and roll-inspired bra designed specifically for women who have undergone breast cancer surgery.

In 2018, Serena Williams recorded the song and posted her version on instagram. It became the most retweeted post, the most talked about campaign on Instagram and the most watched video during International Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Usage in other media

* The song was featured in the 1997 comedy film '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'', in the scene where Austin dances to make the Fembots' heads explode.
*The cover by Scala & Kolacny Brothers was featured in the opening of first episode of the second season of ''Sex Education'', when Otis is finally able to masturbate.
* In the ''Friends'' episode "The One Where Monica Sings", a man at a piano bar named Kenneth performs a "much too literal rendition" of the song (left unheard in the episode), leading to a running gag of characters spotting him masturbating.

Cover versions

* Gina Riley parodied the song on '' Fast Forward''.
* Weird Al included a verse from the song in the polka medley "Polka Your Eyes Out" from '' Off the Deep End'' (later collected on '' Permanent Record'').
* FHM High Street Honeys released a version of the song in 2007, peaking at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart in February 2007.
* Lime Cordiale released a cover of the song in 2019 for triple j's Like A Version, which went on to reach number 17 in the 2019 Triple J Hottest 100.

Track listing

* Divinyls version
# "I Touch Myself"
# "Follow Through"
# "I Touch Myself (Alternate Version)"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

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1990 singles
1991 singles
2006 singles
Divinyls songs
Songs written by Tom Kelly (musician)
Songs written by Billy Steinberg
Number-one singles in Australia
Songs written by Chrissy Amphlett
Songs written by Mark McEntee
Music videos directed by Michael Bay
Virgin Records singles
1990 songs
Masturbation in fiction
Female masturbation
Australian soft rock songs