Divinyls () were an Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band that were formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist

Chrissy Amphlett Christine Joy Amphlett (; 25 October 1959 – 21 April 2013) was an Australian singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the frontwoman of the rock band Divinyls. She was notable for her brash, overtly sexual persona and subversive hum ...

and guitarist

Mark McEntee Mark McEntee ( ; born 16 July 1955) is an Australian musician, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the Australian rock band, Divinyls. Early life McEntee was born in Perth, Western Australia, and went to Christ Church Grammar S ...

. Amphlett garnered widespread attention for performing on stage in a school uniform and fishnet stockings, and she often used an illuminated neon tube as a prop for displaying aggression towards both band members and the audience. Originally a five-piece, the band underwent numerous line-up changes, with Amphlett and McEntee remaining as core members, before its dissolution in 1996. In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), as part of its 75th-anniversary celebrations, named "

Science Fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

" as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time. The band was inducted into the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA)

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 2006 and in late 2007 Amphlett and McEntee reconvened to record a new single and begin working on a new album. The band played a short series of live gigs in Australia in late 2007 and early 2008. Divinyls broke up in 2009, and Amphlett died in 2013. Divinyls released five studio albums—four placed in the Top 10 Australian chart, while one (''

Divinyls Divinyls () were an Australian rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Amphlett garnered widespread attention for performing on stage in a school unifo ...

'') reached No. 15 in the United States (US) and No. 33 for 3 weeks in Canada. Their biggest-selling single "

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 fou ...

" (1990) achieved a No. 1 ranking in Australia, No. 4 in the United States, No. 10 in the United Kingdom (UK), and No. 13 in Canada.

Career

1980s: Formation, ''Desperate'', ''What a Life!'' & ''Temperamental''

Amphlett was the cousin of 1960s Australian pop icon Patricia "Little Pattie" Amphlett. In her autobiography ''Pleasure and Pain'' (2005), Amphlett described breaking into the music scene from the age of fourteen, being arrested for

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

when seventeen and travelling in Spain, and how her performances drew upon childhood pain. Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee were introduced by Jeremy Paul (ex-

Air Supply Air Supply is a soft rock duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975. It consists of Englishman Graham Russell (vocals, guitar) and Australian Russell Hitchcock (vocals). They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-five hit ...

) in the car park of a small music venue in

Collaroy Collaroy is a suburb in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Collaroy is 22 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of Northern Beac ...

, Sydney, after Amphlett and Paul had finished a gig with their then band, Batonrouge. Amphlett and McEntee met again at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

where Amphlett and Paul were singing in a choral concert in 1980. They recruited keyboardist Bjarne Ohlin later in 1980 and drummer Richard Harvey in 1981, respectively, and for almost two years they performed in pubs and clubs in Sydney's Kings Cross. During this time, Paul negotiated publishing and recording agreements that led to the band signing with WEA. Australian film director Ken Cameron saw Divinyls performing in a club. This led to them providing the soundtrack for his 1982 film '' Monkey Grip'' and also gave Amphlett, Paul and McEntee supporting roles in the movie. The group released two singles from the soundtrack, '' Music from Monkey Grip'' EP, "

Boys in Town "Boys in Town" is the debut single by Australian rock band Divinyls, released in 1981. The song was written in 1979 and was used on the soundtrack of the 1982 film '' Monkey Grip'', along with several other Divinyls tracks written and recorded fo ...

", which reached No. 8 on the national singles chart, and "Only Lonely". The band was the opening act at the 1983 US Festival. After the band's initial success, original manager and bassist Jeremy Paul left. He was replaced on bass, briefly by Ken Firth (ex- The Ferrets) and more permanently by

Rick Grossman Richard Grossman is an Australian rock musician who has played bass guitar for two iconic bands: Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus. Hoodoo Gurus' status on the Australian rock scene was acknowledged when they were inducted into the 2007 ARIA Hall of ...

(ex-

Matt Finish Matt Finish are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in mid-1979 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Matt Moffitt (1956–2003) and drummer, composer and producer John Prior (musician), John Prior. The 1981 line-up of Moffitt, Prior, Rich ...

). Grossman left in 1987 to replace Clyde Bramley in

Hoodoo Gurus Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, ha ...

. By early 1988, Divinyls consisted of Amphlett and McEntee with augmentation by additional musicians when recording or touring. Over the decade Divinyls released four albums, ''Music from Monkey Grip'' EP on

WEA The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...

in 1982, '' Desperate'' on

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...

in 1983, '' What a Life!'' in 1985 and '' Temperamental'' in 1988. The latter two albums were also released by Chrysalis in the United States. They had hit singles in Australia with, "

" No. 13 in 1983, "Good Die Young" No. 32 in 1984 and " Pleasure and Pain" which was written by

Holly Knight ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

and

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian-American record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi ...

and went No. 11 in 1985. Their later manager

Vince Lovegrove Vincent James Lovegrove (19 March 194724 March 2012) was an Australian musician, journalist, music manager, television producer and AIDS awareness pioneer. He was a member of 1960s rock 'n' roll band The Valentines, sharing vocals with Bon Sc ...

organised Divinyls' transfer from WEA to Chrysalis and their first tours of the United States. They established a fan base there, without achieving major commercial success. Divinyls also had Australian hits with

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of

The Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. They enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with the 1966 sing ...

' "I'll Make You Happy", and

Syndicate of Sound The Syndicate of Sound are an American garage rock band formed in San Jose, California that was first active between 1964 and 1970. Through their national hit "Little Girl", the band developed a raw sound, and became forerunners in the psychedelic ...

's " Hey Little Boy" ("Hey Little Girl" with the gender switched) which reached No. 25 in 1988. Amphlett became a controversial and highly visible celebrity for her brash, overtly sexual persona and subversive humour in lyrics, performances and media interviews.

Image transformation

At the start of their popularity, Divinyls were considered to be a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band. At some point, many fans referred to Amphlett as the female

Angus Young Angus McKinnon Young (born 31 March 1955) is an Australian musician, best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, songwriter, and only remaining original member of the hard rock band AC/DC. He is known for his energetic performances, school ...

, as both had similar mannerisms on stage and wore black-and-white school uniforms while performing in the early 1980s. The band's image gradually changed after the release of the album ''What a Life!'' when the band began wearing elaborate clothing and producing more songs in the pop music genre. By the time of the release of their album ''Temperamental'', Divinyls' image had changed to a

glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

fashion style where they produced modern pop music.

1990s: ''diVINYLS'' & ''Underworld''

In 1991, Divinyls released ''

diVINYLS Divinyls () were an Australian rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Amphlett garnered widespread attention for performing on stage in a school unifo ...

'' on

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

and the single "

" which became their only Australian No.1 single. The song reached No. 4 in the United States and No. 10 in the United Kingdom. The majority of Divinyls' hits were co-written by Amphlett and McEntee, but in this case they wrote with Tom Kelly and

Billy Steinberg William Endfield Steinberg (born February 26, 1950) is an American songwriter. He achieved his greatest success in the 1980s with songwriting partner Tom Kelly; together they wrote or co-wrote the No. 1 hits " Like a Virgin" by Madonna (1984), ...

. ''diVINYLS'' reached No. 5 on the Australian album charts and No. 15 on ''Billboard'' Top 200. The drummer for the ''diVINYLS'' sessions was

Charley Drayton Charles Leslie Drayton (born May 9, 1965) is an American multi-instrumentalist and producer, known primarily as a drummer. Artists he has recorded or performed with include The Cult, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Mi ...

, who became romantically involved with Amphlett: they married in July 1999, and from 2000, 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" No. 19 in 1992 and " I'm Jealous" No. 14 in 1995. During the 1980s and 1990s Amphlett collaborated as a songwriter with other artists including

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

and

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

, and both Amphlett and McEntee worked on solo projects. A live album, ''Divinyls Live'', was released in 1991 but Divinyls did not provide another studio album for five years. In the early 1990s, they recorded a series of cover songs for various movie soundtracks, including the

Young Rascals Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

' " I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" for ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

'' (1992), the Wild Ones' " Wild Thing" for ''

Reckless Kelly ''Reckless Kelly'' is a 1993 Australian comedy film produced, written, directed and starring Yahoo Serious. It co-stars Melora Hardin, Alexei Sayle and Hugo Weaving. The story is a satirical take on a modern-day Ned Kelly, a famous Australian out ...

'' (1993), and

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...

's "

Love Is the Drug "Love Is the Drug" is a 1975 song from English rock band Roxy Music's fifth studio album ''Siren'', released as a single in September 1975. Co-written by Bryan Ferry and Andy Mackay, the song originated as a slower, dreamier track until the b ...

" for ''

Super Mario Brothers is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for th ...

'' (1993). The song "I Touch Myself" caused such a controversy it had trouble getting airplay in many US-area markets; so much to the point that while performing their song live in Texas at Austin Aqua Fest 1991 the plug was pulled on the band mid-set by organisers. It wasn't until 1996 that their fifth studio album, ''

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

'', was released in Australia by

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

. Despite the success of ''diVINYLS'', Virgin had not kept them under contract and BMG did not release ''Underworld'' in the United States. As with ''What a Life!'', they worked with three producers, beginning with Peter Collins recording " I'm Jealous" in Nashville, followed by

Keith Forsey Keith Forsey (born 2 January 1948) is an English pop musician and record producer. Early life Forsey began his career as a percussionist in the mid-late 1960s as the drummer for The SpectrumCaptain Scarlet and the Mysterons - The Vault - Chris ...

for "Sex Will Keep Us Together" and "Heart of Steel". Although "Heart of Steel" was chosen as a single, Divinyls discontinued working with Forsey because according to Amphlett "he was a bit too 'pop' for us" and remaining tracks were produced by their drummer Drayton. By the end of 1996, Amphlett and McEntee had a falling out and separated without formally disbanding Divinyls.

1998–2005: After the separation

Following ''Underworld'', Amphlett pursued a stage career. In 1998, she played the role of

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

in the Australian stage production of the life story of entertainer Peter Allen, titled ''

The Boy from Oz ''The Boy from Oz'' is a Australian jukebox musical based on the life of singer and songwriter Peter Allen, featuring songs written by him. The book commissioned for the musical is by Nick Enright, based on Stephen MacLean's 1996 biography of A ...

''. 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 The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...

for 'Best Female Actor in a Musical'. 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 Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

with his partner, Melanie Greensmith. In November 2005 Amphlett published her autobiography ''Pleasure and Pain: My Life'' co-written with Larry Writer; she detailed her achievements, drug and alcohol abuse, love affairs and triumphs while a member of Divinyls.

2006–2012: Hall of Fame and reformation

On 16 August 2006, Divinyls were inducted into the

ARIA Hall of Fame In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

and made their first performance for 10 years at the award ceremony. They reformed shortly afterwards and a compilation, ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'', was released by

EMI Music Australia EMI Recorded Music Australia Pty Ltd (called EMI Music Australia until May 2013) is an Australian imprint of Universal Music Australia, formerly a subsidiary label of EMI Recordings Ltd and, between 1979 and 1996, that of Thorn EMI. It is Austral ...

in August 2006. The band recorded four new songs via a satellite link: Amphlett and Drayton at Palm Studios in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and McEntee in

. A single and B-side, "

Don't Wanna Do This "Don't Wanna Do This" is a song by Australian rock duo Divinyls. It was released in 2007 as their comeback single after an eleven-year-long hiatus, during which they unofficially disbanded. Background In 2006, Divinyls were inducted into the A ...

"/"Asphyxiated", was released in November 2007, with a third track, "All Pretty Things", released on a compilation album for the Homebake Festival. Amphlett stated that the band would return to the studio to record a full album provided they "survived" their Homebake headline gig and national tour. They performed during the ''

Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program ''Pop Idol' ...

'' grand final at the Sydney Opera House, on 25 November 2007, although their performance of "Boys in Town" (also performed by ''Idol'' winner

Natalie Gauci Natalie Rose Gauci (born 26 November 1981) is an Australian musician, producer and teacher. Gauci undertook music tuition at the Victorian College of the Arts, formed her own band that played gigs in Melbourne, while also working as a music tea ...

) had to be repeated after

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

's transmission feed was interrupted. 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 Clayton Doley (born 13 September 1974) is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter, television musical director, arranger, and record producer best known for his Hammond Organ virtuosity. Songwriter and producer As a songwriter Clayton has ha ...

on keyboards. Amphlett revealed on 7 December 2007 that she had

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

in an interview with Richard Wilkins on Network Nine's ''

A Current Affair ''A Current Affair'' may refer to: * ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV program), 1971–present Australian current affairs program that airs on Nine Network * ''A Current Affair'' (American TV program), a 1986–1998 American television news ...

''—nevertheless, she was looking forward to touring with Divinyls. The next day, Divinyls headlined the

Homebake Homebake was an annual Australian rock festival, featuring an all-Australian lineup (with the occasional artist from New Zealand). The festival was first held on 3 January 1996 at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay, on the far north coast of New Sou ...

music festival where Amphlett displayed an emotional fragility when attempting to get the crowd to sing along with her. In August 2009, Amphlett announced that Divinyls were finished and she had a new band in New York.

2013–present: Death of Amphlett, McLean and abortive reformation

Aged 53 years, Amphlett died on 21 April 2013 at her home in New York City after a protracted battle with breast cancer since 2010. Amphlett stated that she had been unable to receive radiotherapy or chemotherapy as treatment for the cancer due to her multiple sclerosis. Amphlett's cousin Patricia Thompson announced the news in an official public statement: "Our beloved Chrissy peacefully made her transition this morning. Christine Joy Amphlett succumbed to the effects of breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, diseases she vigorously fought with exceptional bravery and dignity." In 2014, some of Australia's leading female artists came together to cover "I Touch Myself" to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer. In 2017, the band performed a one-off show in Perth with

The Preatures The Preatures were an Australian indie rock band from Sydney, New South Wales, who formed in 2010. The band consisted of lead vocalist and keyboardist Isabella "Izzi" Manfredi, guitarist and vocalist Jack Moffitt, bassist Thomas Champion, a ...

' Isabella Manfredi and Jack Moffit joining as guests on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, respectively. McEntee, Grossman and Harvey completed the line-up. In December 2018, McEntee announced he would be reforming the group with new singer Lauren Ruth Ward, ex-Divinyls guitarist Frank Infante and a new rhythm section for an Australian tour, to begin in 2019.Divinyls Reform for Australia Tour in 2019
''The Rockpit'', 3 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018. However, this announcement was criticised by Drayton and several fans as an "ultimate disrespect", with Drayton stating that anyone other than Amphlett who fronted the Divinyls should "seek some trustworthy advice". On 6 February 2019, the Australian tour was cancelled. In early January 2021, former band drummer Warren McLean died. Original drummer Richard Harvey died on July 19, 2022, his passing announced on social media by his bandmate from

The Party Boys The Party Boys was an Australian rock supergroup with a floating membership commencing in 1982. Created by Mondo Rock's bass guitarist, Paul Christie with founding member Kevin Borich (ex– La De Da's, Kevin Borich Express) as a part-time v ...

Paul Christie.

Band members

Final line-up *

— lead vocals (1980–1996, 2006–2009) *

— guitar, occasional keyboards (1980–1996, 2006–2009) * Charlie Owen — guitar (2006–2009; touring member in 1991) * Jerome Smith – bass (1991–1996, 2006–2009) *

— drums (1990–1996, 2006–2009) *

— keyboards (2006–2009) Former members * Jeremy Paul – bass (1980–1982) *

— bass (1982–1987) * Tim Millikan – bass (1988–1989) *

Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing bas ...

— bass (1990–1991) * Richard Harvey – drums (1980—1985) * J. J. Harris — drums (1985–1986) * Tommy "Mugs" Cain — drums (1987) * Warren McLean – drums (1988) *

Tim Powles Timothy Guy Gerard Powles (born 21 December 1959) is a New Zealand music producer and artist. Also known as "timEbandit" Powles, his main instrument and first love was the drums and percussion in general, though over time he's become a dab han ...

– drums (1989) * Bjarne Ohlin – keyboards (1980–1986) *

Kenny Lyon Kenny Lyon (born April 22, 1956) is an American guitarist, bassist, music producer, and author. He has performed and recorded with artists such as the Lemonheads, Jann Arden, NOFX, Mark Curry, Los Super Elegantes, Joel Virgel, Jim Bianco, and ...

— keyboards (1987) * Roger Mason – keyboards (1988–1990) *

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin ...

— keyboards (1990–1991) Touring/substitute musicians * Ken Firth — bass guitar (1982) * Matthew Hughes – keyboards, bass guitar (1987–1988) *

Frank Infante Frank Infante (born November 15, 1951) is an American guitarist and bassist best known as a former member of the new wave band Blondie. Early career and Blondie Infante began his music career playing guitar in hard rock and electric blues ...

— guitar (1987) * Jim Hilbun – bass (1991) * Lee Borkman – keyboards, guitar (1991) * Mark Meyer – drums (1991) * Duane Jarvis – guitar (1988) * Randy Wiggins – guitar (1993–1995)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:120 top:0 right:30 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1980 till:01/08/2009 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_Vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitars id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards id:lines value:black legend:Studio Album Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1980 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1980 LineData = at:31/01/1983 color:black layer:back at:28/10/1985 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1988 color:black layer:back at:29/01/1991 color:black layer:back at:01/03/1996 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Amphlett text:"Chrissy Amphlett" bar:McEntee text:"Mark McEntee" bar:Owen text:"Charlie Owen" bar:Paul text:"Jeremy Paul" bar:Grossman text:"Rick Grossman" bar:Hughes text:"Matthew Hughes" bar:Jackson text:"Randy Jackson" bar:Smith text:"Jerome Smith" bar:Harvey text:"Richard Harvey" bar:Harris text:"J.J. Harris" bar:Cain text:"Tommy Cain" bar:McLean text:"Warren McLean" bar:Powles text:"Tim Powles" bar:Drayton text:"Charley Drayton" bar:Ohlin text:"Bjarne Ohlin" bar:Lyon text:"Kenny Lyon" bar:Mason text:"Roger Mason" bar:Tench text:"Benmont Tench" bar:Doley text:"Clayton Doley" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Amphlett from:start till:31/12/1996 color:vocals bar:Amphlett from:01/08/2006 till:end color:vocals bar:McEntee from:start till:31/12/1996 color:guitar bar:McEntee from:01/11/1991 till:31/12/1996 color:keyboards width:3 bar:McEntee from:01/08/2006 till:end color:guitar bar:Owen from:01/08/2006 till:end color:guitar bar:Paul from:start till:01/03/1982 color:bass bar:Grossman from:01/03/1982 till:31/12/1987 color:bass bar:Hughes from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/1989 color:bass bar:Jackson from:01/01/1990 till:01/11/1991 color:bass bar:Smith from:01/11/1991 till:31/12/1996 color:bass bar:Smith from:01/08/2006 till:end color:bass bar:Harvey from:start till:31/12/1985 color:drums bar:Harris from:01/01/1986 till:31/12/1986 color:drums bar:Cain from:01/01/1987 till:31/12/1987 color:drums bar:McLean from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/1988 color:drums bar:Powles from:01/01/1989 till:31/12/1989 color:drums bar:Drayton from:01/01/1990 till:31/12/1996 color:drums bar:Drayton from:01/08/2006 till:end color:drums bar:Ohlin from:start till:31/12/1986 color:keyboards bar:Lyon from:01/01/1987 till:31/12/1987 color:keyboards bar:Mason from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/1989 color:keyboards bar:Tench from:01/01/1990 till:01/11/1991 color:keyboards bar:Doley from:01/08/2006 till:end color:keyboards

Discography

Studio albums: * 1982: '' Music from Monkey Grip'' * 1983: '' Desperate'' * 1985: '' What a Life!'' * 1988: '' Temperamental'' * 1991: ''

'' * 1996: ''

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. Divinyls were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006. , - ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, "I Touch Myself" , Single of the Year , , - ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, Divinyls ,

Countdown Australian Music Awards

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974–1987, it presented music awards from 1979–1987, initially in conjunction with magazine ''

TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...

''. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. , - , rowspan="3" , 1981 , rowspan="2" , "Boys in Town" , Best Australian Single , , - , Best Debut Single , , - , Themselves , Best New Talent , , - , rowspan="2" , 1982 , ''Monkey Grip'' , Best Debut Album , , - , Chrissy Amphlett (Divinyls) , Most Popular Female , , - , 1983 , ''Desperate'' , Best Australian Album , , - , 1984 , Christina Amphlett - "In My Life" (Divinyls) , Best Female Performance in a Video , , -

MTV Video Music Awards

Originally beginning as an alternative to the Grammy Awards, the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

were established in the end of the summer of 1984 by

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

to celebrate the top music videos of the year. !Ref. , - , rowspan=3,

, rowspan=3, "

" , Video of the Year , , rowspan=3, , - ,

Best Group Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Group (also known as the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video) is given to recording artists at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). The award was introduced at the inaugural ceremony in 1984 by vocalis ...

, , - , Viewer's Choice ,

References

External links

Official MySpace page
* {{Authority control 1980 establishments in Australia 2009 disestablishments in Australia APRA Award winners ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Australian new wave musical groups Australian rock music groups ARIA Award winners Chrysalis Records artists Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Musical groups from Sydney New South Wales musical groups RCA Records artists Virgin Records artists Pub rock musical groups Female-fronted musical groups