Talent and fruitful work often work wonders. Idols of millions grow out of eccentric children. You have to constantly work on popularity. Only in this way will it be possible to leave a noticeable mark in history. Chrissy Amphlett, an Australian singer who has made a significant contribution to the development of rock music, has always acted on this principle.
Childhood singer Chrissy Amphlett
Christina Joy Amphlett was born in Geelong, Victoria, Australia on October 25, 1959. German blood flows in her veins. Grandpa immigrated from Germany. His father was a veteran of World War II, and his mother came from a wealthy local family. Christina was a difficult child, often upsetting her parents with inappropriate behavior.
The girl dreamed of singing and dancing since childhood. From the age of 6 to 12, she acted as a child model. The income from this activity was beautiful clothes, which her parents, who lived modestly, could not always afford.
At the age of 12, Christina performed with country music group One Ton Gypsy in front of a wide audience in Sydney, and at the age of 14 she sang similarly in Melbourne. All this happened without the permission of the parents. The girl just ran away from home. At the age of 17, she independently flew to Europe.
She madly wanted to be in England, France and other countries. She led a vagrant lifestyle: she spent the night on the street, sang in public places, trying to earn a living. People willingly listened to her, praising her bright voice and extraordinary manner of performance. In Spain, the girl was jailed for vagrancy. There she spent 3 months, after which she returned to her native Australia.
The case that gave impetus to the development of the career of Chrissy Amphlett
Returning to her homeland, Chrissy settled in Sydney. Oddly enough, she enrolled in the choir at the church. The purpose of this step was not religious formation, but the desire to fill in the gaps in vocal mastery. The girl understood that her upper voice register was poorly adjusted.
At one of the performances in the choir, an incident occurred. Chrissy dropped the chair she was leaning on. As a result, she got tangled in the microphone wire. The girl did not lose her composure, she continued her performance, pretending that nothing had happened. She left the stage with everyone else, dragging a chair behind her. Chrissy's exposure impressed guitarist Mark McEntee. He initiated an acquaintance, immediately fell in love with an informal girl.
Participation in a rock band
Having met, Mark McEntee and Chrissy Amphlett quickly found a common language not only on the personal front. The couple formed the Divinyls in 1980. At first, the relationship was built on a business level, Mark was married, but after 2 years of torment he divorced.
Bassist Jeremy Paul was also invited to the band, and later other musicians who were unable to achieve success on their own. The band performed at various events in Sydney. The composition of the team was not constant. The musicians changed all the time, only Mark and Chrissy didn't let it fall apart.
First successes
Divinyls did not have to perform for long, hoping for an unexpected success. Regular concerts in clubs did not go unnoticed. At one of the performances, the band noticed Ken Cameron. The director was just in search of musical accompaniment performers for the film Monkey Grip.
The vocalist of the group impressed the man so much that he revised the script, adding a small role for the girl. The single "Boys in a Town" not only became the soundtrack, but also came out with a video clip. The image created for this miniature has become central to Chrissy. The girl appeared before the public in fishnet stockings and a school uniform. In the video, the singer defiled with a microphone in her hands along a metal grill. The shooting was carried out from below, which added spice to the action.
Further creative development
"Boys in a Town" quickly entered the charts in Australia. The public got interested in Divinyls. A real hype began around the group, which led to the band's contract with a recording studio. In 1985, the long-awaited album was released. It took a long time to work on it. Instability in the group (changing composition, disagreements with producers) led to the fact that the work had to be taken three times, and the result did not live up to expectations.
A real breakthrough was the collection, recorded in 1991. The group has achieved success not only in Australia, but also in the US and UK. This is where the creativity came to an end. The group recorded the next album only in 1997. After that, discord arose in the relations of the main members of the team. Mark and Chrissy didn't just fall out, they ended their relationship completely.
Change of residence, marriage, death
After the collapse of the group, Amphlett left for America. Chrissy married drummer Charley Drayton in 1999. He played on the Divinyls album in 1991, and later joined the band (after its revival).
Chrissy released an autobiography that became a bestseller in Australia. The singer played the female lead in the musical The Boy from Oz. In 2007, in an interview, Amphlett admitted that she suffers from multiple sclerosis. In 2010, the singer found out that she had breast cancer. Her sister recently dealt with the same disease.
Chrissy was unable to do chemotherapy due to a medical condition. In 2011, she told the press that she felt great, she did not have cancer. In April 2013, the singer passed away.
