When the explosion that was Punk made way for New Wave in the late 70s/early 80s there was Blondie to the fore with Debbie Harry putting out a new kind of female vibe in rock music. Watching closely in the wings was Chrissy Amphlett, a young Australian girl determined to leave her mark. That she did, becoming something of an icon and inspiration herself.
Amphlett took the sultry, "couldn't give a shit" aspects of Harry's persona and turned it up to 11. What resulted was one of the most remarkable expressions of feminism in rock music history. Not so subtlely, Amphlett took the well worn equations of the typical male frontmen - overt sexuality, pouting persona and rebellious stance - and channelled it through herself. In school uniform and fishnet stockings she set out to shock and scare the salivating boys in the front row, but turning them on under her conditions. She gave them the finger and they loved it.
As singer and lyricist with the Divinyls she achieved fame, notoriety, and industry respect in equal measure. Plenty of success too, although their only real impact on the international market came 10 years after the band was formed with the single I touch Myself in 1991. A song about female masturbation, it rocketed up the charts on both sides of the Atlantic reaching #3 in the U.S. This in spite of it being banned in a few states in the South. With smarter management, a better record deal and wider international exposure from the outset they would have been up there with Blondie as a seminal band of the New Wave movement.
Nevertheless her legacy is assured. Vale Chrissy Amphlett, an inspiration to so many.