More than a decade after her death, the voice of Australian rock icon Chrissy Amphlett will be heard like never before after three lost songs were discovered in a garage.
The trailblazing frontwoman of the rock band Divinyls, Amphlett’s husky voice and charismatic stage presence brought the world the 1990 number‑one track "I Touch Myself," as well as earlier hits such as "Pleasure and Pain" (1985) and "Boys in Town" (1981).
In 1998, five years before her passing, Amphlett recorded three songs with Tim Finn, former lead singer of New Zealand’s Split Enz. The tracks were thought lost until Finn found them in his garage in 2023.
They are to be released as the EP "Some Times," making the songs available for the first time.
Finn recalled the 1998 recording session in an interview with ABC’s" Australian Story" docu‑series: "It was a good time for us to meet because she was looking for something new, something different in her life musically."
Around that time Amphlett had split with guitarist Mark McEntee after a turbulent relationship and was growing close to Dr. Charley Drayton, who would later marry her. Over several days they wrote a trio of songs and recorded them in a studio, with Drayton on drums.
Finn said: "She was so focused; she just wanted to get it right… I was in the presence of great talent, great charisma."
Finn’s social‑media post on Monday detailed the 1998 session: "We hadn't met previously but instantly felt a bond, a camaraderie of shared history as ex‑lead singers of two brilliant bands."
When the session wrapped, Finn took the recordings home and planned to work on them, but they were never fully realised. In 2023 Drayton contacted Finn about the recordings, and he found the tape in his garage: "I thought they were lost to the universe but remarkably found the two‑inch tape in my garage. It was still in perfect condition and we are now able to share these songs with you."
