***Early this morning, through the Internet, I learned of the passing of my one time good friend, Chrissy Amphlett after a long battle with cancer. While we weren't close, bosom buddies, when in Australia, through Mark, I met this very special young woman. The character she portrayed in the clubs as a Divinyl was not who she was. This was a "show business" In our eyes, she was a warm, friendly, very talented and somewhat quiet and thoughtful human being who loved life. She will be sorely missed by those who were fortunate enough to know her and love her. Our deepest condolences go out to her American husband and her Australian family and the many thousands of friends and fans who will sorely miss her and never forget this very talented woman. Rest in Peace dear Chrissy, it was our honor to have known you, and to call you "friend."
Judge Stuart Namm (Ret)***
Well over 20 years ago as I mentioned in my South Pacific video, I met Mark McEntee, one of the principals of the then very popular Australian rock group, "The Divinyls," on a flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia. My dear departed wife, Lenore, and I were invited to his home at the head of Sydney Harbor for a day, where we were introduced to the lead singer of the then very well known musical group, Chris Amphlett. Mark and Chris, besides being the principals of "The Divinyls," were close friends and neighbors. Lenore and I became good friends with them, and when they told us that they were going on tour in the United States we went to see them perform at a popular rock club in New York City, and when the group was scheduled to perform on Long Island, where we lived at the time, we spent an afternoon with Mark showing him the sites of Suffolk County, like Port Jefferson harbor. As we walked the streets of Port Jefferson, Mark was recognized by several young people on the streets. The then very handsome and svelte Mark was hard to miss, especially with his trademark long hair and tight fitting leather pants. After we returned Mark to the rented tour bus, later that day we were their guests at a theater where they were scheduled to perform that night on the south shore of Long Island in picturesque Sag Harbor located on nearby Peconic Bay. As can be seen in this video, we were invited backstage to say "hello" once again to Chris Amphlett, the lead singer of the group which at that time had a very well known hit song which went to No. 4 on the "Billboard" pop chart, the very sensual "I Touch Myself.." At the time, it was being played regularly on MTV, with many visual images of Chris on the screen as they performed their biggest hit to date. As a friend always armed with a video camera, I was granted permission by Mark, Chris and the tour manager to video their entire performance, and was stationed alone in the front of the balcony from where I had a great view of the entire performance. As in my earlier videos, the taping is somewhat primitive as I was still shooting on VHS tape with one camera and no tripod, and the spot lighting was too intense for the camera lens. It was long before I began shooting, as I do today, in full 1920 x 1080 high definition on my trusty SONY. However, the sound and the live performance provide, I believe, true images and the magnificent rock and roll sound of "The Divinyls," Chris Amphlett, Mark McEntee and their American back-ups in their prime as world renowned rock & roll performers, especially with their major hit, "I TOUCH MYSELF." Although they have had some setbacks over the years, hopefully one day they will be back on stage together, and the world will then see the immense talent of the great "Divinyls" once again.