Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Divinyls - Live (1983 & 1986) Ex SB

(Australian 1980-97, Present)
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Led by provocative singer Christina Amphlett, whose songwriting with guitarist Mark McEntee is the basis of the band, Divinyls have recorded a wealth of excellent material, from commercial hard pop and driving arena-rock to alluring ballads.
Divinyls formed in Sydney, Australia, in 1980. Legend has it that guitarist Mark McEntee first saw vocalist Christina Amphlett performing with a church choir at the Sydney Opera House, and took notice of her when the cord of the microphone she was using became tangled on her stool, which she proceeded to knock over and drag across the stage, singing all the while. Mark: "From that moment, I knew something had to be done, that we should form a group."
As the bands focal point, Amphlett - who is the cousin of 60s Australian "Queen of the surf", Little Pattie (real name Patricia Amphlett) - has strutted her stuff the world over, astounding and bewildering audiences with her displays of school uniform-clad bump'n'grind burlesque, unrestrained sexuality and animal grace.
By the time Divinyls formed in 1980, Amphlett had been singing in bands since the early 1970s. Her early bands included Daisy Clover (which she joined at age 14), One Ton Gypsy and Steamhammer.
She had also spent three years travelling throughout Europe, during which time she spent a period in a Spanish jail. Jeremy Paul and Mark McEntee had both served sentences in the softest of all soft-rock bands, Air Supply.
Divinyls emerged out of inner-city Sydney and quickly built a national following. In September 1981, WEA issued the band's debut single Boys In Town which reached Number 6 during October. It was lifted from the mini-album Music from 'Monkey Grip' which was the soundtrack of the Australian low-budget movie Monkey Grip. Amphlett took the small speaking part of Angela in the film.
The band supported UK band Simple Minds on an Australian tour and Divinyls signed to Chrysalis and recorded the punchy 'Desperate' album in New York with producers Mark Opitz and Bob Clearmountain. The album spawned the singles Science Fiction (Nov 1982), Siren (Never Let You Go) (April 1983) and Casual Encounter (August 1983).
.The band continued to tour extensively, both locally and overseas, and the singles Good Die Young (August 1984) and In My Life (November 1984) followed.
The 1985 album 'What A Life! ' reached Number 2 in Australia within a week of release. The first single, Pleasure And Pain (co-written by British 70's pop guru Mike Chapman) peaked at Number 5 and also cracked the American Top 40. Two other singles were lifted from the album - Sleeping Beauty and Heart Telegraph.
Following months of touring in the US, Divinyls returned to Australia with a line-up containing three Americans (including Frank Infante from Blondie). Such was their stadium rock experience at that time that the band consistently blew audiences away on the enormous Australian Made tour in 1987.
By the time their second Mike Chapman produced album, 'Temperamental', was released, the band were basically back to a duo of Amphlett and McEntee. The singles from the album were Back To The Wall (March 1988), Hey Little Boy (July) and Punxsie (October). All were minor domestic hits.
In 1990 Divinyls signed with Virgin and issued the biggest album of their career, Divinyls, spawning the Number 1 Australian single I Touch Myself in January 1991. This provocative paean to masturbation also took the band into the US Top Ten (Number 4) and UK Top Ten (Number 10).
Divinyls tracks subsequently started to appear in the soundtracks to US movies and TV shows (including Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and the band signed with BMG/RCA in 1996. [Extract from nostalgiacentral.com]
The live recordings included here are taken from the pinacle period in the bands career, when they released their 'Desperate' and 'What Is Life' LP's, with both concerts sourced from U.S tours. My favourite track is "Elsie" - purely for the raw energy that Christie Amphlett exhibits in this classic track.
The rip was taken from tape at 192kps and includes full album artwork.
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Track Listing
(Spit - 4th May 1983, Boston, MA)
01 - Introduction
02 - Make You Happy
03 - Only You
04 - Only Lonely
05 - Science Fiction
06 - Boys In Town
07 - Elsie
(Tower Theater - 22nd Jan 1986 Philadelphia, PA)
08 - Sleeping Beauty
09 - In My Life
10 - Pleasure And Pain
11 - Don't You Go Walking
12 - Science Fiction
13 - Boys In Town
14 - Guillotine
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Band Members
Christie Amphlett (Vocals)
Mark McEntee (Guitars)
Bjarne Ohlin (Keyboards)
Richard Harvey, J J Harris (Drums)
Rick Grossman (Bass)
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Divinyls Link (71Mb) New Link 03/10/2013
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10 comments:

  1. Hi,
    Is this album available to purchase anywhere?

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  2. Thanks for dropping by Hook
    This is a Soundboard recording and therefore has not been officially released.
    (Note: My charter for this site is to avoid posting music that is available commercially anyhow)
    Cheers mate

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HI,i live in Québec City,Canada and I really want that cd Divinyls - Live (1983 & 1986) Ex SB,but I have nothing to exchange for it except lots of Genesis(Gabriel era) boots and Peter Gabriel as a solo artist and some Tori Amos. Please give me a change to have that recording!!! Thx, Denis. My Mail: denesis101@yahoo.ca

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  3. Thanks for the post. Always loved the Divinyls but never got to see them live.

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  4. Thanks for dropping by Man.
    I plan to post their 'Desperate' LP soon, so stay tuned

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  5. Really enjoyed the Monkey Grip/Desperate Files! TY! Was looking forward to this, but try as I might, I can't get this, keep getting a
    Livid.exe file?! Maybe cuz I'm in Canada?! :o(

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  6. Hi zzebon
    Selecting the initial download button will always initiate a second window which is the Livid stuff, so close this. Two options should then appear Premium and Free. Choose appropriately
    Of course - you must have an account with 4share.com and be logged in to use their site - its free and no strings attached
    Good luck

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  7. RIP Chrissy Amphlett. BBC Radio 6 Music's Gideon Coe played "Boys In Town" in her honor on 4/23/2013.

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  8. Thank you so much for keeping the Divinyls out there, and for these live recordings.

    They were tragically--yes tragically--underappreciated (at least here in the northern hemisphere).

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi
    Thank you so much for keeping this link active!
    :)
    CA 4eva

    ReplyDelete