Top 10 Songs From The Divinyls

Divinyls Songs

Divinyls were formed in Sydney in 1980 and were driven by the partnership of singer Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Although “I Touch Myself” made them look like a one-hit wonder in the United States, the band had already built a long career in Australia before that song became an international hit.

Divinyls released five studio albums, beginning with Desperate in 1983 and ending with Underworld in 1996. Before Desperate, the band also recorded material for the 1982 Australian film Monkey Grip, including their breakthrough single “Boys in Town.”

# 10 – Science Fiction

“Science Fiction” was released in December 1982 as the lead single from Divinyls’ debut studio album, Desperate. Written by Chrissy Amphlett and Mark McEntee and produced by Mark Opitz, the song reached No. 13 on the Australian singles chart. In 2001, APRA named it one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time.

# 9 – Hey Little Boy

“Hey Little Boy” was released in 1988 from Temperamental. The song is a gender-reversed cover of the Syndicate of Sound’s 1966 hit “Little Girl,” written by Don Baskin and Bob Gonzalez, with Chrissy Amphlett turning the original story back on an unfaithful man. Produced by Mike Chapman, the Divinyls version became another Australian Top 30 single.

# 8 – Siren (Never Let You Go)

“Siren (Never Let You Go)” was released in 1983 as the second single from Desperate. Written by band member Bjarne Ohlin and produced by Mark Opitz, the short, fast track reached No. 45 in Australia. Amphlett’s vocal turns the song’s attraction and fixation into something much more urgent than a conventional love song.

# 7 – I’m Jealous

“I’m Jealous” was released in 1995 as the lead single from Divinyls’ fifth and final studio album, Underworld, which followed in 1996. Written by Chrissy Amphlett, Billy Steinberg, and Tom Kelly and produced by Peter Collins, the song was recorded in Nashville and reached No. 14 in Australia. It became Divinyls’ final Australian Top 50 single.

# 6 – Love School

“Love School” was released in 1991 from the self-titled Divinyls album. Written by Chrissy Amphlett and Mark McEntee and produced by Amphlett, McEntee, and David Tickle, the song reached No. 43 in Australia. Amphlett’s lyric is direct about wanting passion, sensitivity, and something more substantial than emotional distance.

# 5 – Make Out Alright

“Make Out Alright” was the third single from Divinyls in 1991. Written by Chrissy Amphlett, Mark McEntee, and Martyn Watson, the song deals with uncertainty over where a relationship is going and whether it can survive. It peaked at No. 105 in Australia and also reached Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart in the United States.

# 4 – Back to the Wall

“Back to the Wall” was released in 1988 as the lead single from Temperamental. Written by Chrissy Amphlett, Mark McEntee, and Richard Feldman and produced by Mike Chapman, it reached No. 33 in Australia. Its tense, defiant mood also earned it a place in the 1988 film A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.

# 3 – Boys in Town

“Boys in Town” was Divinyls’ debut single in 1981 and reached No. 8 in Australia. Written by Chrissy Amphlett, Mark McEntee, and Jeremy Paul, the song was recorded for the soundtrack of the Australian film Monkey Grip and later appeared on the international version of Desperate. Its frustrated demand to get away from the aimless boys around her introduced Amphlett’s attitude immediately.

# 2 – I Touch Myself

“I Touch Myself” was released in Australia in 1990 as the lead single from the 1991 album Divinyls. Chrissy Amphlett and Mark McEntee wrote the song with Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, creating the band’s biggest international hit. It reached No. 1 in Australia, No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 10 in the UK.

# 1 – Pleasure and Pain

“Pleasure and Pain” was released in 1985 from Divinyls’ second studio album, What a Life!. Written by Mike Chapman and Holly Knight and produced by Chapman, the song reached No. 11 in Australia, No. 8 in New Zealand, and No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100. Chrissy Amphlett’s vocal sells the song’s central idea perfectly: love can move back and forth between attraction and hurt in the same relationship.