Pleasure And Pain: My Life

by Chrissy Amphlett, Larry Writer

Chrissy Amphlett is a true legend of Australian rock?n?roll. Here, the spellbinding performer who inspired and outraged as lead singer of the Divinyls tells her own amazing story.

In this raw, gripping and searingly honest account, Chrissy spares no one ? least of all herself. She reveals how she formed the Divinyls and, with a unique voice, steely ambition and an outrageous stage act powered them to Australian and international stardom.

Having battled alcohol, drugs and a million dollars worth of debt, Chrissy tells of her fight with MS and of finally finding peace with the love of her life in New York.

Brave, sad, funny, ferocious, there's never been anyone like Chrissy Amphlett.

Genres: Music, Autobiography, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Australia

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Megan Whitaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chrissy Amphlett is truly the Queen of Rock n Roll, the one who all others following (Courtney Love ...) aspire to be. What she achieved in the male dominated rock industry in Australia is amazing. But she's not entirely a likeable person - and she admits that herself. I enjoyed the book for its insider scoop on 80s Oz rock and her take on her character, warts and all. The Divinyls are one of the best Australian bands ever - its a shame they never got the true recognition they deserved. After reading this book, you will understand that they bear a lot of responsibility for that.

[Stefan Sawynok · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to score this higher because I enjoyed this book immensely. Chrissy lived a fascinating life, but I guess the thing that is missing is the introspection, the events are described without a lot of the discussion of the effects, impacts or lessons. That she survived her life is amazing, that she found happiness is in a way a relief. Chrissy lived her life without a safety net and it led to a destructive path. Maybe it's enough to be inspired by the story of a strong, talented woman, who lived life to the full, overcame her demons, survived and found happiness.

[Jae Jaggart · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you think of tough women in music – the ones who take on that world on their own terms Chrissy Amplett definitely deserves to be on that list. As an Australian singer in the eighties, I’m guessing geographic distance didn’t help any attempts at international fame, and probably, Amplett’s own strong, take no prisoners, self destructive (frequently) personality didn’t help. It’s stating the blindingly obvious, but behavior that most would have accepted in a guy in her position probably pissed off a lot of people in the industry. That said, without that tough drive she wouldn’t have gotten far, still accomplished a huge amount and would have been absolutely amazing on stage. This was not a woman who held back one degree, gave an audience absolutely everything, and lived her life to the max. For female or male musicians looking for inspiration, she would still have to be pretty amazing. This book is excellent for a different view of the rock and roll lifestyle, an insider’s view of life on the road, band politics, and a time travel view of the 80’s/90’s music industry and era. It probably leaves out a fair amount, but I can’t think of too many autobiographies that don’t. Still worth it.

[Jordyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic and inspiring! Chrissy is someone to look up to, I really believe she has the heart and soul of 1000 men. She is a brave woman and it was very confronting and real to read her biography. Very good book!

[Rachel Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book hurls you smackbang into the middle of the rock and roll lifestyle, you'll feel like you've been on the road for years without ever leaving your seat. Pleasure and Pain is a raw and honest portrayal of being a woman in the cutthroat music industry in Australia in the 80's and 90's. This is a must-read for any Divinyls fan or Chrissy fan, which let's be honest, you'd be crazy not to be. Chrissy is the original rock and roll goddess, and this book gives you an insight to the person behind that infamous schoolgirl uniform and delves into her battles with love, addiction and depression and details the highs and lows of her life - and what a life it was!

[Malcolm Frawley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was never a particular fan of The Divinyls but I recognise their place in Australian rock history. I also never saw them live, which was apparently their domain, but I did see Chrissy Amphlett in her 1st 'straight' musical, Blood Brothers, & she was a talent. As with most memoirs/auto-biogs, this feels self-serving at times but the author doesn't shy away from her flaws, particularly her alcoholism. A woman's path through the world of rock music is very different, & way more difficult, & there are many eye-opening moments in this sometimes harrowing tale. Not just for fans but for anyone who has an affection for/interest in guitar bands. Vale Chrissy.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I love Divinyls and Chrissy Amphlett, I simply cannot wax lyrical about this book. Somehow sex, drugs and rock & roll became awfully mundane and I found myself skipping a number of passages. I am pleased that I stuck it out to the end, and greatly admire Chrissy's attitude to her MS, and I'm also glad she found love with Charley. However, overall, I think only the die-hard fans will enjoy this book. Sorry Chrissy.

[Lily Mulholland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh, what an incredible life. 'Unputdownable' despite it being possibly more interesting for what it doesn't say than what it does. Chrissy is having a lend of her readers while at the same time laying herself bare. A very brave, if not quite honest, life story. Highly recommended.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fantastic story. It was an inspiration with what was achieved and Chrissy's determination to get there.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was sixteen, babysitting and watching MTV when this video comes on. I was absolutely mesmerized by the girl singing this song:

I am through with hanging around
With all the boys in town
Now I want a man around
Get me out of here

I am a just red brassiere
to all the boys in town
Put this bus in top gear
get me out of here

I was always driving home
all the boys in town
But they never telephoned
get me out of here

I think they're pretty phony
You're not like the rest
You've heard of matrimony
They've all flunked the test

I must have been desperate I must of been pretty low
I must have been desperate I must have been pretty slow

Oh I'm tired oh I'm wired
Too much too young
Get me out of here

"Too much too young" indeed. I've always wondered how someone could live life on the road, all the traveling, alcohol, violence, people chewing you up and spitting you out, the unprotected sex, drugs....I get the rock-n-roll part though. Well, Chrissy's autobiography explains it all. I love reading books about people and their lives that are so different from mine. Some people want to taste, touch and smell life. I just want to read about it in my comfy chair, safe and warm. 😁

[Lise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chrissy Amphlett was the original rock chick. This well written biography chronicles her hard won acceptance and rise to fame in the music world. The Divinyls probably could have been even bigger than they were and reading this book probably shows why. The last 3rd of the book is actually pretty hard to read, Chrissy seems by her own account not the easiest person in the world to like and she recounts quite a few "falling outs" she had with various people, but her sobriety, peace and the love she found with Charley feels very sad, very sad ... knowing that she will be dealt two cruel blows ... MS and breast cancer to which she succumbed (aged only 53!) earlier this year.

[Peter Langston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part ghost written, this book unleashes the real Crissy Amphlet - Little Pattie's cousin - on the reader and it ain't pretty ... but it's damn interesting. I particularly like the descriptions of her love/hate relationship with Divinyls co-writer Mark Entwee. There's no doubt she is outrageous but equally no doubt she is a gifted, creative soul who has excelled in music, acting and writing. Not just for the voyeurs who left a D's gig with a month full of fantasies, this is also a serious read about a talented 1980's icon.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing woman Chrissy Amphlett was!!! And what an amazing read this book was!! No holds barred, honest, straight forward, and showing you the many sides of one of Australia's Rock n Roll leading Ladies, and the amazing Divinyls!
A great singer, and actress, who told it like it was!
This book is a must read for anyone who is a Chrissy Amphlett fan, or even just a Divinyls fan!
And would I recommend this book, most definitely! I read it in 2 days, that is how good a read it is!

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

42 WORD REVIEW:

Chrissy Amphlett pioneered Australian pub rock female empowerment, fronting Divinyls through turbulent highs and breaking lows; immersed, but always fighting the industry’s destructive undertow. Her honest, engaging biography tells of determination without caution; the fine line between running free and running blind.

[Anthony Criscitelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brutally frank account of her life, Chrissy Amphlett recounts her life in detail. Intense relationships, the trials, tribulations and tragedy of rock and roll and her own spiraling dependencies are eventually tamed by love. Full of testimonials from all players, it is a rich dive into a life lived to its fullest.

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me this book glossed over everything, and it would have been really interesting to have Mark's point of view. It was interesting to learn more about rock and roll in australia at that time though.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK .... feel they missed the opportunity to make an interesting memoir to read.

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent book about horrible people

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a Life! by the Divinyls was one of the first records I bought with own money back in 1985, and one I've played fairly regularly ever since. Oddly, though, it was the only album of there's I ever bought, other than their collections. And despite how legendary they are, they never really hit any massive hits other than I Touch Myself (which I bought on cassingle - cassingle!), which really was a departure for them at the time.

This book goes quite a way to explain the machinations of the music industry in the '80s and '90s and reading it it's pretty easy to why they never really fulfilled their promise. Chrissy seems like she would have been hard work to be around, and Mark McEntee more so. The book's interesting that it includes segments of interviews of her associates, many of which aren't very complimentary. Volatile at best and a downright cow at worst, she would have been very hard to manage.

That Mark doesn't get his say leaves a really big gap. We have to take Chrissy's word for how things went down, and she does not seem that reliable a narrator. It's really quite a tale nonetheless, even if we can't quite believe everything she says and, of course, we sadly know from the start how it ends.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Chrissy as an artist. She was an amazing performer.

The book was a great overview of an amazing woman's life. She was a ground breaker in her industry.

There was a lot of her history that I didn't realise, particularly her love life with her bandmate and her alcohol addiction.

It seemed like she got MS and breast cancer just when she was getting her life back on track. Very sad

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book!

[Gregory Totman · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a life ! What a legacy. The charismatic singer reveals all and those considering a career in rock n roll might choose accountancy after reading the divinyls history.

[? · Rating 5 out of 5]

sui generis

[D.A. Cairns · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Divinyls were one of the soundtrack bands of my youth. I was in high school in the eighties when they were at their peak, and I saw them perform live on at least a couple of occasions. Like everyone else who saw Chrissy Amphlett, I found her mesmerizing. Reading Pleasure and Pain was a little nostalgic for me, but that's not the only reason I loved the book.

In many ways, Pleasure and Pain is a typical rock and roll memoir. What makes it different from the other rock bios I've read, is the inclusion of long quotes from other people. This provided both sides of the story, and really added weight to the authenticity of the book. Author White did a great job capturing Amphlett's voice.

In many ways, Pleasure and Pain is shocking and sad: the title could not be more apt. After winning her fight against alcohol addiction, extricating herself from a very destructive and unhealthy relationship and repaying a massive debt incurred by the band despite their success, she faced her demons and found happiness.

Amphlett died in 2013 from breast cancer. She was also suffering MS. What a life! What a book! Even if you don't know who Chrssy Amphlett is, you'll find this a compelling and brutally honest biography.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many people will not be familiar with Chrissy Amphlett. And they should be. She was at the forefront of bringing in the second great wave of female singers after the deep lull between the early 70’s and early 80’s. She was the lead singer of the Australian band The Divinyls.

The big U.S. hits were “Boys In Town”, “Pleasure and Pain” and “I Touch Myself”. Her style is in the punk vein of the Runaways, Blondie and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders who she has often been confused with.

One of the things I found most revealing and true is that making a living in rock and roll is a bitch. While they made money, the band was more often than not in debt and simply working to get out of it. They were not living the fabulous glamour life of the super groups. Frankly, most musicians I know, professional or otherwise, live a hand to mouth existence and are willing to do it because they love the music.

Chrissy Amphlett was able to parlay her talent into musical theatre and had she lived longer, I think she ultimately would have established herself on Broadway as a presence. She did Blood Brothers and The Boy From Oz in Australia but she was right at the beginning of exploring this genre when she passed away.

She went through all the rock clichés as well as a gave a brilliant glimpse into life in the early seventies in the surfing culture in Torquay in Victoria. She traveled in Europe, she took drugs, and she spent some time in a Spanish prison.

I relived a lot of really fond memories of Kings Cross and time I spent in Sydney going to clubs, pubs and beer barns listening to amazing live music with friends. I had first seen the Divinyls in Seattle in 1983 before they broke big. I was a fan and stayed a fan.

Chrissy Amphlett passed away in 2013 due to breast cancer. This was a true loss to the music industry but the music lives on and this book is a great guide to both the woman and the band.

[Ronni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had always liked the Divinyls when I was younger and so it was natural for me to pick up this book. I was very pleased that it was such a good book. Very honest, and showed a great deal of her life that was unknown. Such a brave woman to share such intimate information.

[bluetyson]

isbn,original

[Lee Zebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting. Music industry in oz rock days.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a woman, loved the book!

[Pagani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great musician and band,met them both in early 90's they were very down to earth, really miss her!💔