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Three long-lost songs recorded by the late Australian rock singer Chrissy Amphlett have been rediscovered in a garage and are set to be released to the public, more than a decade after her death. The tracks, which had been considered missing for roughly a quarter of a century, will give fans a chance to hear a side of the iconic performer that has never before been available.
Amphlett was best known as the charismatic frontwoman of the rock band Divinyls. Her trademark husky voice and commanding stage presence made her one of the most recognisable figures in Australian music. She scored a global number one hit in 1990 with "I Touch Myself," a song that became a defining moment of her career and remains widely played decades later.
Before that international breakthrough, Divinyls had already built a reputation with earlier singles such as "Pleasure and Pain" in 1985 and "Boys in Town" in 1981. Those tracks helped establish Amphlett as a trailblazing presence in a male-dominated rock landscape, and they laid the groundwork for the success that would follow.
The newly discovered material dates back to 1998, several years before Amphlett's death in 2013. She recorded the three songs in Sydney alongside Tim Finn, the former lead singer of the New Zealand band Split Enz. The collaboration was not widely known at the time, and the recordings were eventually presumed lost.
Finn recounted the story of the sessions in an interview with "Australian Story," a documentary programme produced by the national broadcaster ABC. He described the period as a significant moment for both of them, noting that Amphlett was searching for something new and different musically when they came together.
According to the documentary, the collaboration took place around the time Amphlett had separated from Mark McEntee, the guitarist and fellow Divinyls member with whom she had shared a turbulent personal and professional relationship. She was also growing closer to drummer Charley Drayton, who would later become her husband.
The recording sessions unfolded over several days, during which Finn and Amphlett wrote a trio of songs together before heading into the studio with Drayton providing drums. Finn recalled being struck by her dedication during that time, describing her as focused and determined to get every detail right.
Finn also spoke warmly of her talent, saying he felt he was in the presence of exceptional ability and charisma. In a social media post this week about the 1998 sessions, he revealed that he had first reached out to Amphlett because he had long admired her work.
Although the two had never met before, Finn wrote that they immediately felt a bond and a sense of camaraderie, rooted in their shared experience as former lead singers of successful bands. That connection, he suggested, helped make the sessions productive and memorable.
When the recording work was finished, Finn took the tapes home with the intention of continuing to develop the material. However, the songs were never fully completed, and as the years passed they were effectively forgotten amid the busy trajectories of the musicians involved.
The turning point came in 2023, when Drayton contacted Finn to ask about the 1998 recordings. Finn has said he believed the tapes had been lost to the universe, only to discover the two-inch master tape remarkably still sitting in his garage.
Finn described the songs as incredibly important to himself, to Drayton and to those who were close to Amphlett. He noted that the tape was still in perfect condition, allowing the material to be recovered and eventually shared with listeners.
The tracks are now scheduled for release on Friday as part of an EP titled "Some Times." The release marks the culmination of an unlikely preservation story and offers admirers a fresh opportunity to hear Amphlett's unmistakable voice in a setting they have never encountered before.
For fans and music historians alike, the discovery adds a new chapter to the legacy of an artist whose influence extended well beyond her chart successes. Amphlett's death at the age of 53 in 2013 prompted widespread tributes in Australia and overseas, and her standing as a pioneering female rock performer has only grown in the years since.
The recovery of the tapes also highlights a broader truth about music archives: significant recordings can lie dormant in private collections, garages and storage spaces for decades, vulnerable to deterioration or permanent loss. In this case, the survival of the master tape in good condition made the eventual release possible.
With the EP due out on Friday, the three songs will finally take their place in the recorded history of one of Australia's most distinctive voices, closing a circle that began in a Sydney studio more than 25 years ago.
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