Temperamental (Divinyls album)
Encyclopedia
Temperamental is the third album by Australian band Divinyls
, released in 1988 (see 1988 in music
) by Chrysalis Records
. Three singles were lifted from the album – "Back to the Wall
"/"Fighting" (Aust #33, March 1988), their cover of Syndicate of Sound
's "Hey Little Boy"/"Para Dice" (#23, July) and "Punxsie"/"Victoria" (October).
Rehearsals began in Los Angeles in October 1986, with the band by then reduced to just singer Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee
. Guitarist Bjarne Ohlin had already left and drummer JJ Harris was sacked at the insistence of producer Mike Chapman, who regarded him as inadequate for the task. The band's label, Chrysalis Records
, told Amphlett and McEntee it regarded the album as a make-or-break record, following the lacklustre sales performance of its predecessor, What a Life!
. The pair returned to Australia in December 1986 for a series of Australian Made gigs in the capital cities, with Divinyls joining a lineup that included Mental As Anything
, I'm Talking
, The Triffids
, The Saints
, Models
, Jimmy Barnes
and INXS
. Amphlett and McEntee were supported on stage by Rick Grossman
(bass), Kenny Lyon (keyboards) and Americans Tommy Cain (drums) and Frank Infante
(guitar).
Grossman quit at the close of the Australian Made tour and checked in to a rehabilitation clinic for treatment for heroin addiction and Amphlett and McEntee returned to Los Angeles in 1987 to begin recording. The new lineup for the album included Lyon, Machinations
drummer Warren McLean and Tootieville bassist Tim Millikan. Recording began at Rumbo Studios, but ceased after complaints about noise by Neil Diamond
, who was recording in the next studio. The band transferred to Sunset Sound Recorders
with Chapman to complete the album.
The album reached No. 11 in Australia, but despite heavy promotion, was the last to be released through Chrysalis. Amphlett explained: "We still owed them more than a million dollars – unpaid reimbursement of their advances for recording, distributing and promoting three albums, and supporting all those tours, yet they let us off the hook. Chrysalis knew, as did we, that we'd never be able to repay such a sum. They figured that because Temperamental hadn't broken us in the States, we were never going to make it there and they'd be smarter to write off our debt as a tax deduction. 'It's time to split', they said. 'We can't do anything more with Divinyls'."
Amphlett believes the album contains some of the band's best songs, written "throughout the emotional maelstrom of the exits of (manager) Vince (Lovegrove), Bjarne, Rick and JJ", including "Back to the Wall", "Punxsie" and "Better Days", as well as "Hey Little Boy".
Divinyls
Divinyls were an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980 and featuring vocalist Christina Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. As the focal point, Amphlett performed on stage wearing a school uniform and fishnet stockings, often using an illuminated neon tube as a prop and displaying...
, released in 1988 (see 1988 in music
1988 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert....
) by Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
. Three singles were lifted from the album – "Back to the Wall
Back to the Wall (song)
"Back to the Wall" is a song by Australian rock group Divinyls. Released in 1988 as the lead single from their third studio album Temperamental, the song made the top forty on the Australian singles chart.-Background:...
"/"Fighting" (Aust #33, March 1988), their cover of Syndicate of Sound
Syndicate of Sound
The Syndicate of Sound was an American garage band that existed between 1965 and 1970. Originally from San Jose, California, the band had an edgy style that some critics have considered to be a forerunner of psychedelic rock.- History :...
's "Hey Little Boy"/"Para Dice" (#23, July) and "Punxsie"/"Victoria" (October).
Rehearsals began in Los Angeles in October 1986, with the band by then reduced to just singer Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee
Mark McEntee
Mark McEntee is an Australian musician, he was the guitarist for the rock band Divinyls. In May 2001, Divinyls' "Science Fiction", written by lead singer Christina Amphlett and McEntee, was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time...
. Guitarist Bjarne Ohlin had already left and drummer JJ Harris was sacked at the insistence of producer Mike Chapman, who regarded him as inadequate for the task. The band's label, Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
, told Amphlett and McEntee it regarded the album as a make-or-break record, following the lacklustre sales performance of its predecessor, What a Life!
What a Life! (album)
What a Life! is the second studio album by Australian band Divinyls, released in July 1985 by Chrysalis Records. The album is a genre of rock and new wave songs — written by Divinyls members Christina Amphlett and Mark McEntee.-History:...
. The pair returned to Australia in December 1986 for a series of Australian Made gigs in the capital cities, with Divinyls joining a lineup that included Mental As Anything
Mental As Anything
Mental As Anything are an Australian New Wave–rock music band formed at an art school in Sydney in 1976. Their most popular line-up was Martin Plaza on vocals and guitar; Reg Mombassa on lead guitar and vocals; his brother Peter "Yoga Dog" O'Doherty on bass guitar and vocals; Wayne "Bird"...
, I'm Talking
I'm Talking
I'm Talking was a 1980s Australian funk-pop rock band, which featured vocalists Kate Ceberano and Zan Abeyratne. They formed in 1983 in Melbourne and provided top ten hit singles "Trust Me", "Do You Wanna Be?" and "Holy Word" and a top fifteen album, Bear Witness, before disbanding in...
, The Triffids
The Triffids
The Triffids were a seminal Australian alternative rock and pop band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in May 1978 with charismatic, David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved negligible success in Australia, but greater success in the U.K...
, The Saints
The Saints (band)
The Saints are an Australian rock band, which formed in Brisbane in 1974 as punk rockers. Founders were Chris Bailey , Ivor Hay , and Ed Kuepper . Alongside mainstay Bailey, the group has had numerous line-ups...
, Models
Models (band)
Models were an alternative rock group formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1978 and went into hiatus in 1988. They are often incorrectly referred to as The Models. They re-formed in 2000, 2006 and 2008 to perform reunion concerts. "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", their only No. 1 hit,...
, Jimmy Barnes
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
and INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
. Amphlett and McEntee were supported on stage by Rick Grossman
Richard Grossman (musician)
Richard Grossman is an Australian rock musician who has played bass guitar for two iconic bands Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus. Hoodoo Gurus iconic status on the Australian rock scene was acknowledged when they were inducted into the 2007 ARIA Hall of Fame. For Grossman, this was his second Hall of Fame...
(bass), Kenny Lyon (keyboards) and Americans Tommy Cain (drums) and Frank Infante
Frank Infante
Frank Infante is an American guitarist and bassist best known as a former member of the punk/new wave band, Blondie.Prior to Blondie, he established himself playing guitar in heavy, electric blues groups such as The Elegant End and World War III. In 1975, he joined Sniper, an early, American glam...
(guitar).
Grossman quit at the close of the Australian Made tour and checked in to a rehabilitation clinic for treatment for heroin addiction and Amphlett and McEntee returned to Los Angeles in 1987 to begin recording. The new lineup for the album included Lyon, Machinations
Machinations (band)
Machinations was a popular Sydney-based outfit working the mid-1980s independent Australian music scene. Notable national hits included "Pressure Sway", "My Heart's On Fire" and "No Say In It". They also achieved indie prominence with the two versions of their first single, "Average Inadequacy"...
drummer Warren McLean and Tootieville bassist Tim Millikan. Recording began at Rumbo Studios, but ceased after complaints about noise by Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
, who was recording in the next studio. The band transferred to Sunset Sound Recorders
Sunset Sound Recorders
Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard.The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was converted in 1962 by Walt Disney's Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a collection of old commercial and residential buildings - some built more...
with Chapman to complete the album.
The album reached No. 11 in Australia, but despite heavy promotion, was the last to be released through Chrysalis. Amphlett explained: "We still owed them more than a million dollars – unpaid reimbursement of their advances for recording, distributing and promoting three albums, and supporting all those tours, yet they let us off the hook. Chrysalis knew, as did we, that we'd never be able to repay such a sum. They figured that because Temperamental hadn't broken us in the States, we were never going to make it there and they'd be smarter to write off our debt as a tax deduction. 'It's time to split', they said. 'We can't do anything more with Divinyls'."
Amphlett believes the album contains some of the band's best songs, written "throughout the emotional maelstrom of the exits of (manager) Vince (Lovegrove), Bjarne, Rick and JJ", including "Back to the Wall", "Punxsie" and "Better Days", as well as "Hey Little Boy".
Track listing
- "Temperamental" (Christina Amphlett, Mark McEnteeMark McEnteeMark McEntee is an Australian musician, he was the guitarist for the rock band Divinyls. In May 2001, Divinyls' "Science Fiction", written by lead singer Christina Amphlett and McEntee, was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time...
) − 4:30 - "Back to the WallBack to the Wall (song)"Back to the Wall" is a song by Australian rock group Divinyls. Released in 1988 as the lead single from their third studio album Temperamental, the song made the top forty on the Australian singles chart.-Background:...
" (Amphlett, McEntee, Richard Feldman) − 4:38 - "Hey Little BoyHey Little Boy"Hey Little Boy" is a rock song by Australian band Divinyls, released as the second single from their 1988 album Temperamental. The song was a cover of the 1966 hit song "Little Girl" by American rock 'n' roll band Syndicate of Sound. However, when Divinyls recorded their version of the song, they...
" (Capek, Kaufman, Kaufman, Kroh) − 3:21 - "PunxsiePunxsie"Punxsie" is a song by Australian rock duo Divinyls. It was released in late 1988 as the third and final single from their third album Temperamental...
" (Amphlett, McEntee) − 4:16 - "Dance of Love" (Amphlett, McEntee) − 4:04
- "Better Days" (Amphlett, McEntee) − 4:00
- "Dirty Love" (Amphlett, McEntee) − 4:35
- "Because" (Amphlett, McEntee) − 4:06
- "Fighting" (Amphlett, McEntee) − 3:45
- "Run-a-Way Train" (Amphlett, McEntee) − 4:30
- "Out of Time" (Amphlett, McEntee) − 5:46
Personnel
- Christina Amphlett − vocals
- Mark McEnteeMark McEnteeMark McEntee is an Australian musician, he was the guitarist for the rock band Divinyls. In May 2001, Divinyls' "Science Fiction", written by lead singer Christina Amphlett and McEntee, was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time...
− guitars, vocals - Warren McLean − drums
- Tim Millikan − bass
- Mike Chapman − producer
- Bob ClearmountainBob ClearmountainBob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He has worked with many prominent names in music including Bruce Springsteen , The Rolling Stones , Bryan Adams , Robbie Williams Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He...
- mixing (all tracks except "Fighting", "Run-a-Way Train", "Out of Time")
Charts
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Album Chart | 11 |