Lost songs from iconic Australian rockstar found in garage

More than a decade after her death, the voice of Australian rock icon Chrissy Amphlett will be heard like never before after three lost songs were discovered in a garage.

Key points

• Years before her 2013 death, Amphlett recorded three songs with Tim Finn, former lead singer of New Zealand's Split Enz, in 1998.
• In an interview with Australian Story, a documentary programme by national broadcaster ABC, Finn recalled the 1998 recording session with Amphlett in Sydney.
• In a social media post on Monday regarding the 1998 session, Finn stated he had reached out to Amphlett having been a great admirer of her work.
• On Friday, the songs will be published in an EP titled Some Times.
• Over a number of days, he and Amphlett wrote a trio of songs and headed into the studio to record them, with Drayton on the drums.

Meanwhile, the trailblazing frontwoman of rock band Divinyls, Amphlett's trademark husky voice and charismatic stage presence brought the world the 1990 number one track I Touch Myself as well as earlier hits Pleasure and Pain (1985) and Boys in Town (1981).

Years before her 2013 death, Amphlett recorded three songs with Tim Finn, former lead singer of New Zealand's Split Enz, in 1998. The tracks were thought to be lost until Finn discovered them in his garage in 2023.

"It was a good time for us to meet because she was looking for something new, something different in her life musically, " Finn remarked.

Around that time, Amphlett had split with fellow band member, guitarist Mark McEntee after a tumultuous relationship and was growing close to drummer Charley Drayton, according to the documentary. The pair would afterwards marry.

"She was so focused, " Finn remarked. "She just wanted to obtain it right. I was in the presence of great talent, great charisma."

"We hadn't met previously but instantly felt a bond, a camaraderie of shared history as ex-lead singers of two brilliant bands, " Finn wrote on Monday.

When the session wrapped up, Finn took the recordings home and planned to work on it, but "they were never fully realised". In 2023, Drayton contacted Finn, regarding the 1998 recordings.

"I thought they were lost to the universe but remarkably found the two-inch tape in my garage, " Finn wrote in the post, describing the songs as "incredibly important to me, Charley and those close to Chrissy".

"It was still in perfect condition and we are now able to share these songs with you."

Taken together, the developments around lost songs from iconic Australian rockstar found in garage point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.