The original Divinyls guitarist and keyboardist is returning to full-time composition after a career spanning rock, theatre, education and songwriting.
by Paul Cashmere
Bjarne Ohlin, the original guitarist and keyboardist whose early songwriting helped shape the Divinyls catalogue, has signed a worldwide publishing representation deal with Music Publishing as he returns his focus to composition.
The move marks a new creative chapter for Ohlin after more than a decade devoted to education and management at the Townsville Creative Technologies Centre in Queensland. Having recently stepped away from those responsibilities, he is now concentrating on writing songs, soundtracks and a musical dance theatre project.
For fans of early Divinyls, the publishing agreement also brings renewed attention to a relatively small but important part of the band’s catalogue. Ohlin wrote “Siren (Never Let You Go)”, one of the standout Ohlin compositions from the band’s early period, as well as “Dear Diary” and “Guillotine Day”.
“Siren (Never Let You Go)” appeared on Divinyls’ 1983 album Desperate and was released as a single. The song remains distinctive in the band’s catalogue because it came from Ohlin rather than the better-known songwriting partnership associated with Chrissy Amphlett and Mark McEntee.
A performance of “Siren (Never Let You Go)” also survives from the period, giving listeners a glimpse of Ohlin sharing the stage with Amphlett during Divinyls’ formative years. Ohlin was a guitarist, keyboard player and backing vocalist with the band from its early days through to 1986.
His association with Amphlett began during the formation of Divinyls in Sydney. The group developed through the early 1980s, establishing a reputation for a confrontational live sound and Amphlett’s distinctive stage presence. Ohlin’s role extended beyond playing, with his songwriting becoming part of the band’s recorded history.
The 1985 album What A Life! included two further Ohlin compositions, “Dear Diary” and “Guillotine Day”. “Guillotine Day” was later issued as a Divinyls single in 1986, further establishing Ohlin’s contribution as a songwriter within the group.
Before Divinyls, Ohlin had already crossed between theatre and music. He was part of the original Australian stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1972, a production featuring Jon English and Stevie Wright among its cast. His career subsequently moved increasingly towards rock performance and songwriting.
After leaving Divinyls, Ohlin formed Bigstorm with Stewart D’Arrietta, Don Miller-Robinson and Huey Benjamin. The band released Living In Exile in 1989, with Ohlin contributing guitar and vocals. The project provided another songwriting outlet before his career moved further into education and creative technology.
That educational career eventually brought him to Townsville, where he became associated with the Townsville Creative Technologies Centre at Heatley Secondary College. The centre provides training across creative technology disciplines including music, screen, design and digital production.
Ohlin’s work in vocational education was recognised in 2020 when he was named the North Queensland region’s VET Teacher or Trainer of the Year. He subsequently continued to combine music experience with training and creative technology education.
Now, composition is again the priority.
Rather than produce a conventional memoir about his years with Divinyls, Ohlin is developing a musical dance theatre work while continuing to write and pitch new material. The publishing arrangement gives those new compositions a pathway into film, television, theatre, recording and other creative uses.
The career arc is unusually broad. Ohlin has moved from the stage of Jesus Christ Superstar to the early Sydney rock circuit, international Divinyls recordings, Bigstorm, education and creative technology. His return to songwriting brings that accumulated experience back into the music itself.
The new publishing relationship with Music Publishing is intended to represent that work worldwide as Ohlin develops the next stage of his career as a composer and songwriter.
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