Melbourne City councillor Rohan Leppert has been presented with a petition to name a Melbourne lane after the late Divinyls singer by her husband Charley Drayton and cousin, 60s pop legend Little Patti.
The petition, signed by many Melbourne musical notables including Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum, requests that the City of Melbourne recognise the achievements of Chrissy who was born in Geelong and started her career in Melbourne.
The petition reads, “This is a petition to request a Melbourne laneway (or city landmark) to be named after Australia’s “first lady of rock”, Chrissy Amphlett of the Divinyls. Chrissy passed away on April 21, 2013 after a long battle with breast cancer.
“The petition has amassed 6386 supporters, including Molly Meldrum, Michael Gudinski, actor Noah Taylor, musicians Reg Mombassa, Suze de Marchi and Rick Grossman, and Chrissy’s medical team in New York”.
Councillor Rohan Peppart of the City of Melbourne said when accepting the petition, “Chrissy Amphlett was an iconic Australian musician, and the Divinyls, a truly great Australian band. Her work both in Australia and overseas is an important part of Melbourne’s music history.
Music is an integral part of Melbourne and an essential element of our 24-hour city. Our reputation for being a city of music is well established and this is thanks to the great musicians such as Chrissy, as well as the punters, events, festivals and live music venues.
I am honoured to accept the petition today. Obviously, these things needs to go through a process but I am happy to get that process started.”
The petition is still open and can be signed at http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/the-chrissy-amphlett-lane-petition
