Melbourne is widely regarded as the rock capital of Australia and given it now has two rock and roll landmarks, with St Kilda council recently confirming the approval of the Rowland S. Howard lane, joining AC/DC Lane in the Melways listings, a new petition is looking to add a third to the map.
A new petition has surfaced on crowdsourcing charity page Change.org, calling for a lane to be named after in honour of Australian female icon, Chrissy Amphlett.
The new petition is urging Melbourne City Council to “please dedicate and name a laneway (or other Melbourne city landmark) for Chrissy Amphlett,” following the tragic news of the Divinyls singer’s passing.
“Chrissy Amphlett loved Melbourne and it would be wonderful for her family, friends and admirers all over the world to have a special space dedicated to her in this famously musical city,” reads the new petition, which has already gained over 1,350 signatories of its proposed 1,500 since its inception.
The campaign was started in London by Astrologer Jessica Adams, who notes that the petition has the support of Amphlett’s husband and Divinyls bandmate Charley Drayton.
https://twitter.com/jessicacadams/status/331131573359476738
Adams adds that the petition has also gained celebrity support in the form of Australian actor, Noah Taylor:
https://twitter.com/jessicacadams/status/331273079458258944
The call to Melbourne City Council to immortalise the singer follows the news that the feisty frontwoman’s death caused a surge in sales of Divinyls records, returning the band’s popular albums and singles to the ARIA Charts in the week following Amphlett’s death.
Amphlett, who was recently ranked among the Top 10 Greatest Australian Singers of All Time in a poll voted on by fellow Aussie singers, passed away at her New York home on April 11th 2013 at the age of 53 following complications with her ongoing battle with cancer and multiple sclerosis.
If the success of the petition started by a local music promoter to put Rowland S. Howard on the map is anything to go by, the Chrissy Amphlett Laneway petition is bound to gain in popular traction.
The St Kilda laneway named in tribute to the deceased musician was recently approved by local council following strong support for the move by the community and musicians alike, including Howards’ former Birthday Party cohort, Nick Cave.
head to www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/the-chrissy-amphlett-lane-petition if you want to show your support of naming a Melbourne landmark in honour of the passed Divinyls icon.
