Following support from thousands of fans of fallen iconic Australian singer Chrissy Amphlett, Melbourne City Council has now approved for a lane in the CBD to be named after the Divinyls frontwoman, they just need to find a vacant lane, reports The Age.
Last Tuesday, councillors voted unanimously to accept to name a laneway after Amphlett based on a petition that received support from over 7,200 signatories, including the likes of Molly Meldrum, Baby Animals frontwoman Suze DeMarchi, actor Noah Taylor, and Divinyls bandmates Rick Grossman and Amphlett’s husband Charley Drayton.
Under state guidelines however, they cannot simply rename a landmark in of the late rock singer, who died in April at her New York home at the age of 53 following complications with her ongoing battle with cancer and multiple sclerosis.
Greens Councillor Rohan Leppert, who was presented the petition by Amphlett’s cousin, Patricia aka Aussie rock singer Little Pattie, says that the city would need to find a new lane to honour the memory of the Divinyls singer before it is officially approved by Melbourne City Council, but believes that one will be found soon enough. “She said if we didn’t do it she was going to lead an army of Chrissy Amphlett fans up to Melbourne Town Hall.”
“There’s lots of unnamed laneways and other public landmarks around,” said Cr Leppert, who also received a good-humoured caution from Little Pattie; “she said if we didn’t do it she was going to lead an army of Chrissy Amphlett fans up to Melbourne Town Hall.”
UPDATE: A statement from the City Of Melbourne issued to The Age reveals that the council – despite voting unanimously on the motion put forward by the petition – cannot officially approve the Chrissy Amphlett laneway until a location is approved by the Future Melbourne Committee. The statement reads:
A report about the proposal to name a road after Chrissy Amphlett will be presented to Future Melbourne Committee (FMC) in coming months. In the interim, Council officers are investigating whether there are suitable unnamed roads for the possible commemoration, with an initial focus on finding a road relative to Chrissy Amphlett’s activities within the city.
The petition first surfaced in May on crowdsourcing charity page Change.org, 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 Australian female rock icon’s passing.
“It would be a fitting tribute,” said Molly Meldrum when he gave the Chrissy Amphlett Laneway proposal his public endorsement earlier this month. “We’ve already got an AC/DC Lane in Melbourne and Chrissy was another act who learnt the ropes playing in the Melbourne music scene,” he said.
The death of the singer, who was ranked among the Top 10 Greatest Australian Singers of All Time in a poll voted on by fellow Aussie singers, also caused a surge in sales of Divinyls records, returning the band’s popular albums and singles to the ARIA Charts in the week following her passing.
The naming of a laneway after Chrissy Amphlett marks the third rock and roll landmark for Melbourne, following AC/DC Lane and the recent addition of the Rowland S. Howard Lane in St Kilda, which was approved by local council following strong support by the community and musicians alike, including a poignant open letter from Howards’ former Birthday Party cohort, Nick Cave.
