RIP Chrissy Amphlett of the Divinyls

Chrissy Amphlett, former lead singer of legendary Australian act the Divinyls, has died, aged 53.

Amphlett had been battling illness for the last decade after first being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and then breast cancer.

Her husband and former bandmate Charley Drayton confirmed she succumbed to those illnesses in New York today, surrounded by friends and family.

"Chrissy's light burns so very brightly," he wrote.

"Hers was a life of passion and creativity; she always lived it to the fullest. With her force of character and vocal strength she paved the way for strong, sexy, outspoken women.

"Chrissy expressed hope that her worldwide hit "I Touch Myself" would be utilized to remind all women to perform annual breast examinations".

Speaking to The Age back in 2010, Amphlett described her battle with cancer as "**** and unfair".

"But life is not fair - even rock stars get breast cancer. But there's been many girls before me that have dealt with it successfully. It's easy to feel sorry for me but I feel sorry for people who are suffering it alone.'

In January 2011 Amphlett announced on facebook that she was in remission.

The Divinyls broke through in the 80's with tracks like 'Boys In Town' and 'Science Fiction' before going on to top the Australian charts with their biggest hit, 'I Touch Myself', in 1991. The same song climbed into the top 10 in the UK & US.

Amphlett and her band mates were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006 and briefly reformed for a series of reunion shows before officially disbanding in 2010.

Sourcehttp://www.abc.net.au/triplej/musicnews/s3742551.htm