Here's something I never thought I'd say: I just got weepy listening to "I Touch Myself" by the Divinyls.
In an incredibly touching tribute to the group's frontwoman, Chrissy Amphlett, some of Australia's top singers have recorded a largely a capella version for a video encouraging women to self-examine their breasts for lumps.
Amphlett, one of the most shockingly sexual pop artists of the 1990s, died from breast cancer on April 21, 2013. According to Billboard, an ultrasound and mammogram initially missed the cancer, which Amphlett ended up finding on her own through self-examination.
Friends say her dying wish was that her 1990 hit song could become a reminder for all women to check themselves regularly for lumps and other signs of breast cancer. So Australian advocacy group Cancer Council NSW (New South Wales) worked with Amphlett's widower and supporters to create the beautiful rendition below.
The singers are Connie Mitchell, Deborah Conway, Kate Cerebrano, Katie Noonan, Little Pattie, Megan Washington, Olivia Newton-John, Sarah Blasko, Sarah McLeod and Suze DeMarchi. You can watch interviews with each of them on Amphlett's YouTube channel.
"It is a song that celebrates female sexuality like no other. Like Chrissy, it is bold, brave, and brassy," the group says in its video summary. "It rocked our world. And when Chrissy developed breast cancer, it was a song she wanted to become an anthem for spreading awareness about the importance of touching ourselves for early detection of the disease."
Note: The video below ends on a scene that might be NSFW. But you really shouldn't let that stop you from watching it.
