Mark McEntee

Mark McEntee
Born	(1952-07-16) 16 July 1952
Origin	Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Genres	Rock, new wave
Instruments	Guitar
Associated acts	Divinyls Air Supply

Mark McEntee (/mækənˈtiː/, born 16 July 1952) is an Australian musician and former guitarist for the Australian rock band, Divinyls.

Early life

McEntee was born in Perth, Western Australia.

Air Supply

Prior to joining Divinyls, McEntee worked on the 1975 Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, where he met Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell who were performing in the musical. Hitchcock and Russell went on to form soft rock group Air Supply, and McEntee was part of the group's original line-up, along with Chrissie Hammond and Jeremy Paul.

Divinyls

Main article: Divinyls

McEntee was introduced to Chrissy Amphlett by Paul at a music venue in Collaroy, Sydney, Australia, with an intention to write songs and form a band that would be fronted by Amphlett. The three met again at a choral concert at the Sydney Opera House, where Amphlett and Paul were performing. In 1980, they formed the Divinyls, along with Bjarne Ohlin and drummer Richard Harvey. McEntee had played alongside Richard Harvey & Ian Belton in The Malcolm McCallum Band prior to forming the Divinyls.

In May 2001, the Divinyls song "Science Fiction", written by Amphlett and McEntee, was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time.

Amphlett and McEntee barely spoke after the band separated in 1996, but resumed contact when they were inducted into the 2006 ARIA Hall of Fame. The band performed at the induction ceremony, and eventually announced a new tour and album. The reunited band toured in late 2006 and released a new single called "Don't Wanna Do This".

Personal life

McEntee and Divinyls bandmate Chrissy Amphlett were romantically involved from 1982 to 1993. They had met in 1980, and began a relationship two years later when McEntee had split up with his first wife. Their relationship was highly volatile – marred with drug and alcohol use and physical fights. However, the band's manager, Vince Lovegrove, later stated that the nature of their "weird" relationship was the "magic of Divinyls".

As of 2013, McEntee lives on the outskirts of Perth with his partner, fashion designer Melanie Greensmith; the pair run a clothing label, Wheels and Doll Baby. McEntee also runs a small business called Macca's Vintage Aerodrome, that sells World War I and Pioneer radio-controlled aircraft.

Causes

In 2012, McEntee and Greensmith were listed as supporters of the "Oscar's Law" campaign, together with other publicly known figures. The campaign protests against the factory farming of companion animals and is named after a neglected dog found in central Victoria, Australia. Other notable supporters include Lior (musician), Mick Molloy (comedian) and the Essendon Football Club (Australian Football League).

External links

• Macca's Vintage Aerodrome