"I Touch Myself" is a song recorded by Australian rock band

Divinyls Divinyls () were an Australian rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Amphlett garnered widespread attention for performing on stage in a school un ...

. It was written by the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and

Billy Steinberg William Endfield Steinberg (born February 26, 1950) is an American songwriter. He achieved his greatest success in the 1980s with songwriting partner Tom Kelly (musician), Tom Kelly; together they wrote or co-wrote the No. 1 hits "Like a Virgin ...

along with

Christine Amphlett Christine Joy Amphlett (; 25 October 1959 – 21 April 2013) was an Australian singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the frontwoman of the rock band Divinyls. She was notable for her brash, overtly sexual persona and subversive hum ...

and

Mark McEntee Mark McEntee ( ; born 16 July 1955) is an Australian musician, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the Australian rock band, Divinyls. Early life McEntee was born in Perth, Western Australia, and went to Christ Church Grammar Sc ...

of the Divinyls. It was released in November 1990 by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

as the lead single from the band's fourth album, ''

'' (1991), and deals with the subjects of

eroticism Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

and

female masturbation Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...

. The single achieved success, reaching 1 in Australia and No. 4 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Its music video was directed by

Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...

and received three nominations at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. In January 2018, Australian network

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting a mainstream/classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and B ...

ranked the song at No. 60 in its list of the "most Australian" songs of all time. In 2023, ''Billboard'' magazine ranked it among the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time".

Composition and recording

Chrissy Amphlett Christine Joy Amphlett (; 25 October 1959 – 21 April 2013) was an Australian singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the frontwoman of the rock band Divinyls. She was notable for her brash, overtly sexual persona and subversive hu ...

and

wrote the song in 1990 with the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and

(who had also written songs such as "

I'll Stand by You "I'll Stand by You" is a song recorded by the British rock band the Pretenders from their sixth studio album, '' Last of the Independents'' (1994). The song was written by Chrissie Hynde and the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinbe ...

", " Like a Virgin", "

Eternal Flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which ca ...

", " True Colors" and "

So Emotional "So Emotional" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released as the third single from her second studio album '' Whitney'' (1987) on October 12, 1987, by Arista Records. The song was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and ...

"). Steinberg had written the first verse and the chorus lyric for "I Touch Myself" and Amphlett liked it immediately. The next day, McEntee, Steinberg, Kelly and Amphlett wrote the remainder of the song despite the fact that Steinberg and Kelly rarely collaborated with others. The song was recorded to two-inch tape, making it difficult to edit. After much experimentation, the writers devised an unusual song structure with the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

placed after the first chorus.

Promotion and chart performance

In Australia, "I Touch Myself" was released on 19 November 1990 on 7-inch and cassette, and the

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

was released on 3 December 1990. The single debuted at No. 77 on 2 December 1990. On its tenth week on the chart, the song reached No. 1, replacing

Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in Dallas, raised in Miami, he was the first solo white rapper to achieve commercial success foll ...

's debut single "

Ice Ice Baby "Ice Ice Baby" is the debut single by American rapper Vanilla Ice. It samples the bassline of the song "Under Pressure" by British rock band Queen and British singer David Bowie, who did not receive songwriting credit or royalties until after i ...

", and stayed there for another week. The single was certified platinum in Australia. "I Touch Myself" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at No. 69 and on its eighth week it peaked at No. 10, spending a total of twelve weeks in the chart. When released in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the song caused a minor controversy. However, it managed to reach the top five of the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart, peaking at No. 4, and at No. 2 on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart after receiving extensive play on

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

radio. Divinyls are considered a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

in the US, as "I Touch Myself" was their only American top-40 hit.

Critical reception

Alex Henderson from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described the song as "infectious," while editor Adrian Zupp called it a "lascivious headline-grabber." A reviewer from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' stated that it's a "

smash," noting lead singer Christina Amphlett's video appearance as "eye-catching." James Muretich from ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

'' joked, "One gathers she's not talking about scratching her nose".

Everett True Everett True (born Jeremy Andrew Thackray on 21 April 1961) is an English music journalist and musician. He became interested in rock music after hearing The Residents, and formed a band with school friends. He has written and recorded as The ...

from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' commented, "Yes, it ''is'' about what you think. It's a song about female obsession, gratification, frustration and

masturbation Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...

which, apparently,

Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for mus ...

played on ''Round Table'' and then got extremely embarrassed by. He shouldn't have done. It's a song about giving, and giving as much as you can: tantalising, without being titillating. Musically, it's straight-down-the-line mid-American rock ( Bangles, Go-Go's). I'm rather fond of it, to tell the truth." Magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' wrote that "it will stay in your mind for the rest of the week." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' commented, "'I Touch Myself' has already been a number one single in their native Australia, and is now in the US Top 10. It won't do that well here, but its loose,

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

execution and killer hook add up to a hit." Caroline Sullivan from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' called it "one of pop's finer nanoseconds" in her review of the ''

DiVINYLS Divinyls () were an Australian rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Amphlett garnered widespread attention for performing on stage in a school un ...

'' album.

Music video

The song's accompanying music video, directed by American film director and producer

, was nominated for three

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

, including Video of the Year.

Impact and legacy

In January 2018, Australian network

ranked the song at No. 60 in its list of the "most Australian" songs of all time. In October 2023, ''

'' magazine ranked "I Touch Myself" at No. 326 in their "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" list. In January 2025, ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' ranked the song among "3 of the Best Opening Lines in One-Hit Wonder Songs from the 1990s".

I Touch Myself Project

The I Touch Myself Project was launched in 2014, 12 months after Amphlett's death from

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. Amphlett wanted "I Touch Myself" to be adapted as a global anthem for breast health. The project was created in her honour with its mission to create educational forums to promote self-examination. In June 2014,

Connie Mitchell Connie Thembi Mitchell (born ), also known as Miss Connie, is a South African-born Australian singer. In 1995 she was a founding member of Primary. Briefly, in 2004, she was vocalist for Machine Gun Fellatio under the pseudonym Feyonce. Since ...

Deborah Conway Deborah Ann Conway (born 8 August 1959) is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actress. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their top-5 hit "Man Overboard". Conway pe ...

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the rock, soul, jazz and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her single " Bedroom Eyes" re ...

Katie Noonan Katie Anne Noonan (born 2 May 1977) is an Australian singer and songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she was the singer in the bands George and Elixir; she has also performed with he ...

Little Pattie Patricia Thelma Thompson (née Amphlett) OAM (born 17 March 1949), known professionally as Little Pattie, is an Australian singer who started her career as a teenager in the early 1960s, recording surf pop, with her backing group The Statesmen. ...

Megan Washington Megan Alexanda Washington (born 7 January 1986) is an Australian musician, songwriter and voice actor who has worked mononymously as Washington. Originally performing jazz music, her style shifted to indie pop and alternative rock. She has re ...

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

Sarah Blasko Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow (born 23 September 1976), known professionally as Sarah Blasko, is an Australian singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. From April 2002, Blasko developed her solo career after fronting Sydney-based band Acquie ...

, Sarah McLeod and

Suze DeMarchi Suze DeMarchi (born 14 February 1964) is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for fronting the band Baby Animals (1989–1996, 2007–present). Early life DeMarchi was born in Perth, Western Australia to Walter and Shirley DeMarchi and ...

released a version of "I Touch Myself", with each providing her own interpretation and distinct style to the song. This version, credited to the I Touch Myself Project, peaked at No. 72 on the ARIA chart. In 2016, the I Touch Myself Project partnered with

Berlei Berlei is a brand of women's lingerie and in particular Brassiere, bras and girdles. History The company began in Sydney in 1910. The Berlei brand originated in 1917. Berlei undergarments are now sold in Australia by Hanesbrands and in the Un ...

to create the Chrissy Bra, which reminds women to examine their breasts for anomalies when dressing, and a Chrissy Post-Surgery Bra, designed specifically for women who have undergone breast-cancer surgery. In 2018,

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...

recorded "I Touch Myself" and posted her version on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. It became Instagram's most retweeted post, most widely discussed campaign and most watched video during International

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in the United States as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase aware ...

Track listings

* 7-inch, cassette, and mini-CD single * Australian CD single # "I Touch Myself" # "Follow Through" * UK 12-inch and CD single # "I Touch Myself" # "Follow Through" # "I Touch Myself" (alternate version)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions

Gina Riley Gina Riley (born 6 May 1961) is a retired Australian actress, writer, singer and comedian, known for portraying Kim Craig in the television series '' Kath & Kim'', and for her work in musical theatre. Career Television and film Riley became a ...

parodied the song on ''

Fast Forward To fast-forward is to move forwards through a recording at a speed faster than that at which it would usually be played, for example two times or two point five times. The recordings are usually audio, video or computer data. It is colloquiall ...

''. *

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

included a verse from the song in the polka medley "Polka Your Eyes Out" from ''

Off the Deep End ''Off the Deep End'' is the seventh studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1992. This album was the first album self-produced by Yankovic, after six albums with Rick Derringer. Recorded between June 1990 and ...

'' (later collected on '' Permanent Record''). * FHM High Street Honeys released a version of the song in 2007, peaking at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart in February 2007. * Lime Cordiale released a cover of the song in 2019 for Triple J's Like a Version that reached number 17 in the 2019 Triple J Hottest 100. * Choir version by

Scala & Kolacny Brothers Scala & Kolacny Brothers is a Belgian women's choir conducted by Stijn Kolacny, and arranged and accompanied by Steven Kolacny on the piano. They have released five studio albums (in multiple languages), starting with ''On the Rocks'' in, 200 ...

on their album ''Dream On'' in 2004, later used in the TV series ''

Sex Education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...

'' (season 2).

Usage in other media

The song has been featured in the 1997 comedy film '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'', as a cover version by

during the first episode of the second season of ''

'' and is mentioned in the ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' episode "The One Where Monica Sings". An ''a cappella'' version sung by a female choir figured prominently in the first episode of the 2023 comic mystery TV series ''

Deadloch ''Deadloch'' is an Australian black comedy crime mystery television series that premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 2 June 2023. Created by Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan, the series is set in Deadloch, a fictional town in Tasmania, and stars ...

''.

References

{{Authority control 1990 songs 1990 singles 1991 singles 2006 singles Divinyls songs Songs written by Tom Kelly (musician) Songs written by Billy Steinberg Number-one singles in Australia Songs written by Chrissy Amphlett Songs written by Mark McEntee Music videos directed by Michael Bay Virgin Records singles Fiction about masturbation Female masturbation Australian soft rock songs