The English-born, Melbourne-bred Hammond sisters, Chrissie (the brunette) and Lyndsay (the blonde), were the archetypal 1970s sex bombs with big hair. They had tremendous, booming rock voices and were in constant demand as session vocalists.
Chrissie (pictured at left) first came to prominence in the role of Mary Magdalene in the second Australian stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar. In 1975 she worked with the original line-up of Air Supply, before embarking on a career with her sister.
Lyndsay fronted a group called Skintight for three years before forming Cheetah with Chrissie. Philips issued the single Love Ain’t Easy To Come By in 1977 without the duo’s consent, or that of their manager Brian de Courcy.
Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum produced their official debut release, a cover of The Ronettes‘ Walking In The Rain, which reached #12 in October 1978. Deeper Than Love (February 1979) was the duo’s first single for the Alberts label, featuring a lavish and dramatic production sheen which was perfect for commercial radio.
It failed to chart in Australia, but it did take off in Germany and went on to sell 100,000 copies across Europe.
Under the production guidance of Alberts’ resident svengalis Vanda and Young, the Hammond sisters turned their attention to AC/DC-styled hard rock with some success.
Their debut album, Rock N Roll Women (April 1982) yielded a string of anthemic rock singles; Spend The Night (Sept 1980), Love You To The Limit (Feb 1981), Bang Bang (Aug 1981), and My Man (April 1982).
Cheetah toured across Australia and the UK (including an afternoon spot at the 1982 Reading Festival) but disappeared from the recording scene.
