Rick Springfield in Slammer

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/24/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Singer-actor Rick Springfield was arrested on charges of physically abusing his wife of 18 years on Monday night, police in Malibu told the Associated Press. Barbara Spring Thorpe (the Australian-born Springfield's real name) had minor injuries to her face and arm, including scratches, said authorities, who responded to an emergency call to the couple's Malibu home. Springfield, 51, who had the '80s hit single "Jessie's Girl" and starred on the TV soap "General Hospital," was taken into custody and then released Tuesday morning after posting $50,000 bail, according to Sgt. Chuck Stringham of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "We're together, and we're going to work it out," Springfield told the AP.