Jane Wiedlin

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Jane Wiedlin
Jane Wiedlin

Jane Wiedlin (born Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin, May 20, 1958 in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, U.S.) is the rhythm guitarist of the all-female multi-platinum rock band, The Go-Go's.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Wiedlin was part of the LA punk scene that spawned bands like X and The Dickies and went by the name "Jane Drano." As a member of The Go-Go's, she had a brief love affair with Specials and Fun Boy Three member Terry Hall. It was the ups and downs of this long-distance celebrity relationship with Hall that inspired the hit Go-Go's song "Our Lips Are Sealed". In 1983, Jane Wiedlin recorded "Cool Places" with the new wave band Sparks.

In 1984, Jane was the first to leave The Go-Go's to pursue a solo career (largely because the group refused to let Wiedlin sing lead vocals on "Forget That Day" from the Talk Show album; it was one of many tunes that Wiedlin, a principal songwriter for the group, had authored). She released four solo albums, Jane Wiedlin (1985), Fur (1988) which included the top 10 hit single "Rush Hour", Tangled (1990), and Kissproof World (2000). She formed a punk band, froSTed (the unusual orthography coming from the fact Jane is a huge Star Trek fan), which released an album in 1995 to good reviews but poor promotion and sales. In addition to "Rush Hour," notable singles include "Blue Kiss," "Inside A Dream," and "World On Fire," the latter of which sported a semi-controversial video.

Wiedlin has done voice acting work, such as appearances on the animated program Mission Hill as Gwen, Andy's girlfriend, seemingly made out to be cooler and more mature than border-line deadbeat Andy.

After a successful tour and clearing of the animosity which had contributed to the original split, The Go-Go's reformed as a regular unit in 2000. The band released God Bless the Go-Go's in 2001, its first studio effort in 17 years.

Her track, "Rush Hour" was recently remixed by a team of producers including James Hockley and Ed Lucas, as well as two un-named but "well known" music industry figures, under the moniker "SJB". The track was featured on the Ministry of Sound 2007 Annual.

[edit] Acting career

Jane has also acted in movies and provided the voice for several characters on TV and the big screen, including a one-liner role in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Her earlier works include playing Joan of Arc with no English speaking lines in the time travel comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. She is often remembered most for her role as an ill-fated singing telegram girl in the cult comedy/mystery film Clue. In 2000, she appeared on Frasier episode "They're Playing Our Song" singing in the choir.

She appeared on the fourth season of VH1's The Surreal Life in 2005. It was on this show that she revealed herself to be a member of the fetish community, with an interest in BDSM.[citation needed]

Jane also appeared as the bus station lady wearing a neck brace in Steve Balderson's 2005 surrealist crime drama Firecracker. Roger Ebert named Firecracker on his list of the year's best films.

[edit] PETA and related

Wiedlin is a long-time animal rights activist, and has frequently worked with PETA, which also explains both her 1988 album title and the lyrical content of the song with same name, "Fur".

In addition to animal rights activism, Wiedlin supports the fight against breast cancer by promoting and participating in "Bowling for Boobies", a fund-raising event that centers around bowling and breast cancer awareness. In 2006, Wiedlin auctioned off three positions on her team on eBay, allowing fans to bid online for a chance to participate on her team.

[edit] Trivia

  • She stated on the reunion of The Surreal Life that she would produce Paris Hilton's first record. Jane commented that Hilton "is not bad [at singing] for an amateur."[citation needed]Hilton wasn't very happy with this back-handed comment.[citation needed]
  • One of Wiedlin's most memorable roles on the silver screen was portrayed in the 1985 film Clue. Her only line (which isn't even a full line) is "Da, da, da, da, da, da. I am your singing telegram...." Her line ends there as she is shot and killed in the doorway of the mansion where the movie is filmed.

[edit] Solo discography

[edit] Singles

Year Title US Chart Position UK Chart Position
Jul 1988 "Rush Hour" #9 #12
Oct 1988 "Inside a dream" #41 #64

[edit] External links

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