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About Me

Jane Clifton is the genuine show-business all-rounder. Actress, singer, writer, poet, painter and registered civil celebrant.

 

A B.A.(1972) graduate from Monash University's halcyon days of sex and demos and rock 'n roll, Jane was momentarily distracted from a promising career as an English teacher by Melbourne's burgeoning, alternative theatre and music scene.

 

The dim lights of Carlton's La Mama, the Pram Factory, the Flying Trapeze, T.F.Much Ballroom and the Last Laugh Theatre Restaurant beckoned. While the allure of singing in bands with names like Scumbag, Toads and Lipp and the Double Dekker Brothers proved irresistible.

 

Despite these arty beginnings, Jane has managed to carve out a 5 decade-long, showbusiness career. Including:

- a string of minor roles in numerous early Australian TV shows from Division 4, Homicide, Ryan, Bluey to Holiday Island

- fronting the ground-breaking feminists-on-Countdown band STILETTO

- being part of the smash-hit stage shows MUM'S THE WORD and MENOPAUSE – THE MUSICAL

- her top 10 pop singles GIRL ON THE WALL (solo) and TAXI MARY (with Jo Jo Zep).

- 3 published crime novels - Half Past Dead (Text 2002), A Hand in the Bush (Text 2005) Flush (Clandestine Press 2013), a memoir - The Address Book ( Penguin 2011) and an anthology of poetry A Day At A Time In Rhyme (Littlefox 2019).

- Jane's solo CD The Marriage of Style (April 2003) - available to download at bandcamp.com

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Notwithstanding all of the above, Jane will always be best remembered for a role she played 40 years ago: MARGO in Prisoner/Cell-Block H

 

During Lockdown Jane took up painting and is currently working on an exhibition to be seen at Marios' Cafe, Fitzroy in April 2024

View her work on Instagram @girlonthewall_janeclifton_art

 

Currently: singing once a week at Claypots, Evening Star, Sth Melbourne; working on her second memoir A Very Civil Celebrant, while continuing, of course, to conduct bespoke weddings and funerals; painting a lot!

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