Jane Wiedlin
Encyclopedia
Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin (born May 20, 1958) is an American
musician
, singer-songwriter
, and actress. She is best known as the rhythm guitar
ist of the all-female New Wave
band The Go-Go's
.
in Milwaukee. Wiedlin spent her early childhood
growing up in West Allis, a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is one of five children, with a sister and three brothers.
When Jane was six, her father took a job with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
at a VA Hospital in Los Angeles, California
and her family followed in tow. Soon after arriving in California, Wiedlin's mother cut Jane's waist-long hair to her signature pixie cut
hairstyle, due to Wiedlin's becoming an active swimmer now that she lived in a warmer climate. Wiedlin loved watching Star Trek
with her family when it first aired on television and is a life-long fan to this day.
As a child, Jane liked to listen to 1960s
pop music
, especially songs by The Beatles
and The Monkees
. By the time she was a teenager, Wiedlin was a fan of Sparks
. Years later, she would record "Cool Places" with them, as well as turn down a marriage proposal from Russell Mael
, the band's co-founder. Jane Wiedlin stated, "I remember my childhood as extremely idyllic." Wiedlin also mentioned her teenage adolescence with angst
and hope by saying, "I would definitely be a less-depressed
teenager. I thought life was completely pointless when I was in high school, but just a few short years later I was having the adventure of a lifetime in a successful rock band!" Jane Wiedlin attended William Howard Taft High School in Los Angeles from 1972 until 1976.
, Wiedlin worked at a fashion design house where she created song lyrics
by scribbling down ideas on the clothing patterns. "Jane Drano," as she came to be known, would later design punk-style
clothing that she sold at Granny Takes a Trip
, a store on Sunset Boulevard
. She became part of the scene that spawned bands like X, The Germs
and The Weirdos
. She and Belinda Carlisle
formed The Go-Go's as a punk band in 1978, with Margot Olaverra on bass, and Elissa Bello on drums. In 1981, Wiedlin and Terry Hall
of the Fun Boy Three
and The Specials
co-wrote "Our Lips Are Sealed
." The song peaked on the Billboard
charts at #20 and remained on the charts until 1982. Hall also recorded the song with his band and the song was quite popular, hitting #7 in the UK.
The Go-Go's pop punk
sound did not emerge until after Charlotte Caffey
joined on lead guitar and keyboards, and Gina Schock
replaced Bello on drums. After a 1980 tour of England
, the band added Kathy Valentine
on bass. They signed with IRS Records in April 1981. Wiedlin remained part of The Go-Go's until October 1984, when she left to pursue a solo career. "Rush Hour
" (1988) was her most successful single
– having done well in both the American and British charts. The song was taken from her second album, Fur
.
After a series of reunions during the 1990s, Wiedlin, Carlisle, Caffey, Schock, and Valentine re-formed the band again in 2000 to record God Bless the Go-Go's
, their first studio album in seventeen years. The album, originally titled Vision of Nowness, had a title and concept based on an idea from Wiedlin.
In 2010, the Go-Go's announced their Happily Ever After Farewell Tour. Although scheduled to begin in July, the tour was cancelled due to ACL tears Wiedlin suffered in both knees after a fall she took while on a nighttime hike. She recovered and the band rescheduled the tour for 2011, no longer billing it as a farewell tour and changing the name to "Ladies Gone Wild."
(she is credited as Alien Communication Officer, but the script had her as Officer Trillyan), Joan of Arc
in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
, an ill-fated singing telegram girl in Clue
, and the White Fairy in Golan-Globus's Sleeping Beauty
.
In a St. Petersburg Times
online interview, Jane said this about her acting career in the 1980s: "It turned out to be much harder than it looks, and as much as I enjoyed those experiences, I don't think I'm very good at it."
In 2000, she sang in the choir on the Frasier
episode "They're Playing Our Song". In 2001, she had a regular role in MTV
's Spyder Games
, playing the "ex-rock chick
who runs the local coffee house" where everyone hangs out.
In 2003, she guest-starred as Hope Rodgers in an episode of As Told By Ginger
.
In 2005, she appeared as herself on the fourth season of VH1
's The Surreal Life
, wherein she talked about her interest in BDSM
.
Wiedlin also appeared as the bus station lady wearing a neck brace in Steve Balderson
's 2005 surrealist crime drama Firecracker, a film Roger Ebert
named on his list of the year's best films.
In April 2009, Jane reconnected with director Steve Balderson for Stuck!, an homage to film noir
women in prison dramas. Co-starring Karen Black
, Pleasant Gehman
, Susan Traylor, Starina Johnson and cult icon Mink Stole
, Stuck! was filmed in Macon, Georgia and was released in 2010.
Wiedlin has also provided voices for several characters in television and film. Her voice acting credits include one of Bruce Wayne's girlfriends in an episode of The New Batman Adventures
, Gwen on Mission Hill
, and Dusk, a recurring character
in the Scooby-Doo
franchise. In 2009, Wiedlin provided the voice of the evil Baby Oopsie Daisy in the horror film, Demonic Toys 2.
Jane will appear in the season finale of RuPaul's Drag U
for the second season
.
In April 2009, Wiedlin was shot as Bettie Page
by photographer Austin Young
for the "Heaven Bound" art show.
Her latest project is a comic book
entitled Lady Robotika which she co-created with artist Bill Morrison. The series concerns the adventures of a woman being abducted by aliens
and turned into a cyborg
superheroine. To promote the comic series and her related projects, Jane appeared at the March 2011 WonderCon
where she greeted fans, posed for pictures, and signed autographs.
since at least 1989 when she performed as part of a "Rock Against Fur" concert in New York City. She is a close friend of PETA's Dan Mathews
.
Wiedlin had what she called a "short but dramatic romance" with Terry Hall of the Specials during their 1980 tour in England; Hall later sent her some lyrics prompted by their relationship, inspiring Wiedlin to write "Our Lips Are Sealed", a song on which Hall has co-writer credits.
Wiedlin has been married twice; once to Ged Malone (from 1987–1999) and once to David Trotter
(from 2004–2005). Her first marriage was the subject of her 2000 song "The Good Wife." Her current domestic partner is musician Travis Kasperbauer, whom she met at a Wisconsin music festival
.
Wiedlin is an ordained minister known as "Reverend Sister Go-Go", primarily in the capacity of officiating at weddings.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, and actress. She is best known as the rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
ist of the all-female New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
.
Early life
Jane Wiedlin was born in Oconomowoc, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Her father, an oral surgeon, was born in Chicago, Illinois and her mother was from Oconomowoc; they met at Marquette UniversityMarquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
in Milwaukee. Wiedlin spent her early childhood
Childhood
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
growing up in West Allis, a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is one of five children, with a sister and three brothers.
When Jane was six, her father took a job with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
at a VA Hospital in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and her family followed in tow. Soon after arriving in California, Wiedlin's mother cut Jane's waist-long hair to her signature pixie cut
Pixie cut
A pixie cut refers to a short woman's hairstyle generally short on the back and sides of the head and slightly longer on the top. Women began exploring shorter hairstyles in the 1920s and was widely popular by rebelling women known as flappers...
hairstyle, due to Wiedlin's becoming an active swimmer now that she lived in a warmer climate. Wiedlin loved watching Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
with her family when it first aired on television and is a life-long fan to this day.
As a child, Jane liked to listen to 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, especially songs by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
. By the time she was a teenager, Wiedlin was a fan of Sparks
Sparks (band)
Sparks is an American rock and pop band formed in Los Angeles in 1968 by brothers Ron and Russell Mael , initially under the name Halfnelson...
. Years later, she would record "Cool Places" with them, as well as turn down a marriage proposal from Russell Mael
Russell Mael
Russell Mael is an American singer and songwriter who, with his older brother Ron, is in the band Sparks....
, the band's co-founder. Jane Wiedlin stated, "I remember my childhood as extremely idyllic." Wiedlin also mentioned her teenage adolescence with angst
Angst
Angst is an English, German, Danish, Norwegian and Dutch word for fear or anxiety . It is used in English to describe an intense feeling of apprehension, anxiety or inner turmoil...
and hope by saying, "I would definitely be a less-depressed
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
teenager. I thought life was completely pointless when I was in high school, but just a few short years later I was having the adventure of a lifetime in a successful rock band!" Jane Wiedlin attended William Howard Taft High School in Los Angeles from 1972 until 1976.
The Go-Go's
As Jane Wiedlin describes it, she was present "pretty much from the beginning" of the Los Angeles punk scene. While attending college in the Los Angeles area, for fashion designFashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
, Wiedlin worked at a fashion design house where she created song lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
by scribbling down ideas on the clothing patterns. "Jane Drano," as she came to be known, would later design punk-style
Punk fashion
Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including...
clothing that she sold at Granny Takes a Trip
Granny Takes a Trip
Granny Takes a Trip was a boutique opened in February 1966 at 488 Kings Road, Chelsea, London, by Nigel Waymouth, his girlfriend Sheila Cohen and John Pearse...
, a store on Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
. She became part of the scene that spawned bands like X, The Germs
The Germs
The Germs are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1977 to 1980. The band's early lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom, and their most consistent drummer Don Bolles. Germs have since reformed in 2005 with Shane...
and The Weirdos
The Weirdos
The Weirdos were an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California. They formed in 1976 and broke up in 1981, were occasionally active in the 1980s, and recorded new material in the 1990s...
. She and Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer who gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands and the first such group whose members wrote their own songs and played their own instruments...
formed The Go-Go's as a punk band in 1978, with Margot Olaverra on bass, and Elissa Bello on drums. In 1981, Wiedlin and Terry Hall
Terry Hall (singer)
Terry Hall is the lead singer of The Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas. He has released two solo albums and has also collaborated with many artists including David A...
of the Fun Boy Three
Fun Boy Three
Fun Boy Three were a short-lived but successful English New Wave Pop band which ran from 1981 to 1983 and was formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left The Specials.-History:...
and The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
co-wrote "Our Lips Are Sealed
Our Lips Are Sealed
"Our Lips are Sealed" is a song written by Go-Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin and Specials and Fun Boy Three singer Terry Hall. It was first recorded by The Go-Go's as the opening track on their 1981 album Beauty and the Beat and served as their debut American single...
." The song peaked on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts at #20 and remained on the charts until 1982. Hall also recorded the song with his band and the song was quite popular, hitting #7 in the UK.
The Go-Go's pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
sound did not emerge until after Charlotte Caffey
Charlotte Caffey
Charlotte Irene Caffey is an American rock and roll guitarist and songwriter, best known for her work in the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat."...
joined on lead guitar and keyboards, and Gina Schock
Gina Schock
Gina Schock is best known as the drummer in the all-girl punk/pop band The Go-Go's....
replaced Bello on drums. After a 1980 tour of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the band added Kathy Valentine
Kathy Valentine
Kathy Valentine is the American bass guitarist for the all-girl rock band, The Go-Go's....
on bass. They signed with IRS Records in April 1981. Wiedlin remained part of The Go-Go's until October 1984, when she left to pursue a solo career. "Rush Hour
Rush Hour (song)
"Rush Hour" is a pop song by Go Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin, taken from her second album Fur. It was backed by a fellow album track, the percussive, melancholy "End of Love". The 12-inch single featured an extended remix by Rusty Garner and an instrumental version."Rush Hour" was Wiedlin's most...
" (1988) was her most successful single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
– having done well in both the American and British charts. The song was taken from her second album, Fur
Fur (Jane Wiedlin album)
Fur is the second album by Jane Wiedlin, released in 1988. The songs "Rush Hour" and "Inside a Dream" were released as singles and both charted on the Billboard Hot 100...
.
After a series of reunions during the 1990s, Wiedlin, Carlisle, Caffey, Schock, and Valentine re-formed the band again in 2000 to record God Bless the Go-Go's
God Bless the Go-Go's
God Bless the Go-Go's is the Go-Go's fourth studio album, released May 15, 2001. It was their first studio album in 17 years since the release of Talk Show in 1984.-Critical reception and chart performance:...
, their first studio album in seventeen years. The album, originally titled Vision of Nowness, had a title and concept based on an idea from Wiedlin.
In 2010, the Go-Go's announced their Happily Ever After Farewell Tour. Although scheduled to begin in July, the tour was cancelled due to ACL tears Wiedlin suffered in both knees after a fall she took while on a nighttime hike. She recovered and the band rescheduled the tour for 2011, no longer billing it as a farewell tour and changing the name to "Ladies Gone Wild."
Acting career
Her early acting credits include a one-line role in Star Trek IV: The Voyage HomeStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
(she is credited as Alien Communication Officer, but the script had her as Officer Trillyan), Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a 1989 American science fiction–comedy buddy film and the first film in the Bill & Ted franchise in which two metalhead slackers travel through time to assemble a menagerie of historical figures for their high school history presentation.The film was written by...
, an ill-fated singing telegram girl in Clue
Clue (film)
Clue is a 1985 comedy mystery film based on the board game of the same name . The film is a murder mystery set in a Gothic Revival mansion, and is styled after Murder by Death and other various murder/dinner parties of mystery...
, and the White Fairy in Golan-Globus's Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty (1987 film)
Sleeping Beauty is a 1987 American/Israeli musical film, part of the 1980 film series Cannon Movie Tales. It is directed by David Irving and stars Tahnee Welch. It is a contemporary version of the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty...
.
In a St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
online interview, Jane said this about her acting career in the 1980s: "It turned out to be much harder than it looks, and as much as I enjoyed those experiences, I don't think I'm very good at it."
In 2000, she sang in the choir on the Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
episode "They're Playing Our Song". In 2001, she had a regular role in MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Spyder Games
Spyder Games
Spyder Games is a television series that was broadcast on MTV from June 18, 2001 through September 20, 2001. MTV's second foray into the soap opera format following the run of the anthology series Undressed, the series was originally called Spyder Web in development.Originally intended for a 3 pm...
, playing the "ex-rock chick
Girl
A girl is any female human from birth through childhood and adolescence to attainment of adulthood. The term may also be used to mean a young woman.-Etymology:...
who runs the local coffee house" where everyone hangs out.
In 2003, she guest-starred as Hope Rodgers in an episode of As Told By Ginger
As Told by Ginger
As Told by Ginger is an American teen drama animated series that was produced by Klasky-Csupo and aired on Nickelodeon from 2000 to 2009. The series focuses on a middle schooler Ginger Foutley who, with her friends, tries to become more than a social geek. There are many subplots that focus on...
.
In 2005, she appeared as herself on the fourth season of VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's The Surreal Life
The Surreal Life
The Surreal Life is a reality television series that sets a select group of past-their-prime celebrities and records them as they live together in Glen Campbell's former mansion in the Hollywood Hills for two weeks...
, wherein she talked about her interest in BDSM
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
.
Wiedlin also appeared as the bus station lady wearing a neck brace in Steve Balderson
Steve Balderson
Stephen Clark Balderson is an American film director.-Early life:Balderson was born in Manhattan, Kansas and raised in nearby Wamego, Kansas until the age of twelve, when his family moved to Manhattan. Balderson attended Manhattan High School. Though his class attendance was poor, Balderson...
's 2005 surrealist crime drama Firecracker, a film Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
named on his list of the year's best films.
In April 2009, Jane reconnected with director Steve Balderson for Stuck!, an homage to film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
women in prison dramas. Co-starring Karen Black
Karen Black
Karen Black is an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Rhinoceros, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot...
, Pleasant Gehman
Pleasant Gehman
Pleasant Gehman is a magazine writer, poet, actor, dancer and musician from Los Angeles.In the 1980s, she was the singer for the punk rock band Screamin' Sirens, and later, The RIngling Sisters and Honk If Yer Horny. All three bands have released numerous titles on vinyl, as well as cd...
, Susan Traylor, Starina Johnson and cult icon Mink Stole
Mink Stole
Nancy Paine Stoll better known by the stage name Mink Stole, is an American actress from Baltimore, Maryland. She began her career working for director John Waters, having appeared in all of his feature films to date...
, Stuck! was filmed in Macon, Georgia and was released in 2010.
Wiedlin has also provided voices for several characters in television and film. Her voice acting credits include one of Bruce Wayne's girlfriends in an episode of The New Batman Adventures
The New Batman Adventures
The New Batman Adventures is the successor to Batman: The Animated Series produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Although bearing different character designs and animation styles, both shows take place in the same continuity, with TNBA set two years after BTAS. The series aired on The WB from...
, Gwen on Mission Hill
Mission Hill
Mission Hill is an American animated television series that first aired on The WB in 1999. Although 18 episodes were planned, only 13 episodes were produced. The show was put on hiatus by the WB Network after two episodes due to poor ratings. It returned to the WB in the summer of 2000 but was...
, and Dusk, a recurring character
Recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus...
in the Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
franchise. In 2009, Wiedlin provided the voice of the evil Baby Oopsie Daisy in the horror film, Demonic Toys 2.
Jane will appear in the season finale of RuPaul's Drag U
RuPaul's Drag U
RuPaul's Drag U is an American reality television series. Hosted by RuPaul and a team of drag queen "professors," Drag U is a spin-off of the series RuPaul's Drag Race...
for the second season
Other work
Wiedlin contributed quotes to Girls Against Girls by author Bonnie BurtonBonnie Burton
Bonnie Burton is a San Francisco-based author, journalist a Content Developer for Lucas Online, and a staff writer for both Star Wars.com and Star Wars Insider magazine, and maintainer of the Official Star Wars Blog. She goes by the handle "bonniegrrl" at those official sites...
.
In April 2009, Wiedlin was shot as Bettie Page
Bettie Page
Bettie Mae Page was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She has often been called the "Queen of Pinups"...
by photographer Austin Young
Austin Young
Austin Young is a photographer and film maker currently based in Los Angeles. Young has worked as a photographer since 1985. Young's work has created an encyclopedic documentation of sub and trans culture in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. His short videos have over 5 million hits on...
for the "Heaven Bound" art show.
Her latest project is a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
entitled Lady Robotika which she co-created with artist Bill Morrison. The series concerns the adventures of a woman being abducted by aliens
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
and turned into a cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
superheroine. To promote the comic series and her related projects, Jane appeared at the March 2011 WonderCon
WonderCon
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and motion picture convention, held in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1987.The convention was conceived by retailer John Barrett and originally held in the Oakland Convention Center, where it remained until 2003, when it moved to San...
where she greeted fans, posed for pictures, and signed autographs.
Personal life
Wiedlin is a long-time animal rights activist, and has worked with People for the Ethical Treatment of AnimalsPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
since at least 1989 when she performed as part of a "Rock Against Fur" concert in New York City. She is a close friend of PETA's Dan Mathews
Dan Mathews
Dan Mathews is the Senior Vice President of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He is known for heading PETA's most controversial and attention-getting campaigns, including the "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ads, as well as campaigns involving celebrities such as Morrissey, Pamela...
.
Wiedlin had what she called a "short but dramatic romance" with Terry Hall of the Specials during their 1980 tour in England; Hall later sent her some lyrics prompted by their relationship, inspiring Wiedlin to write "Our Lips Are Sealed", a song on which Hall has co-writer credits.
Wiedlin has been married twice; once to Ged Malone (from 1987–1999) and once to David Trotter
(from 2004–2005). Her first marriage was the subject of her 2000 song "The Good Wife." Her current domestic partner is musician Travis Kasperbauer, whom she met at a Wisconsin music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
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Wiedlin is an ordained minister known as "Reverend Sister Go-Go", primarily in the capacity of officiating at weddings.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
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| 1985 | Jane Wiedlin Jane Wiedlin (album) Jane Wiedlin is the debut album by Jane Wiedlin, released in 1985 on I.R.S. Records. It was her first solo album after leaving New Wave group The Go-Go's. The track "My Traveling Heart" dealt with Wiedlin's feelings about the breakup of the band....
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127 | — | ||||||
| 1988 | Fur Fur (Jane Wiedlin album) Fur is the second album by Jane Wiedlin, released in 1988. The songs "Rush Hour" and "Inside a Dream" were released as singles and both charted on the Billboard Hot 100... |
105 | 48 | ||||||
| 1990 | Tangled Tangled (album) Tangled is the third album by Jane Wiedlin, released in 1990 on EMI Records. It was also her third solo album after leaving New Wave group The Go-Go's.It sold poorly, eventually leading to her departure from EMI Records.... |
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| 2000 | Kissproof World
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— | — | ||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1993 | The Very Best of Jane Wiedlin
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Dance |
NZ |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
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| 1985 | "Blue Kiss Blue Kiss (song) "Blue Kiss" is a song written by Jane Wiedlin and Randell Kirsch and performed by Jane Wiedlin, the rhythm guitar player of the all-female rock band The Go-Go's... " |
77 | 30 | — | — | Jane Wiedlin | |||
| 1988 | "Rush Hour Rush Hour (song) "Rush Hour" is a pop song by Go Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin, taken from her second album Fur. It was backed by a fellow album track, the percussive, melancholy "End of Love". The 12-inch single featured an extended remix by Rusty Garner and an instrumental version."Rush Hour" was Wiedlin's most... " |
9 | — | 31 | 12 | Fur | |||
| "Inside a Dream Inside a Dream "Inside a Dream" is a pop song by Go Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin. It was the second single from her album Fur. Its predecessor "Rush Hour" fared better commercially. The track "Song of the Factory", also from Fur, was the B-side to "Inside a Dream", while remixed versions by Mark S. Berry augmented... " |
57 | — | — | 64 | |||||
| 1990 | "World on Fire" | — | — | — | — | Tangled | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Featured singles
| Year | Single | Artist | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Dance | ||||
| 1983 | "Cool Places Cool Places "Cool Places" is a song recorded by American duo Sparks in collaboration with Go-Go's member Jane Wiedlin.The song was released as the lead single for Sparks’s 1983 album In Outer Space. At the time Sparks were at their most popular in US, their two previous albums had dented the lower reaches of... " |
Sparks Sparks (band) Sparks is an American rock and pop band formed in Los Angeles in 1968 by brothers Ron and Russell Mael , initially under the name Halfnelson... |
49 | 13 | In Outer Space In Outer Space -Personnel:* Russell Mael, vocals* Ron Mael, keyboards* Bob Haag, guitars* Leslie Bohem, bass* David Kendrick, drums* James Goodwin, keyboards* Jane Wiedlin, guest vocals on "Cool Places" and "Lucky Me, Lucky You"* Dan Lacksman, engineer... |
Other releases
- 1990 Pretty WomanPretty WomanPretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...
soundtrack (EMI, re-released 2006, with bonus disc)--"Tangled" - 1996 Cold (Geffen RecordsGeffen RecordsGeffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
) - as froSTedFroSTedFrosted was an American pop punk band, founded by ex-Go-Go's guitarist and singer Jane Wiedlin in 1995. The band was so-named because "it sounds sweet". The letters S and T were capitalised in tribute to Star Trek, one of Wiedlin's favourite TV shows... - 2002 The Specials vs. The Untouchables: Ska's Greatest Stars (Big Eye Music) - Rearrangement of "Our Lips Are Sealed", with The SpecialsThe SpecialsThe Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
- 2006 80's New Wave Hits (Big Eye Music) - Rearrangement of "Our Lips Are Sealed", with The SpecialsThe SpecialsThe Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
External links
- Jane Wiedlin.com - Pay No Mind To What They Say..., Official Website
- The Go's-Go's.com, Official Website
- Jane Wiedlin: 'When The Go-Go's Started, We Were Terrible Musicians'
- "Interview with: Jane Wiedlin," Alicebag.com, September 2005
- "Jane Wiedlin from the Go-Go`s," Songfacts.com, 10/22/07
- "A Talk With Jane Wiedlin," RetroJunk.com
- "Go-Go's guitarist and Wisconsin native Jane Wiedlin falls in love, buys a house and whips up a Madison band," by Rich Albertoni, The Daily Page, 10/24/2008
- William Howard Taft High School (Los Angeles, California) Official Website