Jane Clifton

Clifton was born in Gibraltar to British Army parents. She lived most of her childhood in Germany and Malaysia. When her father left the army, the family emigrated from Cardiff, Wales to Perth, Australia, in 1961, before settling in Melbourne in 1965. She studied a Bachelor of Arts at Monash University, graduating in 1972. She became a naturalised citizen of Australia in 1992.^[1][2]

Clifton started out her career on Melbourne community radio stations 3CR and 3RMT-FM in the 1970s. She then worked for commercial stations 3AK, Radio National and 774 ABC. Clifton has also done voice-over work for commercials and audio books.^[3]

Clifton has acted extensively in film and the stage and in various television programs. Beginning in cult favorites Stork (1971) and Pure Shit (1975), her films include The Clinic and A Slice of Life. Her stage roles include The Pack of Women and Mum's the Word. She has also made a number of television appearances, starting in the mid 70s with the Crawford's series Division 4, Homicide and Bluey, Against the Wind, Skyways, Holiday Island, Sweet and Sour, Carson's Law and Shock Jock, but her best-known acting role is probably that of tough prison bookie Margo Gaffney in Prisoner. Clifton played the role for 107 episodes from 1980 until 1984 on an intermittent basis as the script allowed, having previously appeared in the minor role of Yvonne, from episode 9, and featured in the Prisoner in Concert special.

Clifton also performed with Betty Bobbitt and Colette Mann as part of a three-woman troupe, The Mini Busettes, in the 1980s in RSLs across Australia.^[4]

In September 2010, it was announced that Clifton would be joining the cast of Neighbours as Judge Willow.^[5] Her scenes aired in November of that year.^[5]

In 2015 she appeared in the television series The Doctor Blake Mysteries as Sister Josephine.

Clifton is also a singer. In 1975 she was the lead singer in a pub rock band, Toads, alongside Martin Armiger on lead guitar and vocals, Andrew Bell on guitar, Eric Gradman on violin, Marney Sheehan on bass guitar and Eddie Van Roosendaal on drums and vocals.^[6][7] In the following year with Bell, Sheehan, van Roosendaal and Janie Conway on guitar and vocals, Clifton formed rock, pop group Stiletto.^[6] Conway and Sheehan were replaced by Chris Worrall on guitar and Celeste Howden on bass guitar, respectively.^[6] The group provided three tracks, "Nights in Parlour", "Cream" and "The Man", for a Various Artists' album, Debutantes (1977).^[6]

Stiletto issued a studio album, Licence to Rage on Oz Records/EMI in September 1978, which was produced by Peter Walker.^[6][8] It peaked at No. 93 on the Kent Music Report albums chart.^[9] The album provided two singles, "Bluebirds" (March) and "Goodbye, Johnny" (August).^[6] Later that year the band supported a performance by Elvis Costello before breaking up early in 1979.^[6] While a member of Stiletto, Clifton co-wrote "Goodbye, Johnny" with Bell and Conway.^[10] The singer formed Jane Clifton Sextet, which provided cover versions of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald songs. In late 1982 Clifton provided vocals for Jo Jo Zep's single, "Taxi Mary",^[6][11] which reached No. 11 on the singles chart.^[9] She also provided vocals on Zep's album, Cha (October 1982).

Clifton released a solo single, "Girl on the Wall" (February 1984), on Mushroom.^[6][12] It is her version of a song from The Pack of Women cabaret, stage show.^[12] Her backing band, the Go Go Boys, comprised Jo Jo Zep's associates from the Black Sorrows, Jeff Burstin on guitar, Wayne Burt on guitar, Wayne Duncan on bass guitar, Steve Williamson on saxophone and Gary Young on drums.^[6] According to Debbie Muir of The Canberra Times, "her vocals are smooth and soft" and the song is "good and catchy".^[12] It peaked at No. 13.^[9] She issued two more singles, "My Machines" (June 1984) and "Turn to Dust" (May 1985).^[6]

Clifton provided vocals for tracks on the soundtrack album for TV series, Dancing Daze (February 1986), including "Second Home", which was released as the B-side of the single, "Might Have Been" by Jenny Morris, Wendy Matthews and Mark Williams.^[13] That album was produced by former bandmate, Armiger.^[13] For her track she was backed by the Green Sisters Band: Armiger and Bell both on guitars, Chris Abrahams on piano, Jeremy Alsop on bass guitar, Tony Buchanan on alto saxophone, Ricky Fataar on drums, Clive Harrison on bass guitar, Jason Morphett on tenor saxophone, Glen Muirhead on keyboards and Lloyd Swanton on bass guitar.^[13]

Clifton is the author of the novels Half Past Dead (2002), A Hand in the Bush (2005)^[14] and Flush (2013). In 2011, she published her memoir The Address Book and in 2019 she wrote a book of poetry A Day at a Time – in Rhyme.^[15]

Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.^[16][17]