# Jane Clifton

Jane Clifton (born 10 April 1949) is a Gibraltar-born Australian actress, singer, writer and former radio and voice artist.
She is best known for her role in TV serial Prisoner as tough prison bookie Margo Gaffney.
As a singer, she had a stint with Jo Jo Zep and has recorded an album featuring Jenny Morris and Wendy Matthews, Mark Williams and Marc Hunter

## Early life

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 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.

## Career
### Radio and voiceover

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.

### Film, television and stage

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 even appeared 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.
In September 2010, it was announced that Clifton would be joining the cast of Neighbours as Judge Willow. Her scenes aired in November of that year.
In 2015 she appeared in the television series The Doctor Blake Mysteries as Sister Josephine.

### Music

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. In the following year with Bell, Sheehan, van Roosendaal and Janie Conway on guitar and vocals, Clifton formed rock, pop group Stiletto. Conway and Sheehan were replaced by Chris Worrall on guitar and Celeste Howden on bass guitar, respectively. The group provided three tracks, "Nights in Parlour", "Cream" and "The Man", for a Various Artists' album, Debutantes (1977).
Stiletto issued a studio album, Licence to Rage on Oz Records/EMI in September 1978, which was produced by Peter Walker. It peaked at No. 93 on the Kent Music Report albums chart. The album provided two singles, "Bluebirds" (March) and "Goodbye, Johnny" (August). Later that year the band supported a performance by Elvis Costello before breaking up early in 1979. While a member of Stiletto, Clifton co-wrote "Goodbye, Johnny" with Bell and Conway. 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", which reached No. 11 on the singles chart. She also provided vocals on Zep's album, Cha (October 1982).
Clifton released a solo single, "Girl on the Wall" (February 1984), on Mushroom. It is her version of a song from The Pack of Women cabaret, stage show. 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. According to Debbie Muir of The Canberra Times, "her vocals are smooth and soft" and the song is "good and catchy". It peaked at No. 13. She issued two more singles, "My Machines" (June) and "Turn to Dust" (1985).
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. That album was produced by former bandmate, Armiger. 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.

### Author

Clifton is the author of the novels Half Past Dead (2002), A Hand in the Bush (2005) 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.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details |
| The Marriage of Style | Released: 2003 Format: CD Label: Sound Vault Records |

### Soundtracks

| Title | Album details |
| Dancing Daze (by Jenny Morris, Wendy Matthews, Mark Williams, Marc Hunter & Jane Clifton) | Released: February 1986 Formats: LP, Cassette Label: ABC Music (RML 53191) |

### Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions :
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Year | Title | AUS | Album |
| 1982 | "Taxi Mary" (Jo Jo Zep featuring Jane Clifton (who is uncredited on the song)) | 11 | Cha |
| 1984 | "Turn to Dust" | – | non album single |
| 1984 | "Girl on the Wall" | 13 | non album single |
| 1984 | "My Machines" | – | non album single |

## Awards and nominations
### Countdown Australian Music Awards

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.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 1984 | herself – "Girl on a Wall" | Best Female Performance in a Video | Nominated |

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1971 | Stork | Student (uncredited) | Feature film |
| 1975 | Pure S (aka 'Pure Shit') | Party Girl | Feature film |
| 1982 | A Slice of Life | Fay | Feature film |
| 1982 | The Clinic | Sharon | Feature film |
| 1984 | Anna Who? | Herself | Film short |
| 1988 | As Time Goes By | Mechanic | Feature film |
| 1990 | A Kink in the Picasso | Bella | Feature film |
| 1992 | Garbo | Mayor | Feature film |
| 2010 | Matching Jack | Finn's Doctor | Feature film |
| 2014 | Helen Garner's Monkey Grip | Herself | Film short |
| 2017 | Beast | Bea | Film short |
| 2017 | Lost Gully Road | Mother | Feature film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1971; 1973 | Division 4 | Anne Mason / Hippy Girl | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1973 | Ryan | Jenny | TV series, 1 episode: "A Little Something Special" |
| 1975–76 | Homicide | Cheryl / Jenny Walker / Janice Thelgood | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1977 | Bluey | Seaboots | TV series, 1 episode: "Father and Son" |
| 1978 | Rockturnal | Performer (with band 'Stiletto') | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1978; 1982; 1984 | Countdown | Performer / Co-host | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1978 | Against the Wind | Convict Woman | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1979 | Skyways | Shelley | TV series, 1 episode: "The Flying Sleuths" |
| 1979–1984 | Prisoner | Margo Gaffney / Yvonne | TV series, 107 episodes |
| 1980 | Working Up | Herself | Film documentary |
| 1981 | Holiday Island | Fran | TV series, episode: 'A Mother's Revenge' |
| 1981 | Prisoner in Concert | Herself | TV special |
| 1981 | Home | Kearns | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1982–1988 | Hey Hey It's Saturday | Singer | TV series, 9 episodes |
| 1983 | For Love or Money | Herself | Film documentary |
| 1984 | Sweet and Sour | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1984 | Carson's Law | Mrs. Watkins | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1984; 1985 | The Mike Walsh Show | Performer | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Special Squad | Karen | TV series, episode 31: "Brothers" |
| 1986 | Dancing Daze | Lee Harper | TV miniseries |
| 1985 | A Single Life | Lee | TV movie |
| 1987–1988 | Five Times Dizzy | Mrs. Wilson | TV series, 12 episodes |
| 1989 | The Power, The Passion | Carla Graham | TV series, regular role |
| 1990 | The Flying Doctors | Greta | TV series, 1 episode: "The Last Carnival" |
| 1991 | Col'n Carpenter | Emily Sutcliffe | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1993–2005 | Good Morning Australia | Regular singer | TV series |
| 1995 | Janus | Phillipa Strong | TV series, 1 episode: "A Lawful Apprehension" |
| 1998 | In Melbourne Tonight | Singer | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2001 | Round the Twist | Producer | TV series, 1 episode: "TV or Not TV" |
| 2001 | Shock Jock | Joy Gold | TV series, 1 episode: "Cops and Dobber" |
| 2010; 2019 | Neighbours | Judge Nerida Willow / Meg Fletcher | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 2014 | Winners & Losers | Lynette Vanderthorpe | TV series, 1 episode: "The New Me" |
| 2015 | The Doctor Blake Mysteries | Sister Josephine | TV series, 1 episode: "This Time and this Place" |
| 2016 | Bringing Our Stories Home | Miss Mulholland | TV series, 1 episode: "Doing Our Bit" |
| 2017 | Classic Countdown | Narrator | TV series, 1 episode: "1978" |
| 2024 | Fisk | Jean | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2024 | Countdown 50 Years On | Herself | TV special |

## Stage
### As performer

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1969 | Saturday | | La Mama, Melbourne with APG |
| 1972 | Our Dick | | La Mama, Melbourne with The Tribe |
| 1973 | Gone to See a Man About a Dog | | La Mama, Melbourne |
| 1974 | Nightflowers | | La Mama, Melbourne |
| 1974 | Dimboola | Shirl | Chevron |
| 1974 | Women's Weekly 1 and Women's Weekly 2 | | Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG |
| 1974 | Out of the Frying Pan | | Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG |
| 1974 | The Floating World | | Pram Factory, Melbourne, Space Theatre, Adelaide with APG |
| 1974 | Africa | | |
| 1976 | Sisters | Ziggy | Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG |
| 1976 | AC/DC | Melody | Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG |
| 1979 | Mickey's Moomba | | Panel Beaters Space, Melbourne with APG |
| 1979 | L'Amante Anglaise / La Musica | Marguerite Duras | Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG |
| 1980 | Bent Brass | Hokum Jeebs / Compere | The Last Laugh, Melbourne, Space Theatre, Adelaide |
| 1981 | The Mini-Busettes | | With Colette Mann & Betty Bobbitt |
| 1983 | The Pack of Women | | Seymour Centre, Sydney, Universal Theatre, Melbourne, Space Theatre, Adelaide, Australian National University, Canberra, Nimrod Theatre, Sydney with Hocking & Woods |
| 1984 | On a Clear Day You Can See Jane Clifton | One woman show | The Last Laugh, Melbourne |
| 1986 | Take Two | | The Last Laugh, Melbourne |
| 1986 | The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ | | Melbourne Athenaeum with Hocking & Woods and Edgley International |
| 1990 | Dreamtime | | Melbourne Concert Hall with State Theatre Opera |
| 1990 | Prisoner / Cell Block ‘H’play | | UK tour |
| 1990 | Laughing Wild | | Universal Two, Melbourne with Soup Kitchen Theatre |
| 1991 | On Our Selection | Alice Pettigrew | Playhouse, Melbourne with MTC |
| 1993 | An Evening with Merv Hughes | | Sydney |
| 1994; 1997 | Love Letters | Melissa Gardner | Castlemaine Festival, Capers Theatre Restaurant |
| 1996 | I Only Want to be With You – The Dusty Springfield Story | | Space Theatre, Adelaide |
| 1998; 2002 | Mum's the Word | | Melbourne Athenaeum, Glen Street Theatre, Sydney for MICF |
| 2001 | Go in Tight | Barry Dickins | La Mama, Melbourne |
| 2004 | Stand-Up and Swing | | With Denise Scott |
| 2005 | Menopause The Musical | The Soap Star | Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne |
| 2006 | Barmaids | Nancy | Sutherland Entertainment Centre, Lennox Theatre, Parramatta with HIT Productions |
| 2010 | Spontaneous Broadway | | Fairfax Studio, Melbourne for MICF |
| 2011 | Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home | One woman cabaret show | Banquet Room, Adelaide with Adelaide Festival Centre for Adelaide Cabaret Festival |
| 2012 | Barassi | Narrator | Melbourne Athenaeum |
| 2012 | More Sex Please… We're Seniors | | Comedy Theatre, Melbourne |
| 2016; 2013 | Boy Out of the Country | Margaret | Larrikin Ensemble |
| 2016 | Southern Belles | Singer | Banquet Room, Adelaide with Adelaide Festival Centre for Adelaide Cabaret Festival |
| 2017 | Spencer | Marilyn | Chapel Off Chapel, Melbourne with Lab Kelpie |
| 2017 | Jack of Two Trades | | MAPA |
| 2018 | Rock Venus: The Songs of Linda Ronstadt | Singer | Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide with Adelaide Festival Centre for Adelaide Cabaret Festival |
| 2021; 2022 | Mrs Prime Minister | Singer / Actor | Chapel Off Chapel, Melbourne, Memo Music Hall, Melbourne |
| 2022 | Sex and Death_ and the Internet | | University of Adelaide for Adelaide Festival |
| 2024 | A Day at a Time in Rhyme | One woman show | La Mama, Melbourne, Australian regional tour, The Stratford Courthouse, UK |

### As director

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1973 | Mechanics in a Relaxed Manner | Director | Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG |
| 1976 | How Grey was My Nurse | Director | Pram Factory, Melbourne with APG |
| 1976 | A Toast to Melba | Stage Manager / Sound Operator | National Theatre, Melbourne with APG |
| 1984 | On a Clear Day You Can See Jane Clifton | Creator | The Last Laugh, Melbourne |
| 1986 | Take Two | Writer / Director | The Last Laugh, Melbourne |
| 2011 | Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home | Writer / Director | Banquet Room, Adelaide with Adelaide Festival Centre for Adelaide Cabaret Festival |
| 2018 | Rock Venus: The Songs of Linda Ronstadt | Writer / Director | Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide with Adelaide Festival Centre for Adelaide Cabaret Festival |
| 2024 | A Day at a Time in Rhyme | Creator | La Mama, Melbourne, Australian regional tour, The Stratford Courthouse, UK |