Catie Jane

**Catherine Giulia Antonietta Junc** (25 December 1955), known professionally as **Catie Jane**, is a Maronan former singer, model, and beauty pageant titleholder based in Regia. Associated with the *regio-pop* movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jane is best known in Regia for her hit singles "This Night," "Higher," and "Dance Me Away."

Prior to her music career, Jane competed in beauty pageants in Marone, winning Miss Fares-Maritimes 1974 and Miss Côte Turquoise 1974, and going on to compete at Miss Marone 1975. In 1976, she relocated to Cezzina to work as a model in the Regian fashion industry. While working as a model, she began her music career after being discovered by record producer Simone Bartolomeo at a nightclub in 1978, and was signed to his record label Simeo Records shortly afterwards.

Amidst declining interest in *regio-pop* in the Regian music industry, Jane retired from her entertainment career following her marriage in 1982, and retreated from public life.

## Early life and education

Jane was born on 25 December 1955 in Dax to parents Mathieu (1920–2003) and Mariangela Junc (née *Cofone*; 1922–2009). Her father was Maronan and worked as a business executive in the restaurant industry, while her mother was a Regian from Folimona, Biancagna who was a homemaker. Her parents met while her father was living and working in Rovirto, and returned to Dax in 1952. Jane is the youngest of four children and only daughter; her elder brothers include Sébastien (1947–1994), Paul (born 1950), and Étienne (born 1953). Jane was raised bilingually in Maronan and Regian in an affluent family.

Jane began her education in 1961, attending private, Eurean Catholic schooling for girls in Dax. While in school, Jane was not musical and had no interest in the performing arts, instead aspiring to become a model or fashion designer. After completing primary school in 1968, she graduated from *collège* in 1971. Jane subsequently began a *lycée académique* program in literature and languages, and graduated in 1975. While a *lycée* student, Jane worked part-time as a receptionist at a local hair salon in Dax.

## Pageantry

Jane began her career in pageantry in 1973, after registering for Miss Fares-Maritimes 1973 in July 1973. Jane signed up for the pageant after her friend Agnès Bossa was crowned Miss Fares-Maritimes 1972. She ultimately was selected as a contestant, and went on to finish as the second runner-up. Her result qualified her for the Miss Côte Turquoise 1973 pageant in August 1973, where she went on to place as the third runner-up. Jane returned to pageantry the following year, competing in and winning Miss Fares-Maritimes 1974 in July 1974. Later that month, she competed in Miss Côte Turquoise 1974, and went on to win the title as well.

As Miss Côte Turquoise, Jane was qualified to compete in Miss Marone 1975. Miss Marone was held in December 1974 in Flunkirk, where Jane went on to advance into the Top 12, but did not reach the Top 5. The pageant was ultimately won by Marianne Darbre of Tahare.

## Career

After ending her reign as Miss Côte Turquoise in July 1975, Jane relocated to Delmas in order to begin working as a professional model. Following one year in the city, Jane moved to Cezzina in Regia in September 1976, in order to enter the Regian modeling industry. Standing at 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in), Jane had been told that she would have more success working in Regia than in Marone, as Maronan designers most often only worked with models who stood at 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) or taller. Upon arriving in Cezzina, Jane settled into the Regian modeling industry, working in both print and runway modeling.

Jane began her music career in 1979, after meeting Regian music producer Simone Bartolomeo at a Cezzina nightclub in June 1979. Bartolomeo was an emerging producer in the *regio-pop* movement, which had begun to gain popularity in the preceding two years. Bartolomeo was looking for a foreign female singer to sign to his label, as he did not like the way that Regian accents sounded while singing in the Ditrovian language, which all *regio-pop* songs were written and recorded in. Jane had not initially been interested in pursuing a music career, but was convinced by Bartolomeo after he heard her singing along to a Ditrovian language song at the nightclub. After meeting, Jane signed to Bartolomeo's record label Simeo Records and adopted the Catie Jane stage name, as all *regio-pop* musicians traditionally adopted Ditrovian-sounding stage names to perform their music under.

Jane released her debut single "This Night" in September 1979. She first began promoting the song with nightclub appearances, where *regio-pop* was popular, and the song began to quickly gain popularity. It ultimately became Jane's highest-charting hit, reaching number-23 on the Regian singles chart. The success of the song was followed by the release of her second single "Higher" in December 1979, which saw similar success in the *regio-pop* nightclub circuit and peaked at number-31 in Regia. Jane's following two singles "The Discotheque" and "Prince Charming" were commercial failures, but she had her third and final *regio-pop* hit with "Dance Me Away" in August 1980, peaking at number-27 in Regia. Following "Dance Me Away," Jane's subsequent releases failed to achieve the commercial success of her three hit singles. By 1982, *regio-pop* had seen a significant decline in popularity amidst the emerging *musicca regiana*, itself a stylistic offshoot of *regio-pop*. Following Jane's marriage in July 1982, she ended her musical collaboration with Bartolomeo and retired from her music career.

## Personal life

Jane began a relationship with Regian accountant Valerio Bazzola in 1980, after meeting when Bazzola attended Jane's concert in Fenizia. Jane and Bazzola became engaged in 1982, and married later that year. Following their marriage, Jane ended her music career and retreated from public life in order to live as a homemaker and private citizen. Jane and Bazzola have two sons together: Giovanni (born 1983) and Matteo (born 1985). They family resides in the town of Guidossina, Triscany.

Jane was born with dual Maronan and Regian citizenship, and is fully bilingual in Maronan and Regian. In a 1980 interview, Jane stated that she was a lifelong Eurean Catholic who attended church weekly.

## Discography

 "The Discotheque"
 "Prince Charming"
 "Dance Me Away"
 "Night Groove"
 "Morning Dove"
 "Pink Electric"
 "Dancing Days"
 "Walk"