Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actress best known as the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave band The Go-Go’s. Jane Wiedlin has also had a solo musical career. As a child, Wiedlin liked to listen to pop music, especially songs by The Beatles and The Monkees. By the time she was a teenager, Wiedlin was a huge fan of the cult band Sparks. Years later, she would record “Cool Places” with them. Wiedlin stated “I remember my childhood as extremely idyllic.” Jane 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!” Wiedlin attended William Howard Taft High School in Los Angeles from 1972 until 1976.
While attending college in the Los Angeles area, for fashion design, Wiedlin worked at a fashion design house where she created song lyrics, by scribbling down ideas on 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. Wiedlin and Belinda Carlisle formed The Go-Go’s as a punk band called the Misfits in 1978, with Margot Olaverra on bass, and Elissa Bello on drums. In 1981, Wiedlin and Terry Hall of Fun Boy Three and The Specials co-wrote “Our Lips Are Sealed”. The song peaked on the Billboard charts at No. 20 and remained on the charts until 1982. 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.
Wiedlin has released four solo albums. “Jane Wiedlin” (self titled, 1985), “Fur” (1988), “Tangled” (1990) and “Kissproof World” (2000). In addition, from 1995 to 1998, she was a member of the band FroSTed, which released one album, “Cold” (1996). In 2017, Wiedlin teamed up with American born, Italian multi instrumentalist and songwriter Pietro Straccia to form a new psychedelic, pop, electronic duo Elettrodomestico. Wiedlin’s early acting credits include a brief appearance as an officer seen on a Starfleet Command video screen in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) (she was credited as Alien Communication Officer, but the screenplay listed her as Officer Trillya), a doomed singing telegram girl in Clue (1985), the White Fairy in Golan-Globus’ Sleeping Beauty (1987), and as Joan of Arc in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989). Wiedlin has also provided voices for several characters in television and film animation.
