Jane Comerford

{{Use Australian English|date=October 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}} {{Infobox musical artist |name = Jane Comerford |image = Mensch Jürgen - von der Lippe wird 70-1116.jpg |caption = Jane Comerford, lead singer of [[Texas Lightning (band)|Texas Lightning]] |background = solo_singer |birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1959|1|1}} |death_date = |origin = [[Newcastle, New South Wales]], Australia |genre =Pop, [[Country music|country]] |associated_acts = [[Texas Lightning (band)|Texas Lightning]], [[Baccara]] |years_active =  |label =  |website = [https://www.janecomerford.de/ JaneComerford.de] [https://www.texaslightning.net/ TexasLightning.net] }}

'''Jane Comerford''' (born 1 January 1959) is an Australian singer, songwriter, lecturer, and [[vocal coach]] working in Germany.

==Education== She has [[jazz dance]] training in Los Angeles. Further, she went on to study singing in [[Hamburg]], Vienna and [[Amsterdam]],<ref name="Jane">{{Cite web|url=http://www.janecomerford.de|title=Jane Comerford's official website|access-date=28 May 2006}}</ref> as well as learned to play [[ukulele]].

==Career as singer==

=== From Australia via America to Europe=== In 1983 she released a [[Hi NRG]] cover version of "[[In the Year 2525]]"<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.discogs.com/Jane-Rossi-In-The-Year-2525-New-Version/master/338582| title = Jane Rossi - In The Year 2525 (New Version) {{!}} Discogs| website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref> under the pseudonym "Jane Rossi".

In 1998 she released her debut album ''[[Somebody Sent Me an Angel]]'' with a collection of her own songs under the [[Polydor Records|Polydor (Universal Music)]] label. Apart from live performances, Jane is also an accomplished studio singer, songwriter and producer, running her own recording studio.<ref name="Jane"/> Jane also performed for a short while as part of the new line up of the Spanish duo Baccara, who had originally enjoyed success across the world with their hit “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie.”

===With Texas Lightning to the Eurovision Song Contest=== {{BLP unreferenced section|date=May 2024}} [[File:JaneComerford.png|thumb|right|180px|Jane with [[Texas Lightning (band)|Texas Lightning]].]] In 2005, Jane joined [[Texas Lightning (band)|Texas Lightning]], a Hamburg-based German [[country music]]-inspired band as lead singer. They released the single ''[[Like a Virgin (song)|Like a Virgin]]'' (cover of [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna's]] song), as well as an album called ''[[Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch (album)|Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch]]'', consisting mainly of country-flavoured [[cover version|cover]]s of popular rock and pop hits.

In 2006, Texas Lightning, along with [[Vicky Leandros]] and [[Thomas Anders]], was nominated by the German public broadcaster [[Norddeutscher Rundfunk|NDR]] to enter the [[Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006|Vorentscheid 2006]] (German preselection for the [[Eurovision Song Contest 2006]], which actually took place in Hamburg). Their entry was a typical country song ''No no never'', written and composed by Jane Comerford. It came as a clear favourite with the viewers during the voting, and consequently Texas Lightning went on to represent Germany in the ESC. As Germany is one of the four biggest contributors to the [[European Broadcasting Union|EBU]] (organiser of the contest), their entries go straight to the final. On the final night, Texas Lightning came 14th, with 36 points, but the song had already reached no. 1 in the German charts.

==Teaching and coach== Since 1984, Jane Comerford has been teaching the ''Popkurs'' at the [[Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg]]. Within that education program for popular music, she teaches singing, songwriting, performance, and [[musical composition|composition]]. She also provides coaching to artists and bands on an individual basis. Among her former students are [[Wir sind Helden]], [[Die Happy (German band)|Die Happy]], [[Cultured Pearls]], [[Seeed]], [[Rosenstolz]], [[Lemonbabies]], [[Fury in the Slaughterhouse]] and [[Cucumber Men]]. Other personalities she provided coaching for include [[Yvonne Catterfeld]], [[Blümchen]], [[Eva Herman]], [[Bettina Tietjen]], [[Katja Riemann]] and [[Uwe Ochsenknecht]].<ref name="Jane"/>

Jane Comerford also worked as a singing and performance coach for the contestants in the 2003 German version of the TV show ''[[Fame Academy]]'' on [[RTL II]]. This involved daily work with them for three consecutive months.

Since June 2007 Jane has worked as a judge and coach on the sixth season of the German [[Popstars]] show.

==See also== * [[Texas Lightning (band)|Texas Lightning]] * [[Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006]]

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links== {{commons category|Jane Comerford}} * {{Official website}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comerford, Jane}} [[Category:1959 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Australian country singer-songwriters]] [[Category:Australian expatriates in Germany]] [[Category:Australian women singer-songwriters]] [[Category:Australian singer-songwriters]] [[Category:Musicians from Newcastle, New South Wales]]