Tales Of The Unexpected

Phoning from her original home town of New York, where she has been filming, of all things, a Elizabeth Taylor mockumentary musical, actress-slash-singer Jane Badler explains that it was actually the other way around. “You know, I've always been a singer, probably even more than an actress,” she says. “I started singing at six and by eighteen I was in cover bands, and I sang all throughout university on weekends to make money. But I never wrote, I did covers, and I realised early on that that's not going to set you apart. So then the acting work started I kind of had a huge hiatus where I just acted for years.

Badler, who is perhaps best known for her role as the antagonist Diana of '80s American sci-fi series V, has lived in Melbourne for 20 years. She explains what led her to Australian shores. “I moved here doing Mission Impossible, the series, which was shot in Melbourne for six months in 1990, and I met an Australian man.” The last two words are revealed warmly and slowly, like a happy kindergarten teacher reading a story book. “I was in LA and there were lots of things going on, but I couldn't help myself. So here I was, I moved to Australia.”

It was in a Melbourne jazz club where she rediscovered her love for singing. “I saw Kate Ceberano at Bennetts Lane, maybe ten or twelve years ago,” she says. “I was thinking to myself, 'I can do that. I want to do that, I mean, that is me baby'.

“And that was it,” she continues. “I started doing RSL clubs, jazz clubs, one-woman shows, and then Jesse Shepherd [of local band SIR] heard me and asked if I wanted to front his band and do an album. I had no decision at first, I was just someone who was brought in to be the singer, but with each album I became more involved. I taught myself piano and I started writing and that's how it all started for me as a writer.”

This led to her making her own, soon to be released album, which Badler has been writing and recording in collaboration with two local writers: Matt Thomas, of The Mavis's, and his partner, Byron St John. “They're wonderful writers,” she says, “and they were so great for me because I'm fairly new at it and I was able to bring everything I did and have them really form it, shape it and make it better.”

Badler describes the various vibrant details of her upcoming show at the Spiegeltent. “There will be dark, moody tales, and there will be costumes, always costumes, as I am fairly into presentation and the visual aspect of performance. But the sound will be different from the past. I've had many sounds: indie sounds, jazz fusion. But this one is going to be much more Massive Attack, more moody, and with strong percussion beats.”

Unfortunately, the show won't be featuring any of the outfits from her days in V. “Sadly, they wouldn't let us keep them,” Badler says, “and I've heard recently that Warner Bros auctioned all those clothes off. I've seen many people at sci-fi conventions who have made them perfectly, so I could probably rip one off. [They] were pretty killer outfits. I don't know if I'd look the same in them anymore.”

She probably would, as she is still looking as good now as when she wore those figure-hugging jumpsuits with space-gun accessories. “But,” she continues, “in a little nod to it, I am doing something slightly futuristic in the way I'm dressing for the show. I met a very interesting costume designer and she's making me something. It's going to be very cool.”

Jane Badler will be playing the following dates:

Thursday 21 March - The Famous Spiegeltent, Melbourne VIC