Jane #3

And so to the third Jane of the week. After Jane #1 & Jane #2 I hear you asking 'Is this Jane a real person?' Well, yes she is actually. In fact, there were two Janes. Norman Pett cartoonist extrodinairfre began drawing his wife Mary for a newspaper strip, Jane's Journal - The Diary of a Bright Young Thing - in the Daily Mirror in the 1930s. And in every edition of this popular feature (it ran from 1932 to 1959) Jane always managed to lose articles of clothing along the way. Racy? I suppose so. Salacious? Yep, that too. But it was also a tonic for the troops; indeed in 1943 she made a (rare) fully nude appearance whilst getting out of the bath and clumsily falling into a crowd of British soldiers. As you do. 

However, when Mary had had enough Norman was left to find a new Jane. That's when he discovered Chrystabel Leighton-Porter modelling at a local art class. And so, with her faithful hound Fritz, she took Jane to new heights including a stage revue and even a 1949 film, The Adventures of Jane, where she played our scantily clad heroine.

The Adventures of Jane (1949)

Jane #1

We don't know an awful lot about Jane. She wears a vest. She's a clerk. She saves her money. She may or may not like to go out dancing. Oh, and she's sweet; that much we do know.

It's a Lou Reed song he recorded many times, solo and with the Velvets, but I've gone for Mott's version. It's taken from their All the Young Dudes album. Ian Hunter always knew which way the wind was blowing and, by inference, which songs to appropriate. (It was released as a single in 1973 in America, Canada, Germany, Holland, Portugal and Spain. But not in the UK for some reason. Expect to pay up to £30 for a copy. Sweet.) 

Mott the Hoople - Sweet Jane (1972)