Belinda Carlisle
Rock n Roll Hall of Famer Belinda Carlisle began her career as co-founder and lead vocalist of groundbreaking all-female new wave/rock band The Go-Go’s – which amassed worldwide sales in excess of 15 million albums and singles. The Go-Go’s played a pivotal role in 1980s pop with their self-penned, multi-platinum debut album, Beauty and the Beat. The international top-10 singles “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got the Beat” became enduring anthems for independent women, redefining traditionally restrictive notions of “girl groups.”
When the Go-Go’s went their separate ways in 1985 after three game-changing LP’s (boasting iconic anthems like “Vacation” and “Head Over Heels”), Belinda began a flourishing solo career. She released Belinda in 1986 and scored an out-of-the-box, gold-certified smash with her romantic pop hit “Mad About You,” which rocketed to #3 on the US pop charts and became a staple on MTV. Heaven on Earth – Carlisle’s 1987 sophomore solo album and its lead single, “Heaven Is a Place on Earth,” climbed the top ten, achieving multiple gold and silver certifications and marking the first of more than 20 top-charting global singles from Carlisle albums.
The Grammy-nominated “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” was followed in 1988 by “I Get Weak,” which put Belinda-mania into full effect. Six intercontinentally impactful singles, including “Leave a Light On” (featuring The Beatles’ George Harrison on slide guitar), “La Luna,” and “Summer Rain,” kept her on the charts into 1991. Her eclectic follow-up Live Your Life Be Free preceded significant changes in Carlisle’s career and life. Becoming a mother, she relocated to France and released her fifth solo disc, 1993’s Real. She served as co-producer and co-writer for over half of the album, which had a top-20 UK hit, “Big Scary Animal.” After a brief reunion with The Go-Go’s in 1994, she expanded her solo horizons further with 1996’s A Woman and A Man, featuring The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson. She reunited with her original bandmates for 2001’s God Bless The Go-Go’s and expressed her love of the French language in 2007’s Voila. 2010 saw the publication of Carlisle’s autobiography, Lips Unsealed, in which she discussed the late-‘70s Los Angeles punk scene and her hard-won victory over substance abuse. The following year, she reteamed with The Go-Go’s for the 30th-anniversary Ladies Gone Wild tour. The group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
After The Go-Go’s farewell tour in 2016, Carlisle embarked upon her most adventurous musical project yet for 2017’s album Wilder Shores. In 2018 and 2019, Carlisle toured across Australia, Europe, the UK and America – co-headlining the Retro Futura Tour with ABC; 2018 also brought amazing reviews for Head Over Heels, a Broadway musical written around songs by The Go-Go’s produced by Gwyneth Paltrow. Carlisle performed at shows and festivals throughout Europe in 2022 and is currently celebrating more than 35 years as a solo performer with her critically acclaimed Decades tour. In addition, she just released a brand new EP, Kismet which features the release of “Big Big Love,” which has received rousing acclaim from fans, media, music industry insiders and tastemakers around the globe.
With a great vocal performance, driving synths and an amazing hook, “Big Big Love” was the number one most played record on the BBC R2 network for three weeks as it launched straight to A-list rotation / Record of the Week status and stayed there for five weeks in May 2023!
Aside from actively engaging in her music work, Carlisle does work for non-profit organizations such as PETA and Greenpeace. In 2014, she widened her humanitarian efforts as co-founder of the India-based Animal People Alliance, which helps both street animals in distress and impoverished women through fundraising and education.
With Carlisle’s string of ‘80s and ‘90s hits coming to the attention of a new generation, and with a multi-dimensional, internationally acclaimed recording catalog and countless tours showcasing her musical prowess, she is poised to retain her position as a purveyor of timeless pop who shows no signs of slowing down.