Tuesday, February 18, 2025

1980’s Pop sensation Belinda Carlisle turns 65

She scored huge worldwide hits with songs such as “Heaven Is a Place on Earth”

1980’s Pop sensation Belinda Carlisle turns 66

Belinda Carlisle found worldwide success first as the lead singer for New Wave band The Go-Go’s during the late 70’s and early 1980’s, but it was as a solo singer she scored some of her biggest hits. Belinda Carlisle was born on August 17, 1958, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. She was the first of seven children in her family. Carlisle grew up in a working-class household, and her childhood was marked by frequent moves and financial struggles.  Despite being regarded as a Pop singer, Belinda actually started her music career as a member of the Hardcore Punk L.A band the Germs in 1977 (members included future Nirvana and Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear) under the name Dottie Danger. However, her breakthrough came when she co-founded the all-female rock band The Go-Go’s in 1978. The Go-Go’s became one of the most successful and influential bands of the early 1980s, known for their infectious pop-punk sound and energetic live performances. The band’s debut album, Beauty and the Beat (1981), was a massive success, topping the Billboard 200 chart for six weeks. It included hit singles like “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips Are Sealed,” which became anthems of the era. The Go-Go’s were groundbreaking as one of the first all-female bands to write their own songs and play their own instruments while achieving commercial success.
After The Go-Go’s disbanded in 1985, Carlisle launched a successful solo career. Her debut solo album, Belinda (1986), produced the hit single “Mad About You,” which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, it was her second album, Heaven on Earth (1987), that catapulted her to international stardom. The album’s lead single, “Heaven Is a Place on Earth,” became a global hit, reaching number one in several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Other hits from the album included “I Get Weak” and “Circle in the Sand.”
Carlisle continued to release successful albums throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, including Runaway Horses (1989) and Live Your Life Be Free (1991). She became known for her powerful vocals and ability to blend pop with rock elements, establishing herself as a prominent solo artist.
In the 2000s and beyond, Carlisle explored different musical styles, including a return to her punk roots and the release of a French-language album, Voila (2007). She also reunited with The Go-Go’s for several tours and special performances, celebrating the band’s enduring legacy.
Carlisle developed a serious addiction to cocaine and alcohol that would span thirty years since she first joined the Go-Go’s, in a 2017 interview, she told The Guardian that she “couldn’t believe she wasn’t dead”. Belinda Carlisle is sober since 2005 and has also embraced the Buddhist religion. She stated in 2014: “I don’t smoke anymore; I don’t drink anymore, and I don’t do drugs anymore. I am very much into my Buddhism.” Her latest album, “Wilder Shores” was released in 2017 and consists of a series of Sikh chants performed by Carlisle in Gurmukhi. Carlisle is an ardent supporter of LGBT rights, which she made public after her son, Duke, came out to her at age fourteen and also a vegetarian and a supporter of animal rights. Though she hasn’t really been a political outspoken voice, she voiced her endorsement of Bernie Sanders as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Today the Go-Go girl turns 66.


Look back at the 1987 music video “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” by Belinda Carlisle



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