Five hip Californian punk chicks, often dressed in little more than torn garbage bags complemented by a whole stack of attitude, went on to create chart history when The Go-Go’s became the first all female band to top the billboard charts… breaking records and rules long before ‘Girl Power’ became the marketing ploy of choice.
Following an acrimonious break up, lead singer Belinda Carlisle kicked a damaging drug habit to reap commercial success as a global solo artist with a series of multi-million selling albums, including the Heaven Is A Place On Earth, the single of which reached number one.
Having achieved all there is to do so, Belinda and her Go-Go amigos have since reunited, and she continues to record and tour both as part of the band and on her own. She currently resides in France with her husband, actor/producer Morgan Mason (son of the actor James Mason), and her teenage son, James.
Her appearance last weekend at The Liverpool Academy was greeted by a giddy, sell-out crowd of over 1,000 local fans, ranging from ages 18 to 50+, all keen to bask in the vocal allure of a true punk-pop icon...
You’ve done a lot of touring and promotion in the past few years… there was the UK Here & Now Tour, and plugging the latest Go-Go’s album. After this current round of concerts, is it about time for a break?
I pretty much make my own schedule. I have been working a lot the past two or three years, but it’s at a pace that I like to do. I mean, I took the whole summer off, had some downtime then. I might take a couple of weeks off after I’m done, but then I hope to playing in South Africa at the end of the year, and I’m doing a couple of weeks with The Go Go’s in January. Then I take the rest of January off. I just work at a pace that’s comfortable.
Do you have any ambitions left to fulfil?
Well I’ve fulfilled all my dreams. I do this because I love doing it. I suppose I’d like to make one more album, which I probably will do next year. As far as any major sort of ambitions, I don’t really have any. Except to continue enjoying what I’m doing, and do it with integrity.
Because of the competitive nature of the music industry, is it hard to persuade people that you’re happy as you are, picking and choosing projects without aggressively pursuing a mainstream hit?
I’m not under pressure anymore to produce mainstream hits, and I don’t feel like I need to be competitive now. I did that from age 17 to age 40… and I really don’t care to compete like that anymore. And if I had to, I certainly wouldn’t be happy. For me at this point in my career, with all the success that I have had, and the big back catalogue, my happiness doesn’t hinge on having a top ten hit anymore. It just hinges on making music that I’m happy with.
So I take it you have no plans to follow in the footsteps of Cher, and pour yourself into a catsuit for a high-energi, vocoder dance number?
When those things happen it has a lot to do with the song. It also has a lot to do with luck and timing, and I do believe that. A lot of that has played a big part in my career. So if that was going to happen I think it would take on a life of itself and point me in that direction, but it’s an option I don’t really want to work toward. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen, like it usually has in my career.
The UK artist Kim Wilde, who was first successful around the same time as yourself, has now gone on to reinvent herself as a TV gardening expert… while talkshow host Ricki Lake has spoken about intending to re-train as a midwife. Would you ever consider making a complete career change yourself?
I have a lot of other interests beside music. Id like to go back to school, I’d like to go to cooking school, and I attend French school when I get downtime, as well as studying French history. With the career I’ve had, and that I have, I like to just do what I want to do. I just want to sit back and enjoy the rewards of working and busting my butt for 25 years.
Are you still interested in archaeology?
Yeah, I’m going on a big trip to Bolivia in May. I pursue other hobbies. It dosen’t mean that they’re careers, but I’m very curious, and for me learning about things like archaeology or French history or languages is very exciting.
Any news on when the planned Go-Go’s movie is going ahead, and will you have any say?
I’m sure we’ll have input, I just hope they don’t go real Hollywood with it. The beauty of The Go Go’s was that we weren’t five model/actresses. We were normal girls. The script itself is great. I’m really, really, really happy with that. After that, the casting will be important, and of course the director too. I don’t know who is directing it.
Is there any foundation to the rumours that Anna Nicole Smith will be playing your role?
I don’t think that she’s qualified to take my role. To be honest, I feel bad for the girl. I think it’s terrible the way the media has exploited her. It’s tragic actually.
I imagine that one of the great things about your current life position, is that decisions that might have seemed rash or impulsive in the past have gone on to work out OK in the end. Can you look back and laugh now, or are there still some memories that carry a sting?
Of course there are things I wish I had done differently, but I don’t have any regrets about things that I’ve done, and decisions that I’ve made. They might have been smarter, might have changed the course of my career and all, but I’m happy with the way it is, and I’m happy with the way it has all turned out. I’m not a prisoner of my success and I make a living doing something that I love. That’s all I’ve ever really wanted.
There is one incident I wanted to ask you about, and that’s your infamous confrontation with Al Teller of MCA Records… and whether it was really no-holds barred on your behalf?
Yeah, I mean, I’m a pretty honest person. I won’t hold back if I feel something. I’ll usually say what’s on my mind. I called him a fuc*ing liar, which is exactly what he was at the time. I felt really good about it.
Didn’t that turn out to be an expensive decision?
Well I got dropped from my label. But then I knew I was going to get dropped anyway, so it was no big deal. But he’s a liar, like a lot of people in the record industry are liars, so there you go. I got back on my feet and signed with a different label immediately afterwards.
Do you feel your contribution as an artist has been recognised as paving the way for other female acts?
There’s no question that The Go Go’s did. But by the time I went it alone, it wasn’t all that different to have a successful female solo artist. So my thing? No. But The Go Go’s? Absolutely. We paved the way for women in radio in America. We were the first female band to write and play our own songs, we were self made. We were feminists without being feminists. Just by our actions we said a lot.
It might seem as though the days of controversy and media-baiting are past, yet the Catholic League of America kicked up a fuss about the artwork for God Bless the Go-Gos… did that surprise you?
I didn’t know what the big deal was, you know? Honestly. There was a chance someone was going to be pissed off, but they have no room to talk about things like that. To us it wasn’t offensive and we did it tongue in cheek. We never really cared about whether people would be offended or not.
Is the old Go Go’s song Skidmarks On My Heart still a favourite of yours?
I think it’s probably one of the more genius moments of my songwriting because I wrote it in like two minutes and filled with double entendres. It’s a very funny song. I don’t think it’s my favourite song to perform, but they’re my favourite lyrics. The best lyrics I’ve ever written.
Err… do you know that the word skidmarks have a totally different meaning here in the UK?
Yes I do! That’s exactly why I did it. The song is filled with double entendres like that. I’m glad you spotted it, (laughs).
