The world of the Interactive_Bot

Call them obsessive. Call them compulsive. Some people are like that. One woman will train maniacally for a marathon -- or she won't run at all. But for some people, and Belinda Carlisle is one of them, it seems to work. For a while however it didn't. Belinda's tailspin was well chronicled. As lead singer for the Go-Go's, the hip female rock n roll band, she had it made. Seven years of touring, drinking, drug abuse and late night partying finally took its toll however. The 5'5" singers weight ballooned, and when the Go-Go's broke up in 1995, the fun loving Californian who dyed her crew cut green had nothing to sing about.

Born on August 17th 1958, Belinda Jo Carlisle was named after her mothers favourite film, "Johnny Belinda". She is the eldest of the seven children in the family. Raised as a strict Southern Baptist, Belinda thinks that organised religion is "a load of baloney". The band, the Go-Go's were formed in 1978, and were originally called the Misfits. Also included in the line up were Jane Wiedlin, Charlotte Caffey, Elissa Bello (later replaced by Gina Schock) and Margo Olaverra (in 1980, replaced by Cathy Valentine). This was to be the year when I first heard of the band, when they played at Carlisle, in England, on their madness tour. Three years later in 1981, they released their debut album, "beauty and the beat". It went to number one and remained there for six weeks, the first for an all woman band.

In 1982, the Go-Go's were nominated for a Grammy award in the category "best new artist". Albums ‘Vacation' and ‘talk show' were subsequently released in 1982 and 1984 respectively. All was not well within the band though. Internal conflicts and personal problems of the band members eventually led to the Go-Go's being disbanded in 1985. Belinda, however, embarked on a solo career releasing her solo debut album the following year, ‘Belinda' in 1986, spawning the no.2 hit song, "Mad about You". Marriage was also on the cards during that year……with Belinda marrying Morgan Mason, a film producer. Her musical career continued however, with the album "Heaven On Earth" being released in December '87, and its first single, "Heaven is a place on earth" reaching number one across the globe. This was followed up by a both European and USA tour entitled ‘Belinda live'.

Such was the success, that Belinda was nominated for a Grammy in the category, ‘Best Female Vocalist'. In 1989, her third solo album was released, "Runaway Horses" with numerous singles (6 in the UK, 3 in the USA) being released from the album. Belinda went on to tour Asia, Europe and USA on her ‘Runaway Live' tour between 1989 and 1990, selling out at Wembley. The Go-Go's also reunited during 1990 to launch a reunion tour in support of the Environmental Protective Initiative, and to release a greatest hits album. 1991 saw the release of her fourth solo album, ‘Live your life be free". "The best of Belinda", released in 1992, was however her first number one solo album, topping the UK charts. Son James Duke Mason was born during the LA riot of 1992. Belinda's fifth solo album, ‘Real', was released in 1993, on which she both co-produced and co-wrote most of the songs.

The Go-Go's reunited again in 1994, releasing "Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's", a greatest hits package with three new tracks. In support of the new CD, they went on tour between 1994 and 1995. After leaving their home in Los Angeles in 1994, Belinda and Morgan spent two and a half years in France before finding their new home in North London, a move that was career related for Morgan. Disaster struck however that Christmas Eve, with fire breaking out on an upper floor. However, the couple were in LA at the time to celebrate Christmas when they received the devastating news.They decided that the damage had been done and continued on with their plans for a holiday in Mexico. "A Woman and a Man", Belinda's sixth solo album was released in 1996 (Europe) and 1997 (US).
After four short live re-union concerts, (1990, 1994, 1999 and 2000), and a gap of seventeen years, the Go-Go's are back with a brand new studio album entitled, "God bless the Go-Go's", which was internationally released on May 15th 2001 by record label Beyond Music. May 15 2001 also marked the uniting of fans in 22 cities nationwide throughout the USA to celebrate 'Go-Go's day'. The new Single, "Unforgiven", was co-written by Green Day's singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong who also provided backup on some of the tracks. The single was released on March 20 2001. The album is produced by well known producers Paul Kolderie, and Sean Slade. Belinda posed for Playboy Magazine which was published during August 2001. Click here to view the issue cover. (NOT for the easily offended)