Belinda Carlisle

Singer Belinda Carlisle earned a place in pop music history as a founding member of the female pop band The Go-Go’s before going on to release 30 singles as a solo artist. Born Belinda Kurczesky on Aug. 17, 1958, Carlisle was raised in Northern Los Angeles County and gravitated towards Hollywood’s burgeoning punk scene in the late 1970s. She formed The Go-Go’s with guitarist Jane Wiedlin in 1978, and when the punk band grew to include Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock, and Kathy Valentine, and its sound evolved into kitschy, ‘60s-flavored power pop, they were signed to IRS records. In 1981, The Go-Go’s became the first self-contained female band to hit No. 1 on the record charts with the release of their multi-platinum debut Beauty and the Beat , which spawned such classic “new wave” hits as “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips are Sealed.” Overnight, The Go-Go’s became pop stars and fashion trendsetters, and as frontwoman, Carlisle earned the lion’s share of the attention. The Go-Go’s 1982 follow-up album Vacation hit Gold status but despite the hit single “Head Over Heels,” their 1984 release Talk Show marked a decline in overall popularity. In-fighting and drug problems were blamed for the band’s split in 1985.

Carlisle immediately went on to launch a successful recording career, enjoying a No. 3 pop hit with “Mad About You” in 1986 and returning to the charts in 1987 and 1988 with “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “I Get Weak.” Following the release of a Go-Go’s CD retrospective, there was a brief reunion tour in 1994 before Carlisle and her family moved to Europe. She went on to hit the UK charts with Adult Contemporary offerings like “A Woman and a Man” and “Voila,” which marked a departure for Carlisle as it showcased all French language material done in a sultry, jazzy chanteuse style. The Go-Go’s put their differences aside and toured intermittently in the new millennium while Carlisle also appeared solo on a number of retro-‘80s summer tours in Europe. The pop veteran was first tapped by reality television for a performance on “Celebrity Duets” (Fox, 2006) in 2006, which led to a spot as a judge on MTV’s talent contest “Rock the Cradle” (MTV, 2008) and a spot on season eight of “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC, 2005- ) in 2009.