Belinda Carlisle

Belinda Carlisle (2010)

Belinda Carlisle (born August 17, 1958 in Hollywood , California ) is an American singer . She first became known as a member of the rock 'n' roll band Go-Go’s . After their breakup, Carlisle began a successful solo career in the late 1980s and had hits such as Heaven Is a Place on Earth , Circle in the Sand and Leave a Light On .

As a member of the Go-Go's , she received a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood on August 11, 2011 .

Music career

1977–1985: Member of various bands

Carlisle began her musical career in 1977 under the stage name Dottie Danger as the drummer in the punk band Germs at the side of Darby Crash and Pat Smear . After just a few rehearsals, she had to leave the group due to an illness with Pfeiffer glandular fever and switched to “Black Randy and the Metrosquad” as a background singer.

In 1978 Carlisle became a member of the Go-Go's. When the formation broke up for the first time in May 1985, Belinda Carlisle began her solo career.

1986: Beginning of the solo career

Her first solo album, Belinda , was released by IRS Records in June 1986. While she was a bit overweight during her time at the Go-Go's, she appeared to be significantly slimmer in the music video of her first hit single Mad About You . Her appearance was also much more “glamorous” than before. In addition to the new image, the music also followed a new style. While the rock music of the Go-Go's was heavily influenced by punk and rock 'n' roll, Carlisle, as a solo artist, produced more pop music with slight rock influences.

Also in 1986 she married Morgan Mason, the son of British actor James Mason . Morgan also had roles in Carlisle's videos for Mad About You and Heaven Is a Place on Earth . Their son is the actor and LGBT activist James Duke Mason .

1987–1990: breakthrough as a solo artist

Carlisle expanded her glamorous image on the cover of her second solo album Heaven on Earth , released in October 1987 . The album was released in the US on MCA and in the UK on Virgin Records . The first single was Heaven Is a Place on Earth . The title became an international hit that made it to the top of the charts not only in the US, but also in the UK and numerous other countries. The new sound is certainly due to the influence of her producer Rick Nowels , who previously worked with Stevie Nicks and later produced Madonna .

Heaven Is a Place on Earth is widely regarded as Carlisle's greatest hit and trademark. The success of the title was further fueled by the accompanying video, which was directed by American actress Diane Keaton . In the video, too, Carlisle retained her new glamorous image, including her hair dyed red.

The next published title from Heaven on Earth was I Get Weak , which climbed to number 2 on the US charts and whose video was also directed by Keaton. This was followed by the exotic-looking ballad Circle in the Sand , which once again stormed the top ten in the USA as well as in the UK and Germany.

Carlisle's next album was Runaway Horses , which was released in October 1989. The album surprisingly fell short of expectations in the USA, while on the other side of the Atlantic it seamlessly continued the success of its predecessor and once again reached the top five in the UK and Australia. In addition, the single Leave a Light On had previously become another top 5 hit in Great Britain and Australia as well as a top 15 success in the USA and Germany.

The other singles from Runaway Horses were also successful, although no longer globally. La Luna with a Mediterranean touch became a top 20 hit in Germany in early 1990. Here it became clear for the first time that Belinda Carlisle was much more popular in Europe and Australia than in her home country, the USA. The rock anthem (We Want) The Same Thing stormed the UK top ten in the fall of 1990, while keyboard number Summer Rain was in the top ten in Australia.

At the end of 1990 the Go-Go's got together again to go on a greatest hits tour. One part of the tour was an anti-fur campaign when the band members and especially Belinda Carlisle supported the animal welfare organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

1991–1997: Declining success in the American homeland

In October 1991, Carlisle released their fourth solo record Live Your Life Be Free . The album was hardly noticed in the USA, but it landed again in the British Top Ten, where Carlisle also celebrated another top 20 success in the single charts with the title song. The singer did not go on tour with the record because she was pregnant at the time. Her son James Duke Mason (named after Morgan's father James and Belinda's stepfather Duke Kurczeski) was born on April 27, 1992 during the Los Angeles riot .

In September 1992 she released her first greatest hits album, The Best of Belinda Vol. 1 . The compilation impressively demonstrated the popularity of its hits, as it landed straight at number 1 on the album charts in both Great Britain and Australia.

Her fifth solo album Real was released in September 1993 under the Virgin label in the US and Europe. Without producer Nowels, the album moved away from Carlisle's previous "polished pop" style. Some critics welcomed this development and compared the sound to that of the Go-Go's. The first release, Big Scary Animal , was once again a Top 15 hit in Great Britain, the album itself was Carlisle's fifth UK Top Ten album in a row. Outside of the UK, the panels received little attention.

After the Los Angeles earthquake in January 1994, Carlisle, Mason and their son moved to the south of France.

In the middle of 1994 there was another short reunion of the Go-Go's. The band broke up after the promotional tour.

Carlisle returned to the recording studio and worked again with producer Rick Nowels. In the late summer of 1996 she released her sixth solo album, A Woman and a Man, in the UK and Australia, which was a great success there. Brian Wilson (Ex- Beach Boys ), Susanna Hoffs ( Bangles ) and Per Gessle ( Roxette ) were involved in the album as songwriters and background singers. The singles In Too Deep and Always Breaking My Heart (penned by Gessle) both reached the UK top ten, becoming Belinda's greatest hits since 1990.

Due to the success of A Woman and a Man , the album was also distributed in the USA in the summer of 1997 by the Ark21 label. Despite Belinda Carlisle's promotional appearances on American television and radio, the album could not build on the success in Great Britain there.

In mid-1997, Belinda Carlisle released a cover version of I Won't Say (I'm in Love) from Disney's Hercules . The title was used in the distribution of the film in Europe. The single was only sold in France and Germany.

Since 1999: Reunion of the Go-Go's and other albums

At the end of 1999 Carlisle released another greatest hits album in Europe, this time on the Virgin label. The album contained three new tracks, including All God's Children , which was also released as a single. The title was not very successful; the album was rated by critics as the best compilation of their solo work to date.

In August 2001, Carlisle had himself photographed naked for Playboy magazine . There was speculation that she did this to promote the album God Bless the Go-Go's from the re-established Go-Go's. In 2004, Belinda was one of ten celebrities on Hell's Kitchen television show and was the first to be voted out by British viewers.

In February 2007, her seventh album Voila, her first chanson album sung in French, was released . She got the idea for such an album because she has lived in France for many years near Cannes and listens to French oldie stations there. The titles are cover versions , by Jacques Brel , Édith Piaf , Serge Gainsbourg and Udo Jürgens , among others .

In June 2010 she published her autobiography Lips Unsealed . The book received good reviews and reached number 27 on the New York Times bestseller list .

In October 2010, advance sales began for a Germany tour, which took place from January 25th to 30th, 2011 with five concerts.

In August 2011, the band Go-Go's (in the cast Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine and Jane Wiedlin) was honored with a star in the music recording category on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . The star is located at 6652 Hollywood Boulevard in front of the former nightclub The Masque , where the band first performed in 1978. In May 2018, a musical about the work of the Go-Go's was announced; the premiere took place in San Francisco, the soft opening in New York on July 26, 2018. The musical was created with the participation of Belinda Carlisle.

Discography

See also : Go-Gos

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1986	Belinda	-	-	-	-	US13 gold (34 weeks)US	First published: June 3, 1986 Sales: + 600,000
1988	Heaven on Earth	DE17 (14 weeks) DE	-	CH4th gold (15 weeks)CH	UK4th × 3 Triple platinum (54 weeks)UK	US13 platinum (51 weeks)US	First published: October 5, 1987 Sales: + 2,590,000
1989	Runaway Horses	DE24 (22 weeks) DE	AT13 (15 weeks) AT	CH12 gold (28 weeks)CH	UK4th platinum (39 weeks)UK	US37 gold (25 weeks)US	First published: October 9, 1989 Sales: +1,190,000
1991	Live Your Life Be Free	-	-	CH32 (2 weeks) CH	UK7th gold (16 weeks)UK	-	First published: October 14, 1991 Sales: + 100,000
1993	real	-	-	-	UK9 (5 weeks) UK	-	First published: October 1, 1993
1996	A woman & a man	-	AT36 (2 weeks) AT	-	UK12 gold (6 weeks)UK	-	First published: September 20, 1996 Sales: + 117,000

More studio albums

• 2007: Voila (release: February)
• 2017: Wilder Shores

Compilations

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1992	The Best of Belinda, Volume 1	DE35 (11 weeks) DE	-	-	UK1 × 2 Double platinum (37 weeks)UK	-	First published: September 7, 1992 Sales: + 905,000
1999	A Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits	-	-	-	UK15th gold (8 weeks)UK	-	First published: November 1, 1999 Sales: + 100,000
2014	The Collection	-	-	-	UK24 (5 weeks) UK	-	First published: March 17, 2014
2019	gold	-	-	-	UK11 (7 weeks) UK	-	First published: September 6, 2019

More compilations

• 1998: The Greatest
• 1999: original gold
• 2002: The Collection
• 2003: Essential
• 2013: ICON - The Best of
• 2013: Live from Metropolis Studios
• 2015: Access all areas

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1986	Mad About You Belinda	-	-	-	UK67 (6 weeks) UK	US3 (21 weeks) US	First published: May 1986 Chart entry in UK only in July 1988 Sales: + 5,000
	I feel the magic Belinda	-	-	-	-	US82 (5 weeks) US	First published: September 1986
1987	Heaven Is a Place on Earth Heaven on Earth	DE3 (15 weeks) DE	AT10 (8 weeks) AT	CH1 (15 weeks) CH	UK1 gold (15 weeks)UK	US1 (21 weeks) US	First published: September 18, 1987 Sales: + 651,000
1988	I Get Weak Heaven on Earth	DE38 (6 weeks) DE	-	CH24 (4 weeks) CH	UK10 (9 weeks) UK	US2 (16 weeks) US	First published: February 15, 1988
	Circle in the Sand Heaven on Earth	DE9 (14 weeks) DE	AT26 (2 weeks) AT	-	UK4 (11 weeks) UK	US7 (17 weeks) US	First published: April 25, 1988
	I Feel Free Heaven on Earth	-	-	-	-	US88 (4 weeks) US	First published: July 16, 1988
	World without You Heaven on Earth	-	-	-	UK34 (7 weeks) UK	-	First published: August 29, 1988
	Love Never Dies Heaven on Earth	-	-	-	UK54 (6 weeks) UK	-	First published: November 28, 1988
1989	Leave a Light On Runaway Horses	DE15 (18 weeks) DE	AT4 (13 weeks) AT	CH8 (16 weeks) CH	UK4th silver (10 weeks)UK	US11 (18 weeks) US	First published: September 1, 1989 Sales: + 295,000
	La Luna Runaway Horses	DE16 (19 weeks) DE	AT29 (3 weeks) AT	CH10 (14 weeks) CH	UK38 (6 weeks) UK	-	First published: November 27, 1989
1990	Summer Rain Runaway Horses	DE57 (10 weeks) DE	-	-	UK23 (10 weeks) UK	US30 (13 weeks) US	First published: Jan 8, 1990 (US) Jul 2, 1990 (EU) Sales: + 35,000
	Runaway Horses Runaway Horses	DE63 (5 weeks) DE	-	-	UK40 (5 weeks) UK	-	First published: February 12, 1990
	Vision of You Runaway Horses	-	-	-	UK41 (5 weeks) UK	-	First published: April 2, 1990
	(We Want) The Same Thing Runaway Horses	DE53 (12 weeks) DE	-	-	UK6 (10 weeks) UK	-	First published: October 2, 1990
1991	Live Your Life Be Free Live Your Life Be Free	DE71 (11 weeks) DE	-	-	UK12 (7 weeks) UK	-	First published: September 16, 1991
	Do You Feel Like I Feel Live Your Life Be Free	-	-	-	UK29 (4 weeks) UK	US73 (6 weeks) US	First published: November 1, 1991
1992	Half the World Live Your Life Be Free	DE62 (4 weeks) DE	-	-	UK35 (4 weeks) UK	-	First published: December 30, 1991
	Little Black Book Live Your Life Be Free	DE69 (7 weeks) DE	-	-	UK28 (5 weeks) UK	-	First published: August 17, 1992
1993	Big Scary Animal Real	DE63 (11 weeks) DE	-	-	UK12 (6 weeks) UK	-	First published: September 10, 1993
	Lay Down Your Arms Real	-	-	-	UK27 (6 weeks) UK	-	First published: November 15, 1993
1996	In Too Deep A Woman and a Man	-	-	-	UK6 (8 weeks) UK	-	First published: July 1, 1996 Sales: + 35,000
	Always Breaking My Heart A Woman and a Man	-	-	-	UK8 (8 weeks) UK	-	First published: September 9, 1996
	Love in the Key of C A Woman and a Man	-	-	-	UK20 (6 weeks) UK	-	First published: November 18, 1996
1997	California A Woman and a Man	-	-	-	UK31 (2 weeks) UK	-	First published: February 17, 1997
1999	All God's Children A Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits	-	-	-	UK66 (1 week) UK	-	First published: November 15, 1999

More singles

• 1986: Band of Gold (feat. Freda Payne )
• 1991: Vision of You (Remix '91) (Release: April)
• 1996: Remember September
• 1997: I Won't Say (I'm in Love)
• 1999: A Prayer for Everyone
• 2007: I Still Love Him
• 2013: Sun
• 2014: Goodbye Just Go

Collaborations

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1989	What does it take? The big area	-	-	-	UK33 (4 weeks) UK	-	First release: March 1989 Then Jerico feat. Belinda Carlisle
1990	Blue Period 11	-	-	-	UK99 (1 week) UK	-	First release: May 1990 The Smithereens feat. Belinda Carlisle

swell

1. ↑ Brendan Mullen: Annihilation Man. LA Weekly, December 27, 2000, accessed April 4, 2017 . 
2. ↑ Hardcover Notification
3. ↑ Iconic Female Rockers "The Go-Go's" to be Honored with Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Official press release dated August 4, 2011 (accessed August 11, 2011) .
4. ↑ Belinda Carlisle now as a musical. Retrieved May 15, 2018 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} Chart sources: Singles Albums DE UK US
6. ↑ ^{a b c d} gold / platinum databases: CH UK US

Web links

Commons : Belinda Carlisle  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Official website (English)
• Belinda Carlisle at Allmusic (English)
• Belinda Carlisle at Discogs (English)
• Belinda Carlisle in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Ananova article on Carlisle appearance in Playboy ( Memento from October 19, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
• Belinda Carlisle at 45cat.com (English)
• Belinda Carlisle at Rate Your Music (English)
• Releases and placements on chartsurfer.de
• www.offiziellecharts.de