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Belinda Carlisle official biography
Carlisle's first venture into music was as the drummer for the punk band The Germs, under the name Dottie Danger. Soon after leaving this band she joined The Go-Go's. After the initial breakup of The Go-Go's in 1985 (allegedly due to hedonism and drug abuse by Carlisle and some of the other band members), Carlisle cleaned herself up and embarked upon a solo career. Her first solo album, Belinda, was released on I.R.S. Records in 1986. Since Carlisle was somewhat overweight during her stint with the Go-Go's, fans were surprised to see a new svelte singer in the video for her hit single of music video "Mad About You", showing new curves featured on her album cover that were not due to airbrush work.
It was also in 1986 when Carlisle married Morgan Mason, son of the British actor James Mason. Morgan made appearances in Carlisle's videos "Mad About You" and "Heaven is a Place on Earth".
Carlisle flaunted her glamorous image on the cover of 1987's Heaven on Earth, her second solo album (released in the United States through MCA but in the United Kingdom through Virgin). Critics and fans noticed that not only was Carlisle's image more glamorous than during her time with the Go-Go's, but also her solo music was more polished and dismissed by some critics as being confection. The new sound was certainly due in part to producer Rick Nowels, who had previously worked with Stevie Nicks and would later work with Madonna.
The first release from Heaven on Earth was "Heaven is a Place on Earth", an international hit, topping the charts not only in the U.S. but also in the U.K. and several other countries. It is probably her most famous song. The success of the song was furthered by its video, which, under direction of American actress Diane Keaton, showcased Carlisle's glamour that included her new red hair, part of an image obviously inspired by Ann-Margret.
The next hit song released from Heaven on Earth was "I Get Weak", which also had a video directed by Keaton. The next single from the album was "Circle in the Sand", a large hit. "World Without You" was well-hyped but didn't sell as well, peaking outside the Top 30. And December 1988's "Love Never Dies" in the UK, only reached #54. In the US, "I Feel Free", a cover of the Cream classic was released but sold terribly.
Carlisle's album after Heaven on Earth was 1989's Runaway Horses. This album hit number 4 in the UK, and so proved that she was still in demand, after the recent increasing apathy toward her single releases. The first release, "Leave a Light On" barely missed the Top Ten in the U.S., peaking at #11, but in the UK it hit the top 5. The second single, "Summer Rain", missed the Top Twenty (#23) in Spring 1990, but spent a long time in the Top 75 and sold satisfactorily. It peaked at #6 in Australia where it has maintained a certain level of popularity, and saw a cover version in 2004 by the Australian group Slinkee Minx. Carlisle had better success in the U.K. that autumn when she went to #6 with the remixed "(We Want) The Same Thing", another track from Runaway Horses. This underscored that Carlisle's popularity in Europe far surpassed her success in America.
In the late fall of 1990, the Go-Go's reunited for a greatest hits tour. This turned out to be one of two short-lived reunions of the band that never healed old wounds nor matched their previous commercial success. A feature of the tour was an anti-fur campaign, as the band members, and Carlisle in particular, supported the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal rights organization.
In 1991, Carlisle released her fourth solo album, Live Your Life Be Free, an album that had little commercial notice in America and the singer did not promote it with a tour due to pregnancy. The album did not sell as well as her two previous albums, though it did reach the Top 10. Her son, James Duke Mason, (named for James Mason (Morgan's father) and Duke Kurczeski (Belinda's stepfather)), was born April 27, immediately prior to the 1992 Los Angeles riots. A few months afterwards, she released greatest hit albums in the U.S., Australia, and the U.K.; the British compilation topped the U.K. album charts.
Carlisle's fifth solo album, Real, was
released 1993 on the Virgin label in the U.S. as well as Europe.
Produced without Nowels, the album departed from Carlisle's
previous polished pop music formula. Some critics welcomed the
change and noted that it was similar to her sound with The
Go-Go's, "Real" reached #9 in the UK. Unfortunately, the album's
first single, "It's Too Real (Big Scary Animal)", failed to make
any notice in the U.S. but achieved a respectable #12 placing in
the UK. Another hit from the "Real" album was "Lay Down Your
Arms". She sang in "One by One" on the soundtrack of the 1993
movie "The Harvest".
After the Northridge Earthquake in 1994, Carlisle and Mason and
their son moved to the South of France. There was another brief
reunion of the Go-Go's later that year, but the band broke up
after the promotional tour.
Carlisle returned to the recording studio and started working
again with Rick Nowels. In 1996, she released in the U.K. and
Australia her sixth solo album, A Woman and A Man, on the
Chrysalis Records label. This album revitalized her solo career
in Europe and included several hits. Leadoff single "In Too Deep"
returned Carlisle to the U.K. top ten for the first time in
seven years, reaching #6. "Always Breaking My Heart", written
and produced by Roxette's Per Gessle, was another top ten smash,
peaking at #8. The album spawned two more U.K. hits, "Love in
the Key of C" and "California"; the latter being a bittersweet
reflection on why the singer left her home state. As a result of
A Woman and A Man's, U.K. success, the album was released in the
U.S. during the summer of 1997 on the Ark21 label. Despite the
promotional appearances Carlisle made on American television and
radio, the album did not enjoy the same level of success in the
States as it did in the U.K.
In 1997, Carlisle also released a cover of "I Won't Say (I'm in
Love)" from Disney's Hercules as part of that movie's
distribution in Europe. The single was only released in France
and Germany.
In 1999, Carlisle released another greatest hits album in the
U.K., this time on the Virgin label. The album included three
new tracks, including "All God's Children," which was released
as a single. The song did not have much chart success even in
the U.K., but the album was considered by critics to be the best
compilation of her solo work.
In her career, Carlisle had the opportunity to work with
musicians from the 1960s. Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and The
Papas did backup singing for Heaven on Earth; Brian Wilson of
The Beach Boys helped with the recording of the "California"
track on A Woman and A Man. Although George Harrison did guitar
work on two tracks from "Runaway Horses," Belinda did not meet
him or go into the studio with him.
In August 2001, Carlisle posed nude for the men's magazine
Playboy. The 42-year-old told ABC: "You don't have to be age 20
and size zero to be sexually viable or viable as a woman." Some
speculate she may have done it to promote the newly reformed
Go-Go's 2001 album God Bless the Go-Go's.
Currently the Go-Go's plan to continue playing and touring
together.
In 2004 Belinda appeared on the ITV1 reality show Hell's Kitchen
as one of ten celebrity chefs and was the first to be voted out
by British viewers.
She has sometimes appeared in her music videos dressed in fully
off-shoulder tops (as seen in "Heaven On Earth") or in garments
loose enough at the shoulders for it to fall off the shoulder.
She has once quoted that one of her biggest regrets was to
embrace the off-shoulder fashion.
She is set to return to the spotlight in 2006, with the release
of her long awaited 7th album Voilą, her first studio album in
ten years. The album is produced by John Reynolds and it's a mix
of French chanson and modern pop songs. Voilą is to be released
on February 5th 2007 via Rykodisc