Belinda Carlisle Wiki Information
Belinda Jo Carlisle
(born August 17, 1958) is a Grammy Award-nominated American singer. Carlisle is the lead vocalist and a founding member of the groundbreaking all-female new wave band The Go-Go's, and also a successful solo artist. During her career Carlisle has released 4 Studio albums and 11 singles with the Go-Go's and 7 Studio albums and 31 singles as a solo artist.
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BELINDA CARLISLE TICKETS
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Early life
Carlisle was born in
Hollywood, California, to parents Harold and Joanne. Harold was a contractor, and Joanne raised the children at home. Belinda was the first of 7 children, with 3 brothers (Butch, Joe and Josh) and 3 sisters (Hope, Mary and Sarah). Her father left home when Belinda was five years old. Her mother later remarried, but Carlisle was not close to her step father. At school, she became a
cheerleader.
[1]
She graduated from
Newbury Park High School. At the age of 19, she left home with the confidence that one day she would be a star
[2] that she later became.
Early career and The Go-Go's
Carlisle's first venture into music was a brief stint as
drummer for the
punk band
The Germs, under the name
Dottie Danger
. Soon after leaving The Germs, she founded The Go-Go's (originally named
The Misfits
), with friends and fellow musicians Margot Olaverria, Elissa Bello, and
Jane Wiedlin. Olaverria and Bello were soon out of the group and the new line-up included
bassist-turned-
guitarist
Charlotte Caffey, guitarist-turned-bassist
Kathy Valentine, and drummer
Gina Schock. The Go-Go's became one of the most successful
American bands of the early 1980s, helping usher
New Wave music into popular American
radio, and becoming the first all-female band in
rock history to ever achieve a #1
album, who also wrote their own
music, and played their own
instruments. The Go-Go's recorded two more studio albums on
I.R.S. Records (including 1982
Vacation
, which went
gold thanks to the title track). "Head over Heels," from their 1984 album
Talk Show
, made it to #11, but they never repeated the success of their 1981
multi-platinum debut,
Beauty and the Beat
, which featured the hits "
We Got the Beat" and "
Our Lips Are Sealed".
In 1984, Carlisle made a foray into acting in the movie
Swing Shift
starring
Goldie Hawn and
Kurt Russell and performed backing vocals for the
Don Henley recording of "She's on the Zoom" from the
Vision Quest
soundtrack.
Solo career
The Go-Go's broke up in 1985, and Carlisle embarked on a solo career (although she continued to work with fellow Go-Go
Charlotte Caffey).
Belinda
Carlisle's first solo album
Belinda
was released in 1986, also on
I.R.S. Records. This album was successful in North America and was certified Gold in the U.S. and Platinum in Canada. Her summer hit "
Mad About You" peaked at #3 in the U.S., topped the Canadian Singles Chart, and charted in the top 10 in Australia. "Mad About You" was followed by the Motown-influenced
single "
I Feel the Magic", and by a cover version of the
Freda Payne song "
Band of Gold". All three songs were included on her debut
album. The single "
Since You've Gone", co-written by
Lindsey Buckingham of
Fleetwood Mac, was used only for promotion.
Susanna Hoffs of
the Bangles co-wrote the single "I Need a Disguise".
Duran Duran's
Andy Taylor played guitar on some album tracks and appeared in her "Mad About You"
video clip.
During this time, Carlisle also had songs featured on
movie soundtracks, notably "In My Wildest Dreams" from the movie
Mannequin
, as well as "Dancing in the City" from the
Whoopi Goldberg movie
Burglar
.
Heaven on Earth
Carlisle changed again her hairstyle significantly for her second solo album, giving up her California Girl blonde bob for a long auburn style for 1987's
Heaven on Earth
. The musical style eschewed the 1960s-influenced
pop of Carlisle's first album in favor of slickly produced 1980s power-pop, and was released in the
United States through
MCA, and in the
United Kingdom through
Virgin. The album became a Top 5 bestseller in the
UK and
Australia, and was nominated for a
Grammy Award. The album's
producer,
Rick Nowels, previously worked with
Stevie Nicks, and would later collaborate with
Kim Wilde,
Jennifer Rush and
Madonna.
Michelle Phillips of
The Mamas and The Papas,
Chynna Phillips and
Carnie Wilson sang backup for the album.
Thomas Dolby played the
keyboards on some album tracks.
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The first release from
Heaven on Earth
was "
Heaven Is a Place on Earth", which topped the single charts, not only in the
U.S., but also in the UK and in several other countries (the
dance mix of the song also topped the
dance chart). The radio-ready song was further propelled by a
video, directed by
Academy Award-winning American
actress Diane Keaton. The second single from the album was "
I Get Weak", which shot to #2 in the U.S. and #10 in the U.K. The song was written by
Diane Warren. The third single from the album was "
Circle in the Sand," another Top 10 hit in the U.S., the UK, and
Germany. "
World Without You" was another British hit, followed by 1988 low-charting ballad "
Love Never Dies", making this her fifth single from the album in the UK. In the U.S., the fourth and last single, "
I Feel Free," a cover of the
Cream classic, failed to reach the
Top 40.
After the release of the
Heaven on Earth
album, Carlisle embarked on the 'Good Heavens' world tour.
In 2009, a remastered edition of the album was released with extra tracks, remixes, and a bonus DVD containing a complete live concert from 1988 (available for the first time on DVD).
Runaway Horses
Carlisle's follow-up to the success of
Heaven on Earth
was
Runaway Horses
, released on October 23, 1989. The album hit the Top 5 in both Australia and the UK, certified
double platinum in Australia and
platinum in the UK and in Canada, but failed to reach similar success in the U.S. The first release, "
Leave a Light On", peaked at #11 in the U.S., and became another Top 5 smash in the UK, Australia and Canada. The song features a
slide guitar solo by
George Harrison; he also played on the song
Deep Deep Ocean
. The second U.S. single, "
Summer Rain", reached #30 in early 1990. The song, which Carlisle noted was the most difficult song she had ever sung up to that point, peaked successfully at #6 in Australia, where it has maintained popularity, and the tune saw a cover version, in 2004, by the
Australian group
Slinkee Minx. It was the final release from
Runaway Horses
in the UK where it was released as the album's sixth single in December 1990, peaking at #23 in January 1991. Whereas in the U.S. Carlisle's success was decreasing, her popularity remained big in
Europe and Australia. In 1990, further singles from the
Runaway Horses
album were successful as well: the title track, the summer mood influenced "
La Luna", a Top 10 in Switzerland and top 20 hit in Germany and Australia, and "
(We Want) The Same Thing", remixed from a country-styled release into a massive Pop hit, reaching #6 in the UK.
Bryan Adams contributed backup vocals for the track "Whatever It Takes".
In the late autumn of 1990, the Go-Go's reunited for a tour to support their first best-of album,
Greatest
, including a new
recording of the cover song "Cool Jerk" (Go-Go's original cover featured on
Vacation
). A notable feature of the tour was an anti-fur campaign, where the band members supported
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or
PETA, an animal rights organization. That same year, Carlisle joined with
The Smithereens lead singer Pat Dinizio on his group's
ballad "Blue Period" and also performed backing vocals on
Then Jerico's album
The Big Area
on the track "What Does It Take?".
Live Your Life Be Free
In 1991, Carlisle released her fourth solo album,
Live Your Life Be Free
. The album marked somewhat of a return to 1960s-influenced music for Carlisle. The single "
Do You Feel Like I Feel?" was accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek video, inspired by the
B-movie Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
. The title track, "Live Your Life Be Free", was also released with a promotional video. Subsequent releases "
Half the World" and "
Little Black Book" (co-written by
Marcella Detroit of the
Shakespears Sister under her real name Marcy Levy) were also hits outside the U.S., and although
Live Your Life Be Free
as an album flopped in the U.S., it was a success in Europe (Top 10 in the UK and Gold certification), while the title track was a Top 20 hit single in the UK, Australia, Italy and Sweden. To date, "Do You Feel Like I Feel?" is Carlisle's final single to enter in the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #73.
The Best of Belinda, Volume 1
Still active in Europe and Australia with a record contract at Virgin Records, her 1992
greatest hits album
The Best of Belinda, Volume 1
reached #1, and was certified double platinum in the UK and platinum in Australia. This first greatest hits album included all the hits taken from the
Heaven on Earth
,
Runaway Horses
, and
Live Your Life Be Free
albums. It neglected the ballad "Love Never Dies", and the three I.R.S. singles from her first album
Belinda
, as this only received a limited UK release and produced no hit singles there. Also, no movie-soundtrack songs appear on the collection. The U.S. version of the album was named
Her Greatest Hits
and also included songs from the first album
Belinda
.
Real
Carlisle's fifth solo album,
Real
, was released in 1993 on the Virgin label in the U.S. and in Europe. Produced without Nowels, the disc was a departure from Carlisle's polished
pop music formula. Even the album's
cover photograph featured her with little or no
make-up. Carlisle co-produced and co-wrote much of the disc, collaborating heavily with friend and former Go-Go's member
Charlotte Caffey. The album reached #9 in the UK and #23 in Sweden. Its first single, "
Big Scary Animal", peaked at #12 in the UK. The second single from
Real
was "
Lay Down Your Arms", which made the Top 30 in the UK.
Gregg Alexander of the
New Radicals co-wrote the single "Here Comes My Baby".
At this time, Carlisle also recorded "One by One", on the
soundtrack for the 1993 movie
The Harvest
and sang on the
Lemonheads'
Come On Feel The Lemonheads
album on the track "I'll Do It Anyway".
After the
Northridge Earthquake, in 1994, Carlisle and her family moved to Europe. The Go-Go's reunited again later that year to support the retrospective double-
CD Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's
, their second collection, which featured three new songs, including the single "
The Whole World Lost Its Head". However, the band broke up again, soon after the promotional
tour. Carlisle has since lived in
France and
England.
A Woman and a Man
Carlisle returned to the
recording studio, and resumed working again with
Rick Nowels. In 1996 she released in the UK and Australia her sixth solo album,
A Woman and a Man
, on the
Chrysalis Records label. This album, consisting of mostly relaxed
adult pop, revitalized her solo career in Europe, and included several hits. The leadoff single, "
In Too Deep", returned Carlisle to the
UK Top 10, for the first time in six years, reaching #6. "
Always Breaking My Heart", written and produced by
Roxette's
Per Gessle, also made the UK Top 10, peaking at #8. The album spawned two more smaller hits in UK: "
Love in the Key of C", and "California", which featured
arrangement and back-up vocals by
Brian Wilson. The album reached #12 in the UK, and was certified gold. As a result of
A Woman and A Man
's UK success, the album was released in the U.S. during the summer of 1997 on the small
Ark21 label. Despite the recent successful comeback in Europe, and the promotional appearances Carlisle made on American
television and radio, the album did not enjoy similar success in
North America selling only 17,000 copies.
In 1996, Carlisle recorded "I Wouldn't Be Here (If I Didn't Love You)" for the
Two If by Sea
official movie soundtrack. In 1997, she recorded "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" from
Walt Disney's
Hercules
as part of that movie's standard distribution in Europe, and was released as a single exclusively in France and Germany. Neither of these tracks has been released on compilation albums.
A Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits
In 1999, Carlisle released a greatest hits album in the UK, a double-disc on the Virgin label, collectively entitled
A Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits
. Carlisle recorded three new tracks for the album's first disc, properly called
The Greatest Hits
, including the single "
All God's Children", and the songs "A Prayer for Everyone" and "Feels Like I've Known You Forever". The second disc of the album entitled
A Place on Earth
, contained previously released
remixes of some of her hits, plus a couple of
B-sides which were previously unreleased. Some of the remixes were by
William Orbit, who also worked with
Madonna on her 1998
Ray of Light
album.
A Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits
was certified Gold in the UK and went on to sell an excess of one million copies worldwide.
Go-Go's Reunion
In 2001, the Go-Go's reunited again and released an album of new material,
God Bless The Go-Go's
.
Green Day's lead singer
Billie Joe Armstrong co-wrote the only released single "
Unforgiven". The album was well-received by critics, though sales were low and it only peaked at number #57 in the
Billboard 200 chart.
Around the time of the Go-Go's definitive reunion tour she appeared nude for the cover feature of the August 2001 edition of
Playboy
.
Voilà
In 2007, the singer released her seventh album
Voilà
, which was her first full-length, solo studio album in more than ten years. The album was produced by
John Reynolds and included
Brian Eno on the
keyboard. Consisting of a mix of
French pop tunes and
chanson standards, including covers of
Françoise Hardy and
Édith Piaf classics.
Voilà
was released via
Rykodisc in the UK on February 5, and in the U.S. the following day, February 6, 2007. Carlisle was originally approached to make another
pop rock album, but she declined immediately, in favor of recording this collection of songs, the style of which, she'd "absolutely fallen in love with", since moving to France in the early 1990s. On New Year's Eve 2007 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in
Los Angeles she co-headlined an all-
French song
Parisian-themed
New Year's concert, with
Rufus Wainwright.
Recent performances
She performed live at Free at the Dee 2006, a free outdoor concert, in
Aberdeen, Scotland and on the opening night of
Manchester Gay Pride 2007. Carlisle performed a set with other 1980's acts at
Retrofest, on September 1, 2007, at
Culzean Castle, in
Ayrshire,
Scotland.
She recently toured as part of the Regeneration tour in the U.S., and the Here and Now tour in the UK and Ireland in 2008 and summer of 2009. The line up included Carlisle, as well as other acts such as
The Human League,
Bananarama,
Boy George,
Howard Jones,
Paul Young,
Naked Eyes,
ABC,
T'Pau, and
Cutting Crew.
She will play the role of Velma in
Hairspray in London's
West End from October 2009.
[3]
Television Appearances
Outside of appearances on tour with
The Go-Go's, Carlisle continued her string of
TV appearances.
In 2004 Carlisle was the first star to be voted off the UK Reality TV show
Hell's Kitchen.
[4]
In 2006, she appeared on the
Simon Cowell-produced
Celebrity Duets
, a
Fox network reality competition, pairing celebrities not famous for singing (like
Lucy Lawless and
Cheech Marin) with actual singers like Carlisle,
Michael Bolton,
Jon Secada,
Taylor Dayne and
Macy Gray. Carlisle sang "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" and "I Get Weak" with
Lea Thompson on the September 7 episode.
In 2008 she appeared as a judge on the
MTV reality show Rock the Cradle
, a competition reality show featuring aspiring musicians who were also the children of famous musicians.
In 2009 Carlisle was on the
8th season of
Dancing with the Stars
, paired with
Jonathan Roberts. She was the first star to be eliminated from the competition, on March 17.
[5]
Personal life
In 1986, Carlisle married
Morgan Mason, son of the
British actor James Mason, and former Special Assistant to the
President of the United States. Morgan made appearances in Carlisle's videos "
Mad About You," and "
Heaven Is a Place on Earth". They have a son, James Duke Mason (born April 27, 1992).
She has been reported as being "deeply into
Buddhist chanting", though precisely what form is unclear.
[6] In an interview, printed on March 7, 2007, the singer stated that: "I was wondering about happiness and started reading a lot of books by the
Dalai Lama, and slowly embraced Buddhism" (published by Newindpress,
India). On
Sydney Morning Herald
: "I don't smoke anymore, I don't drink anymore and I don't do drugs anymore. I am very much into my Buddhism. I found turning 40 a real passage in time for me".
Carlisle endorsed
Hillary Clinton for
President of the United States during the Democratic primaries, but then endorsed
Barack Obama during the general election.
In January 2009, it was announced that Carlisle was appointed the new spokesperson for
NutriSystem.
[7]
According to her official website, Carlisle is recording new material and working on her autobiography, both of which are due to be finished in 2010.
Discography
Studio albums
- Belinda
(1986)
- Heaven on Earth
(1987)
- Runaway Horses
(1989)
- Live Your Life Be Free
(1991)
- Real
(1993)
- A Woman and a Man
(1996)
- Voilà
(2007)
- Heaven on Earth
(2009 remastered and expanded)
Compilation albums
- The Best of Belinda, Volume 1
(1992)
- Her Greatest Hits
(1992)
- The Greatest
(1998)
- A Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits
(1999)
- The Collection
(2002)
- The Essential
(The Best of Belinda Volume 1 re-issue) (2003)
- Belinda Carlisle Collection
(re-issue) (2008)
- ''Belinda Carlisle - Heaven On Earth (CD & DVD Special Edition) (Digitally remastered) - released May 11, 2009.
Top Ten singles
Year
| Single
| Peak positions
|
AUS
| SWI
| UK [8]
| IRE
| GER
| SWE
| ITA
| CAN
| U.S.
|
1986
| "Mad About You"
| 9
| —
| 67
| 28
| —
| —
| 19
| 1
| 3
|
1987
| "Heaven Is a Place on Earth"
| 2
| 1
| 1
| 1
| 3
| 1
| 6
| 3
| 1
|
1988
| "I Get Weak"
| 34
| 24
| 10
| 5
| 38
| —
| 11
| 4
| 2
|
"Circle in the Sand"
| 75
| —
| 4
| 6
| 9
| —
| 23
| 5
| 7
|
1989
| "Leave a Light On"
| 5
| 8
| 4
| 4
| 15
| 8
| 4
| 6
| 11
|
"La Luna"
| 21
| 10
| 38
| —
| 16
| —
| 21
| —
| —
|
1990
| "Summer Rain"
| 6
| —
| 23
| 26
| 57
| —
| 25
| 22
| 30
|
"(We Want) The Same Thing"
| —
| —
| 6
| 22
| 53
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
1996
| "In Too Deep"
| 11
| —
| 6
| —
| —
| 59
| 29
| —
| —
|
"Always Breaking My Heart"
| 50
| —
| 8
| —
| —
| —
| 22
| —
| —
|
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of artists who reached number one on the Canadian Singles Chart in 1986
- List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
References
- http://www.askmen.com/celebs/women/singer_60/93_belinda_carlisle.html#bio
- http://musicremedy.com/b/Belinda_Carlisle/album/Voila-3613.html
- Photo Flash: Belinda Carlisle And Phill Jupitus Are West End 'HAIRSPRAY Bound!
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3763781.stm
- First Celebrity Cast Off NY Times, March 17, 2009
- From punk to Piaf, ''Telegraph.co.uk'' - retrieved on 05-14-07
- Belinda Carlisle Is The New Face For NutriSystem TV Campaign
- British Hit Singles & Albums