Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! – Belinda Carlisle
Which Canadian indie-pop band has a 2023 track that pays homage to you called ‘Belinda Says’?
“Is it Alvvays?”
CORRECT.
“Someone sent it to me and I was completely blown away and flattered, plus it’s a great pop song.”
Would you be up for performing it live with them?
“Totally! If they asked me, I would definitely do it.”
Your 1987 chart-topper ‘Heaven Is a Place on Earth’ is used prominently in an episode titled San Junipero of which Netflix dystopian drama?
“Black Mirror!”
CORRECT.
“Its appearance on Black Mirror gave that song a new life so a whole new generation of listeners discovered it. When San Junipero won the best episode category at the 2017 Emmys, the orchestra played ‘Heaven Is a Place on Earth’ which I thought was pretty cool. My favourite pop culture use of the song it is when it’s sung by June Osbourne in The Handmaid’s Tale – I found the scene heartbreaking.”
For a bonus half-point: which New York singer-songwriter’s 2011 debut single contains the lyric: ‘Heaven is a place on earth with you…’
“You’ve got me there! I’ve no idea.
WRONG. It’s Lana Del Rey in ‘Video Games’.
“Oh my God, I’m so stupid! She’s incredible. Rick Nowels, who produced my early albums, worked with her quite a bit. I love Lana Del Rey’s vibe, authenticity, and honesty as a performer.”
Who’s been the most unexpected fan of yours?
“George Harrison. After he died, his widower told me through a friend that he was a fan and loved my work which took me aback. He played guitar on two of the tracks [‘Leave a Light On’ and ‘Deep Deep Ocean’] on my ‘Runaway Horses’ album. I didn’t work with him in the studio because it was done remotely, but he was always my favourite Beatle. Late in the Beatles and his solo material, there’s a lot of parallels between his work and mine – I did an album of chanting [2017’s ‘Wilder Shores’] which is similar to his journey to India with the maharajas. Sammy Davis Jr was another one – he once told me I was a ‘vision of nowness.’”
Which rocker once claimed that the Go-Go’s could “snort the varnish off of a coffee table”?
“[Laughs] Rod Stewart!”
CORRECT.
“And that’s probably true! We met him when The Go-Go’s were performing at the very first Rock In Rio [in 1985] alongside him, Queen and the Scorpions. We waved to him on his hotel balcony and he said ‘Come on over’ and the rest is history. It turned into one of the craziest nights of my life. It was a big party for sure!”
Who’s been the best band to party with?
“Green Day were really fun. We toured with them in Japan and it was one big hot mess. I remember being out with them drinking and I got up on the bar and started dancing to ‘Immigrant Song’ [by Led Zeppelin] and the next night they learned the track and played it in their set.”
Talking of rock ‘n’ roll excess: there’s the famous story of the Go-Go’s taking photos of each member’s private parts, and then getting their crew to try and identify which Go-Go they belonged to..
“It was so politically incorrect and we loved it! [Laughs] We were recording the Go-Go’s [third] album ‘Talk Show’ [in 1984] outside of Reading and we were bored, so we went out to the woods, took our clothes off and took pictures of each other like wood nymphs, and I then I suggested we take pictures of our most intimate parts, and we slipped them under our tour manager’s door and said: ‘Guess who?’ [Raucous laughter] And he was completely mortified! We had a way of freaking tour managers out. He stayed with us for years, but many quit!”
You played drums for the punk band the Germs under the name Dottie Danger. Which of their live albums do you appear on?
“‘Pass the Dust, I Think I’m Bowie?’”
WRONG. It’s the 1977 live album ‘Germacide’, where you introduce the band.
“Oh, when I was the MC! After the Germs, I was in a punk band with the Germs’ frontman Darby Crash called Black Randy and the Metrosquad and sang on their album ‘Pass the Dust, I Think I’m Bowie?’. I was one of the Blackettes. We wore dashikis and beehive wigs. In the Germs, I have fond memories of being in the back alley of [Hollywood punk venue] The Masque with Darby and Pat [Smear, Germs and future Nirvana/Foo Fighters guitarist] just blazing away on acid! Those were the days!”
Which Specials track do the Go-Go’s sing backing vocals on their 1980 album ‘More Specials?’
“Oh noooo! I can’t remember! I’m so sorry!”
WRONG. It was a reprise of ‘Enjoy Yourself’. The Go-Go’s toured with Madness and the Specials on a notoriously rough jaunt around English seaside towns in 1980…
“It was horrifying but we also had a great time! The Specials were our friends and would come over to our house when we were living in London to hang out. The audience for the shows were scary with lots of skinheads and National Front members. There was a lot of violence. They didn’t like us because we were girls and Americans on top of that, so it was pretty tough! We were gobbed on every night. We had no money and would survive by eating the leftovers of whatever band we were touring with. But we managed to have a great time regardless. I wasn’t scared though. I have a chip missing because fear has never factored into my life at all. [Laughs] Thank God!”
Who hosted the infamous 1981 episode of Saturday Night Live that the Go-Go’s appeared on?
“Bernadette Peters.”
CORRECT. The actor and Broadway star.
“Yay! We were out of our minds on that show. We were sitting around all day bored, so we dipped into the booze and the drugs and by time we performed on live TV, we were a big mess. It was the talk of the country ‘cause we were so wasted! [Laughs] But we still sold records after that because people loved us for being ourselves. It was quite a moment in Go-Go’s history!”
On the subject of SNL: former original cast member John Belushi once gave you a lecture on the dangers of drugs…
“He would come to the studio when we were recording [their debut album] ‘Beauty and the Beat’. We were out with him in the Mudd Club and said: ‘Ooh, we want some blow!’, and we had to get it FedExed from LA. It wasn’t even that much – a tiny bit – and we offered him some. He always had a minder with him, because he had problems controlling himself with food and substances and when we offered it to him, he gave us a lecture: ‘You’re going to be rich and famous one day and people are going to offer you drugs and drugs are really bad….’. We just thought, as you do when you’re in your early twenties: ‘You have a problem. We don’t. We’ll be fine. It’s no big deal’. We didn’t take anything he said to us on board. And the rest is history! Within weeks after that, John Belushi showed up to our hotel at 1am when we were sleeping, asking to come up. He was on a total bender and wanted to hang out. We thought something was wrong, and it was the beginning of the end.”
When INXS opened up for the Go-Go’s in 1983, Michael Hutchence even warned you about substances…
“Back when that tour was happening, I knew I had serious issues. The one thing I’ve always been able to do, even at my lowest points, is I’ve had a little voice that I knew what was going on. Even as a little girl, I’ve always knew there was me and there was a higher me. But what he said to me, I didn’t take on-board either. I just carried on. Everybody was so disgusted with me. As anybody would say who is struggling, when you’re ready is when you make your change. Everybody can give you lectures, but until you’re ready, it doesn’t matter.”
Which two songs did you sing at The Beach Boys televised 25th Anniversary Concert from Waikiki in Hawaii in 1986?
“Was it ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ and ‘California Girls’?”
WRONG. ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ and ‘Band of Gold’
“Nooooo! Well, maybe it was wishful thinking singing ‘California Girls’ because I am one! But I remember that show, and I’ve worked with The Beach Boys through the years quite a few times. Brian [Wilson, Beach Boys] would come to the Go-Go’s and my shows, and I sang background vocals on a couple of his albums. One of the most emotional experiences of my career was working with Brian in the studio when he did background vocals on a song called ‘California’ from my [1993] ‘Real’ album. He’s deaf in one ear and carries around a cassette player and when he was singing his parts over the basic track, he didn’t sound that great. I asked the producer: ‘What the fuck are we going to do?!’ We decided to let him get in the recording booth and see what happens, and all of a sudden, all his parts came to life and it was like watching Mozart. Afterwards, I broke down because it was so exhilarating and exciting and for me. Being a part of my formative years and childhood, it was also emotional.”
In 2001, you performed on Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes, as Connie Francis singing ‘Lipstick on Your Collar’ Who beat you?
“Oh my God, I was off my trolly then! I don’t remember much of that because I was in bad shape on that show [due to cocaine and alcohol addiction]. Who beat me?”
WRONG. Boy George as David Bowie.
“Considering the shape I was in, I think I pulled it off pretty well! [Laughs] It came up on my social media feeds recently and I thought ‘Ewww, do I really want to see that?’ When I looked, I thought it wasn’t too bad!”
In his autobiography, which heavy metal frontman claimed he ruined a chance to ask you out on a date when you visited his band’s studio, because he’d lit up a joint beforehand and his marijuana-scented breath caused you to “turn on your heels”?
“Dave Mustaine! [Laughs]
CORRECT. The Megadeth singer says “I opened my mouth to say hello and this puff of marijuana smoke came out”, resulting in you doing “a 180 and zipped right out of there.”
“I remember it differently to be honest. But I’m flattered for sure! We were both recording albums in studios next to each other, and I heard he wanted to meet me so I went to say hi. As if I was going to be shocked by marijuana though! [Laughs] Like, hello?! But who knows the truth? it was such a long time ago. I do remember he was very nice though.”
In 2022, which LA band covered the Go-Go’s’ 1981 song ‘Tonite’?
CORRECT.
“They’re great. When they played Mexico City – which is where I live – I took them to Lucha libre wrestling and they were adorable. Lucha libre wrestling is one of my things. I’ve been so many times. It’s high-camp theatre and really fun.”
You’re back with the EP ‘Kismet’, your first pop material in 25 years. How did that come about?
“I was planning on semi-retiring and not recoding anymore, and then my son [James Duke Mason] met Diane Warren at a Starbucks who asked ‘What is your mom doing?’. They called me on FaceTime and she said she had some hits for me and invited me down to her studio. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to open that door because it’s a big commitment and I wasn’t in that mindset, but I went down anyway – it would be crazy to turn down Diane Warren! – and she played me the lead single ‘Big Big Love’ and another song off the EP called ‘If You Go’ and I completely freaked out and said I’d love to record them. What a gift! We recorded the songs in the last year between LA and Mexico City and it was a weird set of circumstances that led to it all; hence the name of the EP is ‘Kismet’ because it was magical and accidental.”
Has it tempted you to record more?
“I don’t know! I had a blast, but the way this happened was organic and obviously meant to be, so I don’t want to push it.”
The verdict: 6/10
“That’s pretty good for an aged drug-addled brain right? [Laughs]”
– Belinda Carlisle’s new single ‘Big Big Love’ is available now. Her ‘Kismet’ EP is released on May 12.
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Gary Ryan
NME
