Belinda Carlisle

Born in Los Angeles and trained in the Southern California musical ferment of the late 1970s, Belinda Carlisle first passed through the local punk scene before co-founding The Go-Go’s in 1978. With this all-female group, she contributed to the rise of American new wave by blending punk energy, edgy pop and melodies inherited from the West Coast. After the group’s breakup in the mid-1980s, Belinda Carlisle began a solo career oriented toward a smoother, more radio-friendly pop rock, driven by direct songwriting and highly crafted choruses. Her albums Belinda (1986), Heaven on Earth (1987), Runaway Horses (1989), Live Your Life Be Free (1991), Real (1993) and A Woman & a Man (1996) punctuate this period, with regular collaborations with Rick Nowels, Charlotte Caffey, Diane Warren and even Per Gessle. Over the years, Belinda Carlisle alternates between solo projects and occasional returns with The Go-Go’s, while evolving her repertoire toward other formats, such as French chanson on Voila (2007), the spiritual songs of Wilder Shores (2017), then a reprise of English-language pop with the EP Kismet (2023). Her career thus links the California punk of her beginnings, the 1980s new wave pop, and a more mature songwriting developed on stage as well as in the studio.