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Belinda Carlisle biography

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 all-female new wave band The Go-Go's, and also a solo artist.

Early life

Belinda 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). Belinda's father left home when Belinda was five years old. Her mother later remarried, but Belinda was not close to her step father. At school, Belinda became a cheerleader. At the age of 19, she left home with the confidence that one day she would be a star that she later became.

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 friend 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, Belinda 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.

Biography from , the free encyclopedia.
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