Belinda Carlisle

The eldest of seven children, Belinda Carlisle was a cheerleader who changed her name to Dottie Danger as she became drummer with punk band The Germs. She went on to sing backing vocals with Black Randy & the Metrosquad before forming the Go-Go's with Jane Wiedlin, Margot Oliverria and Elissa Bello (the latter two replaced by Charlotte Caffey, Kathy Valentine and Gina Schock). They went on to become one of the most successful all-girl groups of all time and when they split in 1985, Carlisle launched her solo career. Her early hits included joyous summery records Mad About You, I Feel The Magic and Band Of Gold, while she also wrote material for the movies Mannequin and Burglar. It was 1987's album Heaven On Earth, however, which provided Carlisle her biggest hit, the irresistibly infectious Heaven Is A Place On Earth, a Number 1 in the US and UK. Various other hits followed, including Circle In The Sand, I Get Weak, Leave and Summer Rain. The hits faded as she fought drink and drug addiction - and there were various Go-Go's reunions - but she came out of it to write her autobiography and release albums such as Real (1993), A Woman And A Man (1996) and Voila (2007).

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.