Why Belinda Carlisle feels lucky to be alive
AFTER a battle with drug and alcohol addiction, and watching close friends die, singer Belinda Carlisle tells Stellar why she’s grateful to be alive.
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SINGER and author Belinda Carlisle tells Stellar why she’s determined to be a role model in her 60s, as well as bust a few rock ‘n’ roll stereotypes.
You celebrated your 60th birthday in August. Did it feel like a milestone?
I thought it was going to be hideous, but actually it’s freeing. I can pretty much do what I want and say what I think, and I don’t really care if people like it or not.
It’s liberating. I just want to be the coolest 60-year-old I know.
There’s plenty of female role models in their 60s who are absolutely amazing; I hope to be one of those women.
You are exactly one day younger than Madonna.
Yeah, both final-week Leos, which are definitely particular. There are a few singers born in that year: Prince, Michael Jackson.
I have so many friends who have died from drugs or AIDS or illness and a lot of those people would have loved to have celebrated their 60th birthday, so it’d be selfish to complain.
The music of your band the Go-Go’s, and some of your solo hits, feature in a new Broadway show Head Over Heels. What’s it like?
It’s smart and funny. I’m really proud of it. It’s been eight years in the making. Gwyneth Paltrow is one of the producers. She’s been a Go-Go’s fan for years; having a name like that on your side gets attention.
Since the show opened there have been a lot of articles about how the Go-Go’s were underappreciated. I can understand why.
They’re very poppy, uplifting songs, but there was always a dichotomy between the lyrics and the melody.
‘Head Over Heels’, the song, is about the darker side of fame. It’s nice the band is getting the attention they deserve.
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You’ve said you didn’t want to be singing stuff like ‘We Got The Beat’ at 60, yet you performed it a few months ago at the Hollywood Bowl.
I said I didn’t want to sing it at 50, either! Unfortunately pop is ageist. Being a woman in pop is a double whammy.
I think everyone agreed it was the right time to stop touring and just do special shows. There’s a Go-Go’s documentary being made right now. We figured it was probably a good thing to do for [our] legacy; a lot of people don’t know we came from a punk rock background.
We had no idea how to play our instruments. We’ve been together longer than any of us have been married or with partners.
The dynamics are really complicated because of being together so long. But that’s the thing that makes rock bands great: that chemistry and energy.
You rerecorded your 1987 solo smash ‘Heaven Is A Place On Earth’ as a ballad on your last album. After your well-documented battles with alcohol and drugs, there’s still hardly any damage to your voice.
Not many people get to have the kind of life I’ve had and keep it. I recognise now it’s not the best voice, but it’s very distinctive. It’s a gift from God.
Even I don’t understand how I could go through so many years of smoking and drinking and doing drugs and still sing.
Now I don’t do any of those things anymore, I have occasional problems with it, and I never used to back in the day when I was partying. My voice doctor says that’s typical for singers who get sober.
And you were very honest about those battles in your 2010 memoir Lips Unsealed. Do you get tired of being asked about it, or has it helped other people?
It’s all out there if anyone wants to research it. The purpose of my book was to be inspirational. There was some dirty laundry, but it has helped some people realise they need some sobriety in their life.
I know it’s been read in rehabs. That was the point: to show people you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Belinda Carlisle’s 2019 Australian tour starts February 19; abstractentertainment.net.
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Originally published as Why Belinda Carlisle feels lucky to be alive
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