From the time Charlotte and Belinda first met, it was inevitable that they would be in some sort of a band together. Once she met Jane Wiedlin , the core of the Go-Go's was formed. In those early days, as the band learned to play their instruments and began writing songs, they shared rehearsal space with X and The Motels. While Belinda and Jane looked to punk for inspiration, Charlotte's influences were extremely varied, and also included Big Star, Cheap Trick, The Beatles, Patti Smith, Roxy Music, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, and Brahams. That rehearsal space must have been charmed, because all three bands became new wave legends!
Since her time as a Go-Go, Charlotte has kept very busy. In 1987, she formed The Graces with Meredith Brooks and Gia Ciambotti , who released one album, "Perfect View." She continued to work with Belinda Carlisle on each of her albums, whether as a songwriter, performer, or co-producer. In addition:
"I've worked with Susannah Hoffs for the past five years and wrote one song ("Falling") for her last record and have written several for her upcoming record. I love writing with Sue. I worked with Jewel on her debut record. I arranged some of the songs. She was a joy to work with. I co-wrote some songs with Courtney Love for her latest record. The one song that she did record was "Reasons to Be Beautiful." Courtney was a blast to work with. I can honestly say that I love collaborating because I always learn something from the person I am working with."
In addition to her songwriting and studio work with others, Charlotte plays occasional dates in the California area with Jane as Twisted & Jaded.
Belinda Carlisle
Along with Jane, Belinda was a Go-Go from the band's inception in the Spring of 1978. Early influences Deborah Harry, the Ramones , the Buzzcocks , and even the Beach Boys can all be heard throughout the Go-Go's various recordings and might explain why Belinda claims " Skidmarks On My Heart" to be her favorite songwriting contribution to the band and "Talk Show" to be her favorite Go-Go's album.
Once the Go- Go's original run ended, Belinda began an immensely successful solo career that went in a very different direction from the gritty punk-pop style of Dottie Danger (a name Belinda adopted during her early trashbag -wearing days along with fellow future Go-Go Jane Drano, aka Jane Wiedlin ). To date, Belinda has released six studio albums, not including several different best-of packages released in various countries. Though it might come as a surprise to some North Americans, Belinda still enjoys great success outside the US and is currently preparing to release a second volume Greatest Hits package.
Belinda currently lives in London and has lived in Europe for the past six years.
Regina Schock
In 1978, Gina began playing with John Waters legend Edith Massey's band Edie and the Eggs. After playing an LA gig with this band in 1979, Gina decided that LA was where she'd rather stay. "I was 21 and came to LA in a pick-up truck. 2 years later I was in a huge band. It's like the American dream."
When the Go-Go's split in 1985, Gina formed House of Schock with Vance DeGeneres . The band eventually signed with Capitol Records and released one album on the label. After recording material for a 2nd album, a "grand sweep" at Capitol resulted in House of Schock's management and, consequently, House of Schock , being dropped from the label.
Gina next approached Miles Copeland about forming an all-girl soupergroup . Though the planning stages included Wendy and Lisa, the actual fruits of this project ended up including just Gina and Debbie Peterson, formerly of the Bangles. The two worked together for a while but didn't get so far as finishing a record before going their separate ways in 1992.
Until the 1994 reunion tour, Gina spent time in both New York City and Los Angeles, writing music for MCA publishing. When that stint and the '94 tour were over, she then travelled extensively before settling back in Los Angeles. Since then, Gina has written extensively, including music for television commercials and television.
After spending one year drumming for The Delphines , with Kathy Valentine and Dominique Davalos , Gina formed her own band, K-Five. She has been recording demo material and shopping for a record deal while continuing to write television and film music.
Kathy Valentine
Kathy moved to Los Angeles "in search of fame, fortune, and the good life." When asked one day whether she could play bass, because a substitute for the Go- Gos ' original bass player was needed, Kathy, a lead guitar player who had never picked up a bass, lied and said she could.
"I was subbing for the bass player, whom I had never met, and they asked me to stay soon after. I was hoping I could stay. I liked the songs, and the band members got $40 a week. Added to my unemployment check, I thought things couldn't get much better!"
Since the breakup of the band in 1985, Kathy has stayed very busy. "I made solo demos in '87 with the band who was playing in the Eurythmics then. Clem Burke (of Blondie) was in the band, and I got a large budget from a big manager to do them. I didn't like the way they came out. It was a musical direction that did not feel true to me."
After that, Kathy played for a couple of years in a band called World's Cutest Killers, with Kelly Johnson of Girlschool , and though they recorded with Mike Chapman, "there was something not quite clicking."
In '92, Kathy went back to her bluesy roots and began playing in The Blue Bonnets, "the coolest band I have ever had. I knew it was special because I had as much fun as I did with the Go- Go's ." Along the way, Seal, Charlie Sexton, Brian Setzer , and even Dan Akroyd jammed with the band. Other Blue Bonnets highlights included playing at both Angelica Houston's and Kelly Lynch's weddings.
Over the next few years, the Blue Bonnets morphed into what is now the Delphines , which is centered around Kathy and Dominique Davalos , and has at various times included Clem Burke and Gina Schock on drums. "My last birthday was a dream come true. The Delphines played, and all my favorite guitar players sat in with us: Denny Freeman, Jimmie Vaughan, Craig Ross, and Doyle Bramhall ."
Jane Wiedlin Malone
Jane was dying to be in a band. Everyone else was in a band, and though she had no idea what she was doing, the young clothing design college student decided to take the plunge. Along the way, Billy Zoom of X taught her how to play bar chords. "It was a lot of fun knowing X. They were such a fantastic band, I still think they were the best band to come out of the L.A. scene."
Other early influences included The Buzzcocks . "They were punk yet pop, and that's what we wanted to be. Listening to the pre- "Beauty and the Beat" cuts on the "Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's " collection certainly illustrates this early direction.
Jane was the first Go-Go to go solo, and soon thereafter released an eponymous album for IRS. 8 years and two more albums later, EMI released a best-of collection that included hits such as "Blue Kiss," "Rush Hour," and "World on Fire," the latter of which had a terrific spicy video that prevented its being very widely seen.
Two years later Jane formed froSTed , a punk-pop band that released one album, "Cold," for Geffen Records. The band played together for three years before Jane decided once again to move on to something new. By the way, the capitalized "ST" in the band's name is a reference to one of Jane's guilty pleasures, "Star Trek." Since then, other than getting back together with The Go- Go's , Jane has played occasional California dates with Charlotte Caffey under the name Twisted & Jaded.
In addition to performing solo and in groups, Jane has kept busy with her songwriting. "My favorite thing I have been doing is writing songs for other people. I have had lots of my songs recorded the last two years. I am very happy that I have been able to make a career in music. I feel very very lucky." Jane's voice has also been heard recently coming out of the mouths of television cartoon characters. "You can hear me on 'Pinky and The Brain,' 'King of the Hill,' and other shows." Jane will be a regular on a new primetime series starting this fall called "The Downtowners ". Jane has also been known to show up in feature films, including roles as Joan of Arc in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" and the singing telegram girl in "Clue."
Of the former Go- Go's glory days Jane says "I wish we could have found a way to stay together and not break up when we did. It would be interesting to see where we would have progressed musically if we hadn't split. But the years since 1984 have been fun, rewarding, and exciting, so I'm not complaining! Just curious."