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The Go-Go's
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Genre(s)	New Wave/Rock
Years active	1978-1984 1994-present
Label(s)	Sony BMG Music Entertainment IRS Records
Website	www.gogos.com
Members
Belinda Carlisle Jane Wiedlin Charlotte Caffey Kathy Valentine Gina Schock
Former members
Paula Jean Brown (replacement) Margot Olaverra Elissa Bello

For the 1960s band, see The Go-Go's (1960s).

The Go-Go's are an all-female American rock and roll group formed in 1978. They made rock history as the first all-woman band to top the Billboard charts with a number-one album as well as write their own songs and play their own instruments. Stylistically, their energetic music spanned surf, new wave, pop-punk, and rock.

The Go-Gos rose to fame in the early 1980s. Their unlikely breakthrough success ushered in an era of new music in the U.S. Their debut album, Beauty and the Beat, is considered one of the cornerstone albums of American Surf Rock. In the beginning, they played primarily pop punk, and later defined themselves with the distinct sound of 1980s rock. The Go-Go's had five U.S. Top 40 hits.

Contents 1 Members 1.1 Additional members 2 Background 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Singles 4 Videos 5 External links 6 References

• Charlotte Caffey, lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Belinda Carlisle, lead vocals
• Gina Schock, drums, percussion, backing vocals
• Kathy Valentine, bass guitar, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, backing vocals
• Jane Wiedlin, rhythm guitar, vocals & backing vocals

• Paula Jean Brown, bass guitar (early 1985 - replacement for Jane Wiedlin, who left after the Prime Time tour in 1984. Played only a few live shows and never recorded with the band. Later a member of Giant Sand.)

Formed in 1978, the group originally featured Belinda Carlisle (vocals), Jane Wiedlin (guitar, vocals), Charlotte Caffey (lead guitar, keyboards), Margot Olaverra (bass), and Elissa Bello (drums). They started out playing at seminal punk rock venues such as The Masque and the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles. In 1979, Gina Schock replaced Bello on drums. During that year, the band recorded a demo and supported the British ska revival group Madness in both Los Angeles and England. The Go-Go's spent half of 1980 touring England, earning a sizable following and releasing "We Got the Beat" on Stiff Records.

In December 1980, original bassist Margot Olaverra was replaced with Kathy Valentine, who had played guitar in bands such as Girlschool and the Textones. (Valentine had no prior experience playing bass and learned in four days.) The Go-Go's signed to I.R.S. Records in April 1981. Their debut album, Beauty and the Beat, was a surprise hit and topped the charts for six weeks. "Our Lips Are Sealed" and a new version of "We Got the Beat" were extremely popular singles in early 1982. The follow-up album, Vacation, sold well, but the group was forced to go on hiatus when Schock underwent surgery for a congenital heart defect. 1984 saw a return to critical acceptance with the harder-edged Martin Rushent produced album Talk Show, but sales were less successful than their prior albums. Personality conflicts and creative differences were also taking a toll, and Jane Wiedlin announced her departure from the group in October 1984. The band sought a replacement for Wiedlin, and finally selected Paula Jean Brown as their new bassist, with Valentine moving to lead guitar. They played the 1985 Rock in Rio festival with this new lineup, but Carlisle and Caffey soon realized their hearts were no longer in the group and decided to disband it in May 1985.

Belinda Carlisle became the most commercially successful solo artist of the band's alumnae, scoring a string of mainstream pop singles in the late '80s, including the number-one single "Heaven Is a Place on Earth". Jane Wiedlin released several solo albums including Fur, which featured a successful single, "Rush Hour". Wiedlin also took acting roles in movies such as Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Clue, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, as well as doing cartoon voiceovers and a 2005 appearance on the VH1 show Surreal Life. In 1995 Wiedlin formed a band called froSTed (the capital ST paid homage to Star Trek), which released an album, Cold, before disbanding in 1998. Charlotte Caffey worked with Carlisle and then in 1990 formed a band called The Graces for the album Perfect View. After the Graces disbanded, she briefly formed a group called Astrid's Mother. Caffey and Wiedlin also performed several acoustic sets in 1997 as Twisted and Jaded. In 2000, Wiedlin started her own label, Painful Discs, to release her solo CD Kissproof World. Gina Schock released a self-titled album in 1988 with her band House of Schock, and later formed the short-lived group K-Five. Kathy Valentine returned to her blues-rock roots with a band called the Blue Bonnets, which morphed into the Delphines. (Schock also joined the Delphines as drummer.) Valentine also released a debut solo CD, titled Light Years, in September 2005.

In 1990, the Go-Gos reunited to play a benefit concert for the California Environmental Protection Act, a 1990 ballot initiative. This led to more show dates later that year. The band toured again in 1994, when they released the 2-disc retrospective Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's. In 2001, they released an album of new material, God Bless the Go-Go's. The album was well-received by critics, though sales were low. They have since decided to continue performing together.^[1]

In 2006, the band toured to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Beauty and the Beat. The Go-Gos are currently working on a project with Disney called the Po-Gos, featuring talented teen musicians performing material written by various people including Schock, Wiedlen and Valentine. Charlotte Caffey and Kathy Valentine are also planning a reality show with Susanna Hoffs and Vicki Peterson of the Bangles, that will showcase female musicians and form a new all-female band.

• Beauty and the Beat (1981) #1 U.S.; RIAA: 2x Platinum
• Vacation (1982) #8 U.S.; RIAA: Gold
• Talk Show (1984) #18 U.S.
• Greatest (1990)
• Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's (1994)
• VH1 Behind the Music: Go-Go's Collection (2000)
• God Bless the Go-Go's (2001) #57 U.S.

Year	Song	U.S. Hot 100	U.S. MSR	U.S. Dance	UK singles	Album
1981	"Our Lips Are Sealed"	20	15	10	47	Beauty and the Beat
1982	"We Got the Beat"	2	7	35	-	Beauty and the Beat
1982	"Vacation"	8	13	17	-	Vacation
1982	"Get Up and Go"	50	46	-	-	Vacation
1982	"He's So Strange"	-	46	-	-	Vacation
1984	"Head Over Heels"	11	-	-	-	Talk Show
1984	"Turn to You"	32	-	-	-	Talk Show
1984	"Yes or No"	84	-	-	-	Talk Show
1991	"Cool Jerk"	-	-	-	60	Greatest
1994	"The Whole World Lost Its Head"	108	-	-	29	Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's
2001	"Unforgiven"		-	-		God Bless the Go·Go's

• Totally Go-Go's - live 12/1981 (1982)
• Wild at the Greek - live concert (1984)
• Prime Time - music video compilation (1985)
• Live at Central Park - live concert (2001)

• The Go-Go's official website
• The Go-Go's official myspace page
• PLANET GO-GO'S