Reunited Go-Go's fall into old groove - without the turmoil
By Neil Baron

In retrospect, it's amazing the Go-Go's likely will be remembered as one of the most influential all-female bands in music history. Because when lead vocalist Belinda Carlisle and guitarist Jane Wiedlin started the band in 1978, they had only one thing going for them - enthusiasm.
As for talent, well, one rock critic said the "Go-Go's are to music what botulism is to tuna." Ouch.
Yet, the Go-Go's persevered and found an antidote in drummer Gina Schock, bassist Kathy Valentine and keyboardist-guitarist Charlotte Caffey. The women wrote their own music, played their own instruments and by 1982, they were international stars who opened the music industry's doors for numerous other all-female bands such as the Bangles and Bananarama.
Their impact was so huge that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland is putting together a special exhibit about the Go-Go's. So much for that critic's assessment of the band.
However, the Go-Go's ride to fame and glory wasn't nearly as fun as their smiling faces would have fans believe. A recent VH1 "Behind the Music" documentary on the Go-Go's revealed the women struggled with drug abuse and internal turmoil, all the while pretending that they were just one happy family.
The Go-Go's went from complete anonymity to international stars within one year. A few years later, the Go-Go's had disbanded after releasing only three albums.
After breaking up in 1985, all five members attempted solo careers with only Carlisle receiving some international attention and a No. 1 hit, "Heaven on Earth." Wiedlin, who along with Caffey, co-wrote almost all of the Go-Go's songs, had one top 10 song on her own, "Rush Hour," and had a loyal, but small following in her 1990s band, Frosted.
But mainstream success eluded her. And she admits the international stardom she once had feels as if it happened to somebody else.
"It seems to me like remembering a movie I saw," Wiedlin said by phone from her home in California's San Fernando Valley. "I even feel more that way about the success of the Go-Go's because it happened so quickly and we were so busy that we weren't really mentally present at the time. Looking back at the Go-Go's' success is totally like remembering a movie. It's really weird."
So, too, was the reaction of Wiedlin's mother after viewing the one-hour VH1 documentary.
"She called and she's like, 'Oh, it was nice. I hope everyone's feeling better now,'" Wiedlin said. "I'm like, 'What do you mean?' She's like, 'Well, you're not still a slut, are you?'"
Wiedlin laughed. During the VH1 interview, Wiedlin spoke mostly about her sexual experiences in the 1980s because, she said, she knew the other women would be talking more about drugs.
"So I guess I did come off kind of slutty," Wiedlin said. "So I'm like, 'No mom. I'm not a slut anymore. Don't worry.' "
Along with the VH1 show, a new album, "VH1: Behind the Music Presents the Go-Go's" has been released. The CD features most of the band's top hits, including "We Got the Beat," "Our Lips are Sealed," "Lust to Love," "This Town," "Vacation," "Get Up and Go," "Beatnik Beach," "Head Over Heels," "Turn to You" and "Yes or No."
Free of their addictions and armed with the maturity that often comes with time, the five original Go-Go's got back together in 1999 and began to tour. Soon after, VH1 approached the band about doing a documentary, which the group hopes will help introduce the band to a new generation of fans. This summer, the Go-Go's are co-headlining a national tour with the B-52's.
"I'm really flattered that we can even be headliners with the B-52's because they've had a million hits," Wiedlin said. "I just love them. I'm so happy to be playing with them, I can't even tell you. They rule."
When the tour ends, the Go-Go's will return to the studio for the first time in 16 years and record an album of all-original music. A book deal and possible movie deal also is in the works.
Despite all the troubles the band had coping with success the first time around, Wiedlin isn't worried about falling back into old habits.
"I think the chemistry is similar, but people are trying a lot harder to be thoughtful of each other," Wiedlin said. "We really try to appreciate each other, to take each other's comments into consideration and really work together as a team. So that's changed because before, we really got scattered, especially toward the end."
The Go-Go's new album, scheduled for a spring 2001 release, will have a similar sound to the band's first three albums. They can only hope it attains similar success.
"I think the same elements are there, because it's the same five people and we have the same tastes as ever," Wiedlin said. "So it'll still definitely sound like the Go-Go's. We were at rehearsal yesterday playing the new songs and we were just talking about how weird it is how they fit in with the old material. It's not like we're trying to sound like we used to, but we're also not trying to consciously change either. We're just trying to be ourselves."

Neil Baron is a Sparks free-lance writer.