Revisiting: Beauty and the Beat - Go-Go's (1981)

 

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Beauty and the Beat - Go-Go's
I.R.S. Records

 Produced by Richard Gottehrer and Rob Freeman
Released July 1981
US Chart #1
(6 consecutive weeks on the top spot)

Side 1

Side 2

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

Click on the links below to listen/watch more from the Go-Go's

Singles on Beauty and The Beat

A-Side: We Got The Beat*

B-Side: How Much More

Stiff Records

Released 27th May 1980

Did Not Chart

* Different to the version that appeared on the album

A-Side: Our Lips Are Sealed

B-Side: Surfing and Spying

I.R.S. Records

Released 12th June 1981 (US)

14th August 1981 (UK)

US Chart #20

UK Chart #47

The Fun Boy Three would have a Top Ten Hit with the Our Lips Are Sealed in 1983 (#7).

A-Side: We Got The Beat

B-Side: Can't Stop The World**

I.R.S. Records

Released 16th January 1982

US Chart #2

 It spent three weeks at #2 behind Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll'.

13th November 1981 (UK)

Did Not Chart

**UK B-Side was Skidmarks On My Heart 

 A-Side: Automatic

B-Side: Tonite

I.R.S. Records
UK Single
Released February 1982
Did Not Chart

Also released as a 7" Picture Disc

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A1     Skidmarks On My Heart    
A2     How Much More    
A3     Tonite    
A4     Fading Fast    
A5     London Boys    
A6     Cool Jerk    
A7     Automatic    
A8     Lust To Love    
A9     Can't Stop The World    
B1     This Town    
B2     Vacation    
B3     You Can't Walk In Your Sleep    
B4     Our Lips Are Sealed    
B5     Let's Have A Party    
B6     We Got The Beat    
B7     Surfin' And Spyin'    
B8     Beatnik Beach    
B9     The Way You Dance    
B10     Remember

 (Go-Go's 1979 - Photo by Louis Jacinto)

The Go-Go's Debut Album Beauty and The Beat was a huge step away from what the band were back in 1978 when they first began playing shows as part of the Los Angeles Punk scene (check out We're Here Now from a show at The Whisky, LA in April 1978)! The band consisted of Belinda Carlisle (vocals), Jane Wiedlin (guitar, vocals), Margot Olavarria (bass) and Elissa Bello (drums), and Charlotte Caffey (guitar, keyboards) was added to the band in late 1978.

Gradually they made the move away from Punk to a more New Wave/Power Pop sound and between 1979- 1980  Bello and Olavarria were replaced with Gina Schock (drums) and Kathy Valentine (bass). 

In 1979 they recorded a five-track demo that somehow fell into the hands of Stiff Records and in 1980 they released We Got The Beat as a single (BUY 78) and the band found themselves on tour supporting Madness. The band appeared on the Old Grey Whistle Test (the video is no longer available on You Tube due to Copyright issues) and also in the film Urgh! A Music War peforming We Got The Beat.

They signed to I.R.S. Records in April 1981 and three months later their Debut Album appeared and was a surprise hit as it steadily climbed the Billboard 200 Chart reaching the #1 spot which it held for six consecutive weeks.

Our Lips Are Sealed broke in the Top 20 in the US and the follow-up single, a re-recorded version of We Got The Beat was held off the #1 spot by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and stayed at #2 for three weeks.

I still love this album. It's fine bouncy pop music that always reminds me of hot summer days for some reason (so it's a nice soundtrack at the moment with such nice weather).

Note from S4L: Due to a recent change of account at Photobucket a lot of pictures from previous articles on the blog have been sadly lost. I cannot for the life of me understand why my previous account just seemed to have vanished a couple of months ago. As a result I am trying to update pictures and links etc on many older posts in order that enjoyment of those posts is not lost. Other posts I have decided to redo altogether as it seemed a lot easier to do. So if you see a post that like today's one with the title "Revisiting" then more often than not it will be for the above reasons.
Thanks for your continued patience in this matter and thank you for taking time to visit this blog. - Doug (8th July 2017)

The Soundtrack4Life Concert Series: Go-Go's

Why not indluge in a double bill from New Wave Popsters the Go-Go's. Two shows twenty years apart featuring the classic line-up of the band that appeared on the debut album Beauty and the Beat.

First up Totally Go-Go's that was released on video way back in 1981 (does contain some interview segments). Followed by a performance at Central Park, New York in 2001.

Totally Go-Go's

1981

Live in Central Park

2001

The Go-Go's will be heading out for an 18 Date Farewell Tour. The band features four of the Classic Go-Go's Line Up: Jane Wiedlin, Gina Schock, Belinda Carlisle and Charlotte Caffey.

Kathy Valentine is absent from the Go-Go's for the Farewell Tour after departing the band in 2013 (having played her final show in 2012) and launching a lawsuit against her former group (which was settled out of court in 2014).

Dates for the  Go-Go's Farwell Tour Starting in August 2016 Can Be Found

HERE.

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 206 - Go-Go's

Beauty and the Beat, the debut album from the Go-Go's spent 6 weeks at the #1 spot in the USA in 1982 and sold in excess of two million copies. For a band who had begun life as part of the L.A. Punk Scene this was quite remarkable. Between their formation in 1978 and the release of the album they had drifted away from their early punk leanings to a more New Wave sound, the Poppier end of New Wave.

I have some bootlegs of theirs from the early days and it's interesting to see how they developed. You can have a listen to a few of the early songs on this great Compilation Go-Go's: Best In (Live) Show 1978-2006 - Click Here. They were playing many of the seminal Punk Venues at the time like the Whisky A Go Go and The Masque.

Belinda Carlise and Jane Wiedlen are the two remaining founder members of the original line-up in 1978, with Charlotte Caffey joining later that year on Keyboards and Lead Guitar. Gina Schock would join in 1979 on Drums and Kathy Valentine in 1980 on Bass (an instrument that she had not played before!) and thus came the classic line up of the band.

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

They got a break supporting Madness in Los Angeles and then again on various dates in England. Their demo for We Got The Beat was issued as a single on their touring partner's label Stiff Records.

In April 1981 they signed with I.R.S. Records and they exploded with Our Lips Are Sealed becoming a Top 20 hit followed in January 1982 by a re-recorded version of We Got The Beat that eventually peaked at #2 for three solid weeks. It was kept off the top of the charts by a certain young lady called Joan Jett and her Blackhearts with I Love Rock and Roll.

Now, I have to say this, because it gets mentioned a lot in various bios etc that I have read of the Go-Go's, they are often hailed because they were one of the first All-Female bands to have a major hit album, who not only wrote their own material but played all the instruments on their recordings. I feel this does a great diservice to many of the other All-Female bands who were out and about around the same time as if they do not matter as much because they didn't have hit records! Off the top of my head I can think of a few All-Female bands who were just as classy: The Slits, Girlschool, The Bangles (who formed in 1981) and The Raincoats (and not forgetting the likes of The Runaways who were still around when the Go-Go's formed and are to be considered as trailblazers for All-Female Rock and Roll bands).

Beauty and the Beat - Go-Go's

I.R.S.

Produced by Richard Gottehrer and Rob Freeman

Released July 1981

US Chart #1

Singles from Beauty and the Beat

    "We Got the Beat" / "How Much More"

Stiff Records
    Released: May 1980

Our Lips Are Sealed/We Got The Beat

American Bandstand 1982

    "Our Lips Are Sealed" / "Surfing and Spying"
    Released: July 1981

US Chart #20

UK Chart #47

 "We Got the Beat" / "Can't Stop the World" (US Release) / "Skidmarks On My Heart" (UK Release)
    Released: January 1982

US Chart #2

    "Automatic" / "Tonite"
    Released: February 1982

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

Rewind: July 1981 - The Go-Go's Release Their Debut Album

Beauty and the Beast - The Go-Go's

IRS

Released July 1981*

US Chart #1 

(6 consecutive weeks on the top spot)

 

*(I actually have two dates for this. On Wikipedia it says the album was released on 8th July 1981, but on DrRockBlog it says the album was released on 24th July 1981. Now it might be that the 24th July was the date of the British release but I'm still trying to determine that)

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

 

The Go-Go's rose to fame during the early 1980s. Their debut album, Beauty and the Beat, is considered one of the "cornerstone albums of (US) new wave" (Allmusic), breaking barriers and paving the way for a host of other new American acts. When the album was released, it steadily climbed the Billboard 200 chart, ultimately reaching No. 1, where it remained for six consecutive weeks. The album sold in excess of 3 million copies and reached triple platinum status, making it one of the most successful debut albums ever. The Go-Go's have sold more than 7 million albums.

Singles from the Album

We Got the Beat was originally released by Stiff Records in 1980

We Got the Beat / How Much More.

We Got The Beat (Old Grey Whistle Test). 

In the USA their first single was actually a co-write between Jane Wiedlin and Terry Hall of the Fun Boy Three (who released a version of it in April 1983 and reached #7 in the UK Singles Chart).

Our Lips Are Sealed / Surfing and Spying. 

US Chart #20

UK Chart #47

And that was followed up in 1982 with a release on IRS of their debut 'We Got the Beat'.

We Got the Beat / Can't Stop the World (US release) / Skidmarks on my Heart (UK release)

US Chart #2*

*It spent three weeks at #2 behind Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll'.

Alphabet Beats #044: G is for...The Go-Go's

G is for...

The Go-Go's rose to fame during the early 1980s. Their debut album, Beauty and the Beat, is considered one of the "cornerstone albums of (US) new wave" (Allmusic), breaking barriers and paving the way for a host of other new American acts. When the album was released, it steadily climbed the Billboard 200 chart, ultimately reaching No. 1, where it remained for six consecutive weeks. The album sold in excess of 3 million copies and reached triple platinum status, making it one of the most successful debut albums ever. The Go-Go's have sold more than 7 million albums.

The Albums

*Link contains a song from the album as no link for full album is available

  Beauty and the Beat (1981)
    Vacation (1982)*
    Talk Show (1984)*

Return to the Lost Valley of The Go-Go's (1994)
    God Bless The Go-Go's (2001)

The original debut single

'We Got The Beat'

Stiff Records 1980

Although they began life as a Punk Rock band in 1978 they quickly developed into a pure pop band. They got their first recording break in the UK with Stiff Records (they had toured with Madness) releasing 'We Got The Beat' that would, almost a year later, be a major US Smash Hit after they had signed to I.R.S. It spent three weeks at #2 behind Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll'.

The Singles (Promos and TV Spots)

Our Lips Are Sealed.

We Got The Beat.

Automatic.

Head Over Heels.

Turn to You.

Yes Or No.

Cool Jerk.

The Whole World Lost Its Head.

Good Girl.

Unforgiven.

Bonus

Summerfest, Milwaukee

3rd July 2013

 

Live at The Emerald City, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 1981 (FM Broadcast).

Gems From My Collection - The Go-Go's

Formed in 1978 The Go-Go's began life playing their part in the LA Punk Community. By 1980 they were touring the UK and had a minor hit with 'We Got the Beat' on Stiff Records.

We Got the Beat (Stiff Version)


1981 they released their debut 'Beauty and the Beast' that contained two singles (Our Lips Are Sealed, We Got The Beat).
Our Lips are Sealed


We Got The Beat (Old Grey Whistle Test)


'Beauty and the Beast' was a #1 album in the US and it's hard to believe it never charted in the UK. The follow-up 'Vacation' reached #75 in the UK and only #8 in the US. The 1984 'Talk Show' album saw their sales slipping even more.

Head Over Heels


Since the 90's the band have got together to do various reunion shows. Their last single in 2001 was actually co-written with Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong!

Unforgiven


The Go-Go's will be out and about this year playing live to celebrate 30 years since the release of 'Beauty and the Beast'.