'80s Rockers The Go-Go's Open Up About Their Wild Past, Getting Sober and New Musical
The Go-Go’s have a lot to celebrate these days — a Broadway musical, Head Over Heels, featuring their classic hits, a new generation of fans, and 40 years of success, hardships, and lessons learned.
“We’re not normal women to want to do what we do, but it’s in our blood,” lead singer Belinda Carlisle, 59, tells PEOPLE exclusively of her fellow bandmates in this week’s issue. “Our bond is so strong. We’ve withstood a lot of things over the years.”
Throughout the ’80s, Carlisle, guitarists Charlotte Caffey, 64, and Jane Wiedlin, 60, bassist Kathy Valentine, 59, and drummer Gina Schock, 60 (who suffered an injury prior to this interview and could not attend), broke barriers as the first mainstream all-female punk-rock band to write their own songs and play their own instruments.
And while success came practically overnight after their debut album Beauty and the Beat went double platinum in 1981, coping with sudden fame didn’t come as easily.
“We only had one tool in our box, and that was drugs and alcohol because there was just so much going on,” Wiedlin tells PEOPLE. “It was so stressful. You were exhausted, so you’d have to pep yourself up and then you’d have to bring yourself down.”
Adds Valentine, “We had the jobs where you didn’t really have to grow up, so we could stay in this extended state of adolescence.”
Completely engulfed in the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, the “We’ve Got the Beat” hitmakers eventually hit a wall after non-stop partying, gigs, tours, and press commitments. Ultimately, they decided to part ways in 1985.
“I felt I had just become consumed with being a Go-Go, and it took me years to find my identity,” Valentine admits. “It was a real gift because when we did start coming back and playing together, I was able to do it with so much more balance.”
“I felt really lost during that time,” Wiedlin adds. “Now when I look back, I think, ‘Thank God all that happened, because I don’t think I would’ve ever grown up.'”
Says Caffey, “I got sober. I put myself before all of it. I needed my sanity more than I needed anything else. I was fighting for myself every day, and I’m very happy I did.”
During their hiatus, Carlisle found success on her own with hit songs like 1987’s “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” — but regardless, it seemed as if a reunion was inevitable.
“We have full lives and families, but there’s only four other people who know what it’s like,” says Valentine. “It’s a bond that never goes away.”
Now, with a Go-Go’s-inspired musical coming to Broadway — co-produced by Gwyneth Paltrow — the band is reflecting on the last 40 years.
Watch the full episode of PeopleTV Special: Then & Now: The Go-Go’s on PeopleTV.comor download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device
“It’s a little strange that people are so interested in our band, because we’ve been together for 40 years, and a lot of bands — our peers — a lot of them are missing in action, or dead,” says Valentine. “So we feel really lucky that we’ve become relevant again in 2018. It’s pretty exciting and it’s all because of this musical.”
For more about the Go-Go’s wild times and rockin’ music, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
And while they don’t regret a thing when it comes to their career, the band admit they’d give their younger selves some advice when first starting out.
“Don’t do drugs,” says Carlisle.
“And care about each other,” Valentine adds.
“Plus, enjoy the moment,” says Caffey.
