Belinda Carlisle

[Deleted member 312]

I was listening to her the other day and couldn't find a thread. Thought it was about time someone started one!

Every album after Heaven on Earth was really solid, especially Runaway Horses and Live Your Life Be Free, which rank amongst my favourite albums ever. I also really love Real, which seems to be fairly underrated.

Looking back on her (UK) chart track record, it seems odd that some of her strongest singles pretty much flopped, such as:

La Luna (#38)
Runaway Horses (#40)
Summer Rain (#23)
Vision Of You (#41)
Do You Feel Like I Feel (#29)
Little Black Book (#28)
Lay Down Your Arms (#27)
California (#31)

There's some really great songs in there! I also think the wonderful Big Scary Animal deserved a much better placing than #12...

Add some amazing album tracks (Valentine, You're Nothing Without Me, I Plead Insanity, Loneliness Game, Goodbye Day, Wrap My Arms, Tell Me, Love Doesn't Live Here, Kneel At Your Feet, He Goes On) and I'm amazed that she wasn't good deal more successful!

Are there any other fans...?

 

[zephyr]

I love me some Belinda! I used to get all her stuff when it came out and I know what you mean by the chart positions for some her stuff.... criminal! And criminal that she only had one number one. Didn't her albums do much better than the singles overall though?

I read somewhere that she's in the studio again to realease music next year. I just hope it's nothing dirgey like Voila again.

 

[unnameable]

I loved Belinda, and also loved a lot of the Go-gos stuff (well, "Vacation" is an immaculate pop album, "Beauty and the Beat" has its moments, the reunion albums are OK).

I read on Thomas Dolby's blog that he played on "Heaven is a place on earth" and worked on Belinda's first album because he was trying to get into her pants, but she found his charms all too resistable.

My favourite songs are probably still "Fool for love" from Heaven on Earth and "Vision of you" and "Valentine" from Runaway Horses.

Things I need to do to feel fulfilment as a Belinda fan - track down the Mannequin soundtrack for the song she did, and see her in Hairspray in London.

 

[Eric Generic]

Oh, I was into Belinda Carlisle bigtime in the late 80s and early 90s. The trilogy of Heaven On Earth/Runaway Horses/Live Your Life was just terrific. The latter album was particularly fantastic, and really got overlooked at the time for its poptasticness. The failure of its singles didn't help.

After that, I wasn't so enamoured with the other 90s efforts.

The Go-Gos were fab too.

EG.

 

[aussie]

Four great songs
-Summer Rain
-Heaven is a place on earth
-Leave a light on
-In too deep
Not much else sadly.

 

[sometimesxtc]

big go-gos fan... talk show is one of my favourites. in fact, all three still get a regular listen.

belinda just has a way of making her listeners feel... well, great i suppose. it's undeniable. like some of you say, her output between 87 and 90 was rock solid.

 

[zephyr]

Things I need to do to feel fulfilment as a Belinda fan - track down the Mannequin soundtrack for the song she did, and see her in Hairspray in London.

I didn't think that there was a soundtrack released for Mannequin which is why it is so rare, or should I say non existent other than what you hear in the opening credits. There have been MP3 floating around the internet of what was taken from the film, but like the film's intro, it has all the sound effects on it. I would love it too and properly!

 

[pdf]

Four great songs
-Summer Rain
-Heaven is a place on earth
-Leave a light on
-In too deep
Not much else sadly.

Not true!

California, Big Scary Animal, Do You Feel Like I Feel, Love In The Key Of C, any number of go-gos songs.. the list goes on.

I think she's severely under-rated.

 

[zephyr]

I could continue that with:

I Get Weak
Circle In The Sand
I Feel Free
Runaway Horses
(We Want) The Same Thing
Live Your Life Be Free

All AMAZING!

 

[zephyr]

For those that are interesetd, just found this interview by Belinda:

Hi, Belinda, and welcome to BWW:UK. How are you enjoying Hairspray?

I'm having a great time. It's a lot of fun - it's challenging, exciting, with fantastic energy.

You're known as a pop singer - was musical theatre something you always wanted to do?

I was always interested in it and thought it was something I could do. I saw Hairspray in New York, loved it, and auditioned for Velma there. I got the part, but the economic situation being what it was, the show closed so it didn't work out. Then I realised it would make much more sense for me to do the show in the West End, because I live in France, and I was offered that instead!

That explains why there have been so many rumours for the past few cast changes that you'd be taking the part...

Yeah, I don't know how people find out this stuff!

How are you finding it working with the other cast members?

It's such a nice, supportive atmosphere. It's great for someone like me - and I'm sure Phill [Phill Jupitus, the new Edna Turnblad] would say the same - to do something entirely new in a safe environment!

And Velma isn't a very nice character - are you having fun with it?

She's such fun to play. She's not boring, she's camp, she's awful, she's funny, she's desperate, she's seen better days. She's just hysterical.

You did Dancing With The Stars - did that help at all with learning the routines to the musical numbers?

No, it didn't. That was a terrible experience, actually. I liked the rehearsals, I liked dancing, but it was incredibly stressful. I have a new-found respect for any celebrity who does well on those shows - I just didn't do well under pressure. It was great learning the dances, and I had a wonderful partner [Jonathan Roberts], but I hated being judged in front of 37 million people. I learned a lot. I'm still a fan of it, though, it's an amazing show!

Do you have plans for when you finish Hairspray?

I'm in India quite a bit, I'm there for six weeks, then I've got dates in Australia and Japan, and then my memoirs are coming out in May. I've been working on those for three years so that's a big thing for me.

And do you plan to do more musical theatre at some stage?

I'd love to do some other stuff! I love the lifestyle. I was worried I wouldn't because I'm a real early bird, but I'm getting into the rhythm of eating dinner at 11pm and being out till 1am! It's fun - it's totally foreign - but it's exciting and new.



Source: http://westend.broadwayworld.com/ar..._And_HAIRSPRAYs_New_Velma_Von_Tussle_20091110

 

[The Visitor]

Everyone should check out Valentine on the Runaway Horses album. How on earth this was passed over for a single is amazing. Still te whole album is good.

 

[vasilios]

Everyone should check out Valentine on the Runaway Horses album. How on earth this was passed over for a single is amazing. Still te whole album is good.

Cause they only released 3 singles?
Come on!

 

[Eric Generic]

Ha, 3 singles....hopefully you're being ironic there!

I think only Valentine and the hole in the middle of the CD weren't on a single.

EG.

 

[The Visitor]

Yes. The non released songs (inthe UK) were Deep Deep Ocean, Valentine, Whatever It Takes and Shades Of Michaelangelo. Of the 6 that did come out only Vision Of You missed the top 40 completely, although the only top 10's were Leave A Light On and my least favourite song on there, We Want The Same Thing.

 

[sometimesxtc]

Valentine is incredible! Shades of Michaelangelo is also a fine way to close out the record. In fact, La Luna aside, I think they are my three favourites.

 

[Eric Generic]

Yes. The non released songs (inthe UK) were Deep Deep Ocean, Valentine, Whatever It Takes and Shades Of Michaelangelo.

And at least 2 of those were stuck on B-sides! Good old Virgin....

EG.

 

[The Visitor]

I never understood why they put La Luna out in December when it is a summer song. Valentine would have been th perfect second single for late January.

 

[vasilios]

La Luna seemed like a monster hit so I guess they were confident? Well in Greece it was the summer hit the following year, La Isla Bonita - type success and all.

 

[zephyr]

I love Belinda, last I checked her site it said she was recording music for a 2011 release - anyone know if she's still recording or who with?

 

[Right_Direction]

I love Belinda, I was quite obsessed with her a few years ago & still regularly play her albums.

Real is my favourite overall, such an underrated album that should have done much better than it did.

It's been 14 years since her last English singing studio album, I would welcome any new music from her.