The Go-Go’s Now & Then — See The Girl Group Rock From The 80’s On

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December 29, 2021 3:06PM EST

Let’s go girls! The Go Go’s produced classics like “Vacation”, “Our Lips Are Sealed”, and “We’ve Got The Beat” in the 80s and are still rocking now. Click through to see photos of The Go-Go’s through the years!

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The Go-Go’s Then And Now: See The Girl Group Rock From The 80s On

The Go-Go’s Then And Now: See The Girl Group Rock From The 80s On
Andre Csillag/Shutterstock

Let’s go girls! The Go Go’s were founded in 1978 and quickly took their catchy, new-wave sound to the top of the Billboard charts. Best known for their pop hits like “Vacation”, “Our Lips Are Sealed”, and “We’ve Got The Beat”, the ladies originally got together as a punk outfit and were also talented songwriters and musicians, playing all their own instruments.

Through the years the band’s lineup has mostly remained Belinda Carlisle, Kathy Valentine, Jane Wieldin, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock. The Go-Go’s broke up in 1985 but reunited on and off in the years since, touring and recording to this day.

In early 2020, The Go-Go’s released a critically-acclaimed documentary about the band at Sundance Film Festival. The band made history in 2021 when they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

The Go Go’s are all smiles at The Venue, London, Britain in May of 1980.

Click through to see photos of The Go-Go’s through the years!

December 28, 2021, 5:02PM
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The Go-Go’s In 1981

The Go-Go’s In 1981
Ilpo Musto/Shutterstock

The Go-Gos pose up together in 1981.

Belinda talked about the start of the band with The Hollywood Reporter in Dec. 2021. “People assume that you’re put together by a Simon Cowell,” she joked. “But we put ourselves together. We had no idea how to play instruments, how to write songs, how to do anything. And going from that in 1978 to being probably the biggest band in America in 1981 — it’s an amazing feat.”

December 28, 2021, 5:01PM
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The Go-Go’s On British TV In 1982

The Go-Go’s On British TV In 1982
ITV/Shutterstock

The Go-Go’s rock out on the British TV show ‘The Tube’ in 1982.

At the start, Belinda said the group’s look was “never a contrived image. We just looked that way.” She told Billboard in 2010, “It was a combination of punk, rockabilly, and tiaras, torn stockings and stilettos. And we just had these angelic faces that hid a multitude of sins.”

December 28, 2021, 5:02PM
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The Go-Go’s On Stage In 1980

The Go-Go’s On Stage In 1980
Fraser Gray/Shutterstock

The Go Go’s in concert at The Lewisham Odeon, London on Jun. 9, 1980.

Lead singer Belinda looked back on their rock and roll roots in an Oct. 2021 interview with Vulture. She said the biggest misconception about the band was “That we were a fluffy pop band with no sort of depth.”

She went on, “I think people sort of wrote off the music and didn’t listen to the lyrics. They don’t listen to what’s underneath it all. We were written off as a pop band.. The band gained a lot of respect when people realized where we came from and where we put ourselves together. We did everything ourselves. That’s just not done these days, or if it is it’s very rare. I can’t think of anybody that’s come out of that.”

December 28, 2021, 5:01PM
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The Go-Go’s Go Protest Fur In 1990

The Go-Go’s Go Protest Fur In 1990
Sam Jones/AP/Shutterstock

Back in the 90s the Go-Go’s draped themselves in a purple velvet banner to protest the use of fur during a promotional photo session on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in Los Angeles. From left are Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine, Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey.

 

December 28, 2021, 5:01PM
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The Go-Go’s Play Vegas In 1999

The Go-Go’s Play Vegas In 1999
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The Go-Go’s get ready to play Las Vegas on Jul. 10, 1999.

Talking about the band’s lasting success in Jun. 2021 with The Guardian, Belinda said, “There had never been a female band that had been successful on a large level so they couldn’t think out of the box. There had been the Runaways, and Fanny, on a cult level, but not mainstream. We never thought in terms of gender – we didn’t want to be a good ‘female band’, we wanted to be a good rock’n’roll band.”

December 28, 2021, 5:01PM
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The Go-Gos Rock New York In 2011

The Go-Gos Rock New York In 2011
Picture Perfect/Shutterstock

The Go Go’s perform in New York on Jun. 3, 2011. Charlotte Caffey. Gina Schock, Jane Wiedlin, Belinda Carlisle, and Kathy Valentine pose from left to right.

There were times the band didn’t get along. Belinda explained to Rolling Stone in July 2020, “Our relationship with each other is familial. Family members don’t always get along, and I think that that’s how we operate.”

She continued, “If there’s something bugging us now, we just address it honestly. We said that 20 years ago, but I don’t think we really did that then. I think just now because it’s later years and we are winding down, it’s important to be honest with each other.”

December 28, 2021, 5:00PM
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The Go-Gos Get A Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame In 2011

The Go-Gos Get A Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame In 2011
Jim Smeal/BEI/Shutterstock

The Go-Go’s Kathy Valentine, Charlotte Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Gina Schock, and Jane Wiedlin (left to right) get honored with a star on The Hollywood Walk Of Fame on Aug. 11, 2011.

During the ceremony, Jane said of the LA-founded band, “We loved the Hollywood Walk of Fame even then. In our wildest dreams, we could never have dreamed our little band would get a star on the Walk of Fame.”

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The Go-Gos At Sundance Film Festival In 2020

The Go-Gos At Sundance Film Festival In 2020
Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP/Shutte

Gina Schock, from left, Jane Wiedlin, Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey and Kathy Valentine pose for a portrait to promote the film ‘The Go-Go’s’ documentary during Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah
on Jan. 25, 2020.

Belinda talked about working with director Allison Ellwood — who did The Eagles documentary — with Entertainment Weekly in Jul 2020. “When we were approached to do this documentary, we hemmed and hawed about it,” she explained.

“We weighed out the pros and cons, but we still couldn’t commit because we were scared, and understandably so. So when we finally decided to do it, we spoke to Allison and told her we’d do it but we wanted 100 percent creative control, and she explained that that’s not how this works. We are very thankful we took the chance because it wouldn’t be the documentary it is today without her. She totally got us.”

December 28, 2021, 5:02PM
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The Go-Gos At The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction In 2021

The Go-Gos At The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction In 2021
Ron Schwane/AP/Shutterstock

Jane Wiedlin, Gina Schock, Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, and Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s pose in the press room during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, in Cleveland, Ohio on Oct. 30, 2021.

During their thank-you’s bassist Kathy Valentine told the audience, “By recognizing our achievement, the Rock Hall celebrates possibility, the kind of possibility that creates hopeful dreamers. By honoring our historical contribution, the doors to this establishment have opened wider and the Go-Go’s will be advocating for the inclusion of more women.”

“Women who have paved the way for us and others. Women who started bands, who sing and write songs, who excel on their instruments, who make and produce records. Because here is the thing: There would not be less of us if more of us were visible,” she went on.

December 28, 2021, 5:03PM