The women of the iconic eighties band the Go-Go’s will
always be remembered as they appeared on the back of their
debut record: sunny, smiling, each soaking in her own
private bubble bath with chocolates and champagne. The photo
is a perfect tribute to the fun, irreverent brand of pop
music that the Go-Go’s created, but it also conceals the
trials and secret demons that the members of the group—and,
in particular, its lead singer, Belinda Carlisle—struggled
with on their rise to stardom.
Leaving her unstable
childhood home at the age of eighteen, Belinda battled
serious weight issues, having been teased for her pudginess
throughout grade school, and grappled with her confusion
about being deserted by her biological father as a child.
This talented but misguided teen found solace in the punk
rock world that so openly welcomed misfits—even though
acceptance had its price.
Not long after forming,
the Go-Go’s became queens of the L.A. punk scene—they sold
out venues, attracted a fiercely loyal fan base, and
outpartied almost every male band they toured with—and in
the process kicked down the doors to the all-boys’ club of
eighties rock and roll. With a chart-topping debut album,
Belinda found herself launched to international
superstardom—and with that fame came more access to A-list
parties, and even more alcohol and drugs to fuel Go-Go’s
mania. Inevitably, Belinda began to self-destruct.
Lips Unsealed is filled with the wild stories that
Belinda Carlisle fans are dying to hear—stories about the
band’s crazy days on tour with acts like the Police and
Madness and the fabulous parties and people to whom the
Go-Go’s had exclusive access. But more than that, this
candid memoir reveals the gritty flip side to the glitz, as
Belinda shares her private struggles with abusive
relationships, weight, and self-esteem, and a thirty-year
battle with drug and alcohol addiction.
This
spellbinding and shocking look at her rise, fall, and
eventual rebirth as a wife, mother, and sober artist will
leave you wistfully fantasizing about the eighties decadence
she epitomized, but also cringing at the dark despair hidden
behind her charming smile. One of the rare adventures
through rock stardom told by a woman, Lips Unsealed is
ultimately a love letter to music—to the members of the
Go-Go’s, who’ve maintained lifelong friendships, and to the
beloved husband and son who led Belinda to sobriety—and the
story of a life that, though deeply flawed, was, and is
still, fully lived.
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