Mad about Belinda Carlisle

 

 It was a Saturday night in the summer of 1986 and my friend Mat was just getting ready to go home from my place. As per usual, we stopped by his car and talked for awhile. He was parked beside our front lawn which was plush and wide and maybe a 100 feet long.

It was a bright night, with the stars in full force. They were always brighter and easier to see on our from in the countryside where there was no light pollution from street lights or neon signs.

As per usual, I was mooning over this girl in our class who I had a crush on. Mat, who was always so supportive. Then he said, “You’re mad about her aren’t you?”

At that point, I just burst out singing, “Mad about you…” as I ran down the lawn and jumped trying to emulate a ballet dancer with little success.

“Mad about you, lost in your eyes…” I continued, then stopped.

Mat was half laughing and half rolling his eyes. Such was the life of teenage boys.

That is my biggest memory of Belinda Carlisle who, for a two-year period, was one of the most popular female singers of the 1980s.

She was back in the news recently because she released a new album.

Getting the beat
Up until 1986, Belinda Carlisle was best known as the lead singer of the Go-Gos, who put out hits such as “We Got the Beat”; “Our Lips are Sealed”; and “Vacation”.

“We Got the Beat” went all the way to number two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their biggest hit of all time; “Our Lips are Sealed” went to number 20; and “Vacation” went to number eight.

That band also had Jane Wiedlin on guitar. She would have some solo success with “Rush Hour”.

I actually did not know Belinda Carlisle was the lead singer of the Go-Gos the very first time I heard “Mad About You” back in the summer of 1986. It was Carlisle’s first solo single off her self-titled album “Belinda”.

The album cover for Belinda Carlisle's debut album "Belinda" in 1986.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/

(May be subject to copyright)

Solo success
“Mad About You” was released on May 5, 1986 and I loved it immediately. I followed it up the charts that second semester of Grade 11, seeing it peak at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Some of the other songs from that time were “Glory of Love” by Peter Cetera; “Love Touch” by Rod Stewart; and “Higher Love” by Steve Winwood.

"Mad About You" would be her lone top 10 single off “Belinda’, but the former lead singer of the Go-Gos was just getting started.

I’m in heaven
Carlisle released her follow-up album “Heaven on Earth”, on Oct. 5, 1987. By then I was deep into university life, and not having the laser focus on music that I did in high school.

Yet, living in residence offered me something I never had access to on the farm – MuchMusic. That’s where I first heard, and saw, the debut single from that album, the title track “Heaven is a Place on Earth”. My overriding memory is of a globe falling into some water.

I loved the song, and thought it the perfect follow-up to “Mad About You”

So did the fans, because “Heaven is a Place on Earth” went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

The song had a way of growing on people. I met this guy named Kevin, who became a good friend of mine. He was older and a bit crusty. One day he lamented modern music and how it made no sense, citing “Heaven is a Place on Earth” as an example. He particularly thought the video had no point.

A few months later, the topic came up again.

“Hey, I like that song,” he said.

It had a habit of growing on you.

Not as strong…
“I Get Weak” was the second single off “Heaven on Earth”, but I completely missed it in Edmonton. Music wasn’t as important as all the other stuff going on in my life when the song was released in January of 1988.

I returned to the farm after my first year of university. In that summer of 1988, I was alone for some reason. My parents had gone somewhere. I turned on the TV and flipped through the three-channel universe.

CBC Channel 7 was playing the “Prince’s Trust” concert. Research reveals that was June 5, 1988. I saw Phil Collins sing “Doesn’t Anybody stay Together Anymore” and Robin Williams do some standup.

Then I saw Belinda Carlisele sing this song I had never heard. It was “I Get Weak”, and I liked it.

Again, so did the fans, because it went all the way to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Squares in the dust
The summer of 1988 wasn’t that fun. The whole summer I just wanted to get back to Edmonton. However, I did start hanging out again with a friend from high school named Bill. We used to mess around with song lyrics, and change them up.

Belinda Carlisle had released her third single off “Heaven on Earth”, and it was called “Circle in the Sand”. It went all the way to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, and would be her last top 10 single to date. I remember it just as much because I changed the lyrics to “Squares in the Dust”.

The things teenage boys find funny.

Parting thoughts
Belinda Carlisle really does have the beat. She always had that strong voice that made me tap my toe and sing along. As a teenager, I really connected with her music too, especially “Mad About You”.

I never bought an album by Belinda Carlisle. I did get the album “Belinda” by accident from Columbia House by not declining it in their negative billing scam. My sister then recorded it onto a tape for me, and both of those versions of “Belinda” are in my garage.

I think it’s kind of symbolic of the way I found Carlisle’s music – by accident, but it has stayed with me forever.