Belinda Carlisle, beloved solo artist, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and voice of the Go-Go’s, returns to her roots with the release of a new studio album Once Upon a Time in California, available now on the Demon Music label.
Following the success of Belinda’s 2023 EP Kismet, Once Upon a Time in California sees the icon take a deeply personal journey through the golden sounds of her youth with this ten-track collection. Steeped in the spirit of her Californian upbringing, the album is a heartfelt tribute to the vintage pop culture that shaped her musical identity.
What sets this album apart is that it’s a celebration of Californian culture that stretches its canvas beyond the familiar evocation of the Laurel Canyon sound. It’s a carefully curated and beautifully realised salute to Belinda’s personal education in pop music, and the magical sounds that arrived in her life from near and far, on the radio and on cherished 45s.
With the assured and distinctive vocal delivery of someone who herself has become one of the Golden State’s greatest exports – initially as frontwoman for the Go-Go’s, who enjoyed global hits in the early 1980’s with Our Lips Are Sealed, Vacation and We Got The Beat and as a solo performer with a multitude of hits including Mad About You, Heaven Is A Place on Earth, Circle In the Sand, I Get Weak, Leave A Light On, Summer Rain, La Luna, In Too Deep amongst others, Belinda Carlisle completes this sentimental journey back to her youth with timeless style.
Once Upon a Time in California opens with a stirring remake of the Burt Bacharach & Hal David gem written for Dionne Warwick, Anyone Who Had A Heart. Belinda then pays her respects to such timeless artists as the Carpenters (Superstar), Gordon Lightfoot (If You Could Read My Mind) and Jim Croce (Time In A Bottle) and to songs for the ages including The Air That I Breathe (The Hollies), Everybody’s Talking (Harry Nilsson) and Reflections Of My Life(Marmalade). The result is an entirely different kind of Californian dreaming for a new generation.
Commenting on the album Belinda says, “I was born and raised in California at a time when music was an important part of Californian culture. I lived and breathed music, it was my great escape – a refuge of fantasy and imagination. Every day after school and when it was summer vacation, I would listen and sing along to the music on the radio for the entire day. Always fantasizing about being a singer myself, one day.
This collection of songs is the best representation of what I loved back then that I could think of – listening to it brings back so many memories of a time and a California that doesn’t really exist anymore. That’s not meant to sound like a bad thing, it’s just different – there was an innocence and energy back then that was unique and magical. Things I doubt will ever be felt in quite the same way again. Here’s to the California of my dreams.”
With Once Upon a Time in California, Belinda Carlisle invites fans old and new to join her on a journey through the melodies that defined a generation.
“ONCE UPON A TIME IN CALIFORNIA” TRACK LISTING:
1. Anyone Who Had A Heart
2. If You Could Read My Mind
3. One
4. Never My Love
5. The Air That I Breathe
6. Time In A Bottle
7. Superstar
8. Everybody’s Talkin’
9. Get Together
10. Reflections Of My Life
THE LEGACY!
THE GO-GO’S
As the frontwoman of The Go-Go’s, the band still hold the record of the most successful all female rock band of all time. Their debut album, Beauty and the Beat (1981), topped the US Billboard 200 charts for six consecutive weeks. Career hits included ” Our Lips Are
Sealed”, “We Got The Beat”, “Vacation”, Head Over Heels”. In 2021 Belinda Carlisle and her band mates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They reunited for a series of shows this year (2025), including joining the bill for
Coachella Music Festival and Cruel World Festival.
SOLO CAREER (1986-Present)
Belinda embarked on her hugely successful solo career journey in 1986 which has included
8 studio albums over nearly 40 years achieving multi-platinum sales statuses.
Global charting hit singles have included “Mad About You”, “Heaven Is A Place On Earth”, “I Get Weak”, “Circle In The Sand’, “Leave A Light On”, ‘Summer Rain”, “La Luna”, “Live
Your Life Be Free”, “In Too Deep”, “Always Breaking My Heart”.
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