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Belinda Carlisle

#41
Speaking as someone who was a teenage listener in the prime of both bands, Bangles > Go-Gos.

To me, the Bangles were much more of a complete and versatile BAND, with their greater collective talent producing more substantial music than one might expect from a "girl group".

Whereas the Go-Gos were basically Belinda's bubblegum backing band, and as someone pointed out already, Belinda was much more successful on her own than with them, which speaks volumes.

YMMV.
 
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#42
NortyFiner said:
Speaking as someone who was a teenage listener in the prime of both bands, Bangles > Go-Gos.

To me, the Bangles were much more of a complete and versatile BAND, with their greater collective talent producing more substantial music than one might expect from a "girl group".

Whereas the Go-Gos were basically Belinda's bubblegum backing band, and as someone pointed out already, Belinda was much more successful on her own than with them, which speaks volumes.

YMMV.
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I would suggest you watch concerts of both bands, and see if your opinion stays the same. Like I said earlier, I used to like the Bangles more too.
 
#45
There is a funny (and somewhat raunchy) interview on Howard Stern with both Belinda and Jane. He made the observation that the other band members probably resented Belinda, and that it probably caused tension in the band. And he kept making references to Belinda being his favorite of the two. But he was funny about it.
 
#48
funkmaster p said:
I played in a band that opened for Belinda at a club called Sir Biggies in Naples, FL. Charlotte Caffey played guitar for her. They both seemed really nice. Belinda was excited about her newfound clean living and appeared to be in excellent health and physical condition.
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I just watched the "Mad About You" video. It looks like both of them are in the video at one point. It was hard to tell though. They had sunglasses on.
 
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#50
How can we keep leaving out Kathy Valentine? After all, she was the G-G's bass player.
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She's great, but she has a thread in the Bassists subforum. I thought Belinda more than worthy of her own.
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Yup ... That's why I didn't mention her.
I'm a HUGE KV fan!
IMHO she is a big reason for their early success .... more than the bass just being the foundation of the music a lot of their early stuff was so much rhythm that she played as much melody as anyone at times.
 
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#51
I ran/managed a rehearsal for Ms. Carlyle at a local studio here in Atlanta a few years ago. She was charming, warm, and a total pro. And yes, slightly pitchy on some of the higher parts. But her voice and those great songs made that irrelevant.
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#53
I have to admit I am a little torn between the Go-Go's/Bangles question. The Bangles seem like much nicer people. Or should I say, more like the kind of ordinary people I grew up with. More professional.

The Go-Go's are more authentically "punk" in their attitude. They were working class, at Belinda and Kathy were. I've watched two early interviews with Belinda on Letterman, and she had a similar kind of attitude both times. And I think the interviews were quite a few years apart.

The Bangles were more of the "college" radio genre, in comparison.
 
#54
I've gotten kind of mixed feelings about her since I first started this thread. I just watched her on After Show on a joint interview with Sandra Bernhard. She stated some of her views. There is something kind of arrogant/distant about a lot of celebrities. It's as if they CHOOSE to be unhappy by the typical kind of views on life that they normally hold.

I think other members of the band are also infected by this same state of mind, as if they have never grew up. Although I think Kathy made be the most level headed. She is a native Texan after all.
 
#58
I think Jane gets more credit than she deserves, simply because she played rhythm guitar so people assume she was the main songwriter. The truth is that Charlotte was their primary hit-maker, and Belinda took Charlotte with her when she did her solo work.
 

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