Belinda (Belinda Carlisle album)


Belinda is the first solo album by Belinda Carlisle, notable as her first recording after the break-up of new wave band The Go-Go's, for whom she was the lead singer. Released in mid-1986 it featured a hit single "Mad About You" which went to No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in Canada.

Background and writing

Some of the songs on Belinda were written by Carlisle's former bandmate in the Go-Go's Charlotte Caffey while the rest were written by other songwriters. Carlisle has a single co-writing credit on one track.
"Band of Gold" was a hit song for Freda Payne in 1970. Payne provided background vocals on the dance mixes of Carlisle's version of this song, which would later appear as bonus tracks on the 2003 re-release of the album.
"I Need a Disguise" was written by the team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg who co-wrote the song with Susanna Hoffs as it was originally intended for use by The Bangles. Kelly and Steinberg also co-wrote another song for Carlisle called "Dancing in the City" which she sang and would later appear on the soundtrack for the 1987 movie Burglar.
"Stuff and Nonsense" is a cover of Tim Finn's song originally performed by his band Split Enz on their 1979 album Frenzy.
The song "Shot In the Dark" was used as part of the Out of Bounds soundtrack.

Reception

Critical reception
Being her first solo album it was often compared with her previous work with the Go Go's. In general the album received mixed reviews but was well received by audiences. Rolling Stone wrote "The problem with Belinda is that all the ingredients are there, but the end result just doesn't feel right." Allmusic commented retrospectively that "The pop on Belinda may not be as infectious as the Go-Go's' finest singles, yet it fit in well with the slick formats of mid-'80s radio and managed to be more memorable than many of the mainstream hits of the time, as the ingratiating hit "Mad About You" proves."

Commercial performance

The album was successful in North America peaking at No. 13 in the US and at number 24 in Canada. The Album also entered the Australian Chart where it peaked at number 42 and charted for 12 weeks. Belinda was certified Gold in the US and Platinum in Canada, selling over one million copies worldwide.

Track listing

Album credits

Personnel

Chart Peak
Position
Australian Albums Chart42
RPM Canadian Albums24
US Billboard 20013

Certifications

Singles

The following singles were released from the album, with the highest charting positions listed.
#TitleDateAUSUSUKIRLCAN
1."Mad About You"19869367281
2."I Feel the Magic"1986—82——51
3."Band of Gold"1986————91
4."Since You've Gone" 1986—————