Talking to the Go-Go's Charlotte Caffey
Members of the 80's band The Go-Go's, pictured from left, Gina Schock, left, Belinda Carlisle (bottom), Charlotte Caffey (top), Jane Wiedlin, Kathy Valentine. The Go-Go's play NYCB Westbury Theatre on June 7, 2011. Credit: Handout
The Go-Go's Charlotte Caffey laughs at her band's sudden change of heart.
Last year, the "We Got the Beat" ladies had scheduled their farewell tour, only to cancel it after guitarist Jane Wiedlin was injured in a hiking accident. This year, not only are The Go-Go's ready to tour again -- the group plays two area shows -- but they've dropped any idea of a farewell and are even working on new material.
"It was divine intervention when Jane fell down that cliff," said Caffey, calling from her Los Angeles home. "You never know with this bunch. We're just keeping our minds open and letting things happen."
This year marks the 30th anniversary of your debut, "Beauty and the Beat." How does that feel?
I'm amazed. That whole time, it was just the coolest thing to be part of that little group of kids in Hollywood. It was like boot camp for the rest of my life. All those songs were pure, just pure self-expression, and no-holds-barred. There was no agenda, no pressure. I love that record.
And your song "We Got the Beat" from that record went to No. 1.
That was overwhelming. I was just really proud that that song can just uplift people and it continues to happen today. . . . "We Got the Beat" just came out of me. I was watching one of those "Twilight Zone" marathons. Around midnight, I ran to my little tape recorder -- I still have the tape -- and I started whispering the lyrics of the song, because my dad was sleeping in the other room. It was just kind of meant to be, I guess.
Do you feel like The Go-Go's opened the door for all the female superstars today?
Maybe. We realized that we were among the first to do this, and we always thought that a lot more women would emerge. But Lady Gaga is in a class all her own. . . . I just saw her show, and I love her so much I want to cry.
WHO The Go-Go's
WHEN | WHERE 7 p.m. Friday, Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, Manhattan and 8 p.m. Tuesday, The NYCB Theatre at Westbury, 960 Brush Hollow Road, Westbury
INFO $65 (Irving) and $39.50-$59.50 (Westbury); 516-334-0800, livenation.com
