Belinda Carlisle Gets Real

You discuss your own experimenting by making out with fellow punk Alice Bag. What do you remember about that experience?
I remember that we were on a bus bench on Vine Street in Hollywood, but back then everyone made out with each other. It was a genderless thing that you did and didn’t think twice about it. It was cool to be bisexual. There’s not a lot that I remember about it, but I’m sure Alice remembers it.

You were briefly a member of the seminal punk band the Germs and knew the band’s notorious front man, Darby Crash, well. There has been a lot of debate about Darby’s sexuality. Do you think he was gay?
He was totally asexual as far as I knew. I never saw him with male or female. Well, I saw him make out with girls, but you never knew with him. I had my suspicions, but like I said, it was more about bisexuality than being one or the other.

Were the Go-Go’s ever pursued by lesbian groupies?
The girls were much more aggressive than the boys. [Laughs] The boys were always intimidated by us, so we never really had any male groupies. I can’t remember any one instance, but we’ve always had gay fans and groupies. Speaking only for myself, I’ve never had sex with groupies — male or female — because that was a scary thing. It wasn’t about sex with us. It was about having a good time and having a party.

The Go-Go’s are embarking on their Happily Ever After farewell tour this summer. Is this really the end, or are you ladies pulling a Cher?
[Laughs] This is really it. Everyone in the band has a different opinion on when it should end or should have ended. I think now is the perfect time. I personally don’t want to work that hard anymore. I want to enjoy the fruits of my labor. My life is pretty much in Europe and Asia, and it’s become harder for me to make commitments and that was frustrating for a lot of people. Thirty-two years of being a Go-Go is a long time, and I’m grateful for the band. It’s been a great run, but for me it’s important to go out with dignity.

The Go-Go’s were set to perform at the Lilith Fair show in Phoenix on July 8. On Facebook you posted a message that urged promoters to change the date in protest of the new immigration law in Arizona and the Phoenix show was canceled, and depending on their viewpoint, some blogs blamed/credited you.
Oh, God, that got so blown out of proportion. I posted a status on Facebook, which I thought was the right thing to do, and it was up for maybe five minutes. Our fans said, “Don’t punish us for that stupid law,” and I thought, They’re right, so I took it down. I felt slightly uncomfortable crossing that line that you’re not supposed to cross. I got lots of hate mail about it. I thought it was a free country and I can say what I feel. That wasn’t the reason the date was canceled.