Belinda Carlisle: I’m a Hollywood punk who loves chanting…

BELINDA CARLISLE could never be accused of following a traditional career path.

From her teenage years in the Hollywood punk scene and being part of one of the first all-female rock bands, The Go-Go’s, to relocating to France and then Thailand and releasing an album of French language songs, she has forged her own trail.

Of course, in the midst of all that she did go down the mainstream chart route, and to great success, releasing one hit album after another in the late ’80s and ’90s.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the biggest of those albums, Heaven On Earth, which contained massive hits including the title track, Circle In The Sand and I Get Weak.

To celebrate the landmark, she’s not only releasing a new version of the album complete with bonus tracks, but is embarking on her biggest UK tour in years to play the album in its entirety.

Speaking from her home in Bangkok, she said: “We’ve been working on some of the songs that I’ve not done in 30 years – it’s been really fun but also challenging.

“There are certain memories I recall about making the album.

“Diane Warren (one of the world’s most prolific songwriters) was sitting at the piano and playing I Get Weak. It was so good I said she should keep it for herself.

“I recall Rick Nowels (producer and songwriter) singing Circle In The Sand and I loved it, and when I heard Heaven on the piano I realised it had the potential to be a global hit, because it had an undeniable quality.”

Mum-of-one Belinda, who’s been married to her husband, Morgan Mason, for 31 years, ended a secret drug habit in 2005 and has been sober ever since.

She’s an environmental, animal rights and LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex) activist and practises Kundalini Yoga – which involves chanting and mantras – every day.

Yoga has had such an effect on Belinda’s life that she’s recorded an album of chanting called Wilder Shores, proving she still marches to the beat of her own drum. “Chanting was one of the tools I used to help me in the early days of my sobriety and there is no question it’s a powerful method for dealing with everyday life,” she explained.

“I tried to get it off the ground years ago but it didn’t happen.

“I’m a pop singer, so I could never be a traditional chant artist as it wouldn’t be true to who I am, therefore Wilder Shores is still a pop album in the way the songs are structured, but done with repetitive chanting.

“I came up with the melodies and recorded them into my phone.

“It was a different approach from my previous albums. Except for Real, they were written by other people or with other people, but this time I did it all into my iPhone.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was a hard sell to the record industry.

“No one really got it when I explained. But now that people are getting to hear the songs and like them, those earlier people do now understand it,” she laughed.

“I’m really proud of it and I’ll sing one or two of them on the tour, but I know the audience are there to hear the hits and playing the Heaven album in full is a big draw.”

There were 10 years between French language album Voila and Wilder Shores, and Belinda admitted she doesn’t see herself recording a traditional pop album ever again. “I can’t imagine churning out a pop album, finding 10 songs that are lyrically appropriate for me. It’s hard for a 59-year-old woman to find appropriate lyrics – I don’t want to sing about someone leaving me.

“This really makes sense as to where I am right now.”

Life is good for Belinda, but the way things have turned out is not what she expected.

“I work eight or nine months of the year, so when I’m in Bangkok I do absolutely nothing – it’s very under-rated,” she smiled. “I have no schedule here.

“I never would have thought back in ’78 that I would be doing this. I always felt like an imposter up until I got sober. But here I am now, a Hollywood punk in Bangkok, all these albums later. It’s been quite a journey.”

Heaven On Earth 30th anniversary and Wilder Shores, released on Friday; Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, October 9