{"id":103148,"date":"2025-08-30T12:45:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T12:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/103148\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T12:45:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T12:45:12","slug":"for-belinda-carlisle-heaven-is-a-place-called-scotland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/103148\/","title":{"rendered":"For Belinda Carlisle, Heaven is a place called Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pop icon Belinda Carlisle is heading back to the UK and she\u2019s very excited to get back to Scotland.<\/p>\n

When I sit down with the former Go-Go\u2019s frontwoman, it\u2019s clear she\u2019s genuinely thrilled to be back on the road.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t sure if Belinda would recall playing here before, but she immediately told me how much she loved our \u201cwee country\u201d and how warm a welcome she always receives when in Scotland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved Scotland. It\u2019s one of the most beautiful countries in the world,\u201d she warmly tells What\u2019s On Scotland, brushing off any suggestion she\u2019s simply being polite.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have such fond memories of playing there. Years ago I had the best meal of my life \u2013 fresh salmon from a stream with potatoes and vegetables. That memory has always stayed with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audiences, she adds, are just as unforgettable. \u201cScottish audiences don\u2019t hold back, which I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

The song that changed everything<\/p>\n

Belinda\u2019s career is full of hits, but one stands out as a life-changing moment \u2013 Heaven Is a Place on Earth. She remembers exactly how it felt hearing it for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cRick Nowels and Ellen Shipley played it for me acoustically, and I just thought, oh my God, this could be a global hit. Timing is everything, but it was immediate. It felt incredible that this was my song.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pull of the stage<\/p>\n

Even after more than four decades in music, Carlisle admits she still gets the same thrill from performing live.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very blessed that I get to sing for a living. It\u2019s super fun and when I\u2019m not singing I really miss it. Seeing people\u2019s reactions and making them happy is addictive.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she knows exactly what fans want from her live shows. \u201cThey want the hits. Sometimes I\u2019ll throw in a new track or two, but people come for the favourites and I\u2019m happy to give them that.\u201d<\/p>\n

From California sunshine to punk beginnings<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Southern California, Belinda\u2019s love of music started early. \u201cThe Beach Boys were my first album, and they really informed my taste in music,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

That early passion eventually led her into LA\u2019s emerging punk scene, where she co-founded The Go-Go\u2019s in 1977.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was this group of about 50 kids in LA who looked to London and the UK for music,\u201d she recalls. \u201cIt influenced us hugely. The Go-Go\u2019s had no idea how to do anything but that made it cooler. Somehow, against all odds, we made it work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band went on to become trailblazers as the first all-female group to write their own songs, play their own instruments and hit number one.<\/p>\n

Career highs and dream collaborations<\/p>\n

Belinda\u2019s solo career has brought plenty of pinch-me moments \u2013 from working with George Harrison on Leave a Light On to having Brian Wilson, her childhood hero, sing on one of her tracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrian Wilson probably influenced me more than any other artist, so having him on A Woman & a Man (Belinda\u2019s sixth studio album) was huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new chapter: Once Upon a Time in California<\/p>\n

This year also marks the release of Belinda\u2019s brand-new covers album, Once Upon a Time in California, a project nearly eight years in the making.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started with almost 100 songs and chipped away bit-by-bit until it was finished in January this year. I haven\u2019t even seen the album in person yet \u2013 only pictures \u2013 but it looks amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She even includes a Scottish song on there \u2013 Marmalade\u2019s 1969 hit, Reflections of my Life.<\/p>\n

With a career that spans punk beginnings, pop superstardom and enduring global hits, Belinda shows no signs of slowing down.<\/p>\n

And as she returns to Scotland, fans can be sure of one thing: they\u2019re in for a night of pure joy.<\/p>\n

Belinda Carlisle plays Edinburgh\u2019s Usher Hall on September 9 and Glasgow\u2019s Royal Concert Hall on September 10.<\/p>\n

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\"WhatsApp<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pop icon Belinda Carlisle is heading back to the UK and she\u2019s very excited to get back to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-103148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}