Believe it or not, before the popular ’80s band the Go-Gos hit the bigtime, there was a moment in time when they were punk rocking around Los Angeles on a shoestring budget. It’s true! Over on the official Go-Gos Instagram, they just shared a hilarious story about the photo shoot props used in the cover art for their debut album Beauty and the Beat, which was released in 1981.
The iconic cover for the Beauty and the Beat album depicts all five members of the super-cool girl group wrapped in white bath towels, dawning full cream facial masks (this was before sheet masks, people). A day at the spa, perhaps, is the story this photo may have been trying to tell in its time. But based on the actual first-person story about the photo shoot shared from behind the scenes, the Go-Gos were not actually lapping it up at a luxurious LA spa. Quite the opposite, in fact.
The wild backstory about the album cover, as attributed to Ginger Canzoneri, the original manager of 1980s power pop group, who also helped art direct the shoot, reads: “I gave the girls strict instructions not to get the towels dirty because I had to return them to Macy’s.” Canzoneri then points out, “Someone somewhere bought towels that were worn on the Go-Go’s package.”
Can you imagine what those towels would have gone for on eBay—if we knew then what we know know and, you know, if eBay had existed then?
The Go-Gos famously included Belinda Carlisle (lead vocals), Charlotte Caffey (lead guitar and keyboards), Jane Wiedlin (rhythm guitar), Gina Schock (drums), and Kathy Valentine (bass). Songs on the Beauty and the Beat album include several unforgettable hits, including “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips Are Sealed,” two songs permanently imprinted on many Gen X hearts.
Learn more about the making of the band in their 2020 documentary The Go-Gos, streaming on Apple.
This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.