LIPS UNSEALED

Go-Go’s singer and popular solo songstress reflects on her struggles with identity, drugs and the pitfalls of pop stardom.

The author was raised by her mother in the Southern California suburbs, where she became the beneficiary of right-place-at-the-right-time serendipity while experimenting with the burgeoning late-’70s L.A. punk scene. She almost inadvertently became the cherubic lead singer for all-girl pop-punk group the Go-Go’s. Their rise to superstardom in the ’80s seemed as unexpected as it was inevitable. One minute Carlisle and her girlfriends were sitting on a curb in Hollywood talking about playing music, and the next they were the first all-female band to hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts with songs they wrote and played themselves. The author’s recollections of the years through her late-’80s period of solo success are awhirl with drug binges, drunken escapades, celebrity boyfriends, band infighting and nonstop touring. Despite the transience of her pop-star lifestyle, two constants in her life prevailed: cocaine and insecurity. The book’s familiar double-edged–sword success story takes shape early on. Once large amounts of money were at stake, suddenly egos damaged more easily and personality conflicts flared up among the Go-Go’s, leading to the group’s initial breakup in 1985. Even with her mega-successful solo career, which included hits like “Mad About You,” Carlisle was still short on self-knowledge and spiritual fulfillment. She eventually found herself in a semi-functional marriage to Morgan Mason, the wealthy scion of actor James Mason. Although readers may find it difficult to sympathize with the author’s combination of discontent and moneyed privilege, her memoir is generously confessional enough to give a compelling edge to her battle with substance abuse and her quest for spiritual balance.

Despite its psychologically thin veneer, the book is a harrowing cautionary tale of the perilous freedoms that rock stardom brings.