Alone in her hotel, Belinda Carlisle thought she was dying. What happened next changed her life

Résumé détaillé

The singer, who once bought a racehorse during a bender, has swapped mind-altering substances for meditation – and feels more connected to her fans than ever.

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Belinda Carlisle’s first trip to Australia was, in an unfortunately literal sense, rather painful. In 1982, while performing with The Go-Go’s in Melbourne, the lead singer of the pioneering rock band snapped her ankle as she stepped offstage. “God, I heard it,” says Carlisle, visibly wincing. “I missed a stair and just went over on the side of my foot. There’s a paparazzi photo of me being wheeled through the airport by [bandmate] Gina Schock.”

The year prior, The Go-Go’s made history with their debut record, Beauty and the Beat, becoming the first female group to write their own songs and play their own instruments on an album that topped the US charts. With Carlisle now hobbling around on crutches, they were forced to cancel the remainder of their tour. The band never returned to our shores – but for Carlisle, it marked the start of a special relationship with Australia. In 2013, she told a reporter she’d notched up 20 visits, and has toured three times since. “The audiences are always pretty much rabid, which I like,” she says. “There’s definitely a mutual thing going on.”

In March, Carlisle will perform to her Australian fans for the final time. With a career spanning 50 years, the 68-year-old wants a change of pace.

“I just want to say g’day and goodbye,” she says, stressing that she’s not retiring. “I’ll always be creative. In fact, I’m making a new album right now. The touring thing gets harder and harder, and I’m becoming less and less patient and more intolerant. I’ve been touring since I was 19 years old. I know at some point I’ll do little things here and there. I’ll make albums but I just won’t tour that much any more.”

What began as a four-date tour, appropriately titled G’day and Goodbye, has expanded to 10 shows due to extraordinary demand. Of course, many international artists pay lip service to Australia – but Carlisle’s fondness for this country is no…

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