Belinda Carlisle has shared details of her first studio album in eight years.
The GoGo’s frontwoman – who returned to pop with her EP, ‘Kismet’, in 2023 and released her most-recent English language album, ‘A Woman & A Man’, in 1996 – will release ‘Once Upon A Time In California’ on August 29.
Clocking in at 10 songs, it features covers of tracks that influenced the artist during her formative years, growing up in Southern California.
According to a press release, it “sees the singer take a deeply personal journey through the golden sounds of her youth, with a collection of immaculate cover versions”.
“Steeped in the spirit of her Californian upbringing, the album is a heartfelt tribute to the vintage pop culture that shaped her musical identity,” it adds.
‘Once Upon A Time In California’ is out August 29 and available to pre-order from Amazon, HMV, Rough Trade, Townsend and more.
Tracklist: Belinda Carlisle – Once Upon A Time In California
1. Anyone Who Had A Heart
2. If You Could Read My Mind
3. One
4. Never My Love
5. The Air That I Breathe
6. Time In A Bottle
7. Superstar
8. Everybody’s Talkin’
9. Get Together
10. Reflections Of My Life
Belinda first shared details of ‘Once Upon A Time In California’ in an exclusive cover interview with RETROPOP back in 2023, while promoting her Diane Warren-penned EP, revealing that project inspired the forthcoming record.
“That’s really where it all began for me,” she says of the Golden State. “Everything’s done, all the artwork – I just have to finish the songs/
“After I made [2017 chant album] ‘Wilder Shores’, people were complaining like, ‘Why don’t you do something in English?’ And I said, ‘Well, whatever I do has to really mean something’.
“After I got sober, [2007 LP] ‘Voila’ was the first time I was able to work from the heart and just love what I was doing. I have to really love it; I can’t just put out an English-language pop album for the sake of it.
“So that’s why this is a surprise. I didn’t really expect to get excited about the classic pop songs until I was given the most amazing songs from Diane.”
