With Belinda Carlisle on vocals, Jane Wiedlin on guitar, Charlotte Caffey playing lead guitar/keyboards, Gina Schock on drums and Kathy Valentine on bass the Go-Go’s changed the face of women in music with the release of their 1981 smash hit Beauty and the Beat, which featured the hits “Our Lips are Sealed” and “We Got the Beat.”
Listening to the album over and over again in its entirety after discovering it in my Uncle Bob’s collection made me a fan. Seeing the group drive around in a convertible and splash around in a fountain in the video for “Our Lips are Sealed” made me a super fan.
The girls followed up with another great album the following year, Vacation, which wasn’t as popular as Beauty and the Beat but boasted a super catchy title track along with a super catchy video for the song “Vacation.”
So…of course my girlfriends and I were the Go-Go’s for Halloween when I was 13 years old. I was Kathy Valentine. My best friend Susie got to be Gina Schock because she owned a pair of drumsticks.
Today, you and your girl gang could be one of several incarnations of the band. Like, you could totally do the Beauty and the Beat album cover on the cheap!
All you need is:
- Five towels
- Five more towels (to put your hair up in)
- Cold cream
- A brave attitude and pact to each be on “towel patrol” for each other the entire evening
You could also do Vacation-era Go-Go’s! This is a little more involved than the costumes above, but it’s still easy and would be super cute . . .
- Hot pink bathing suits or tank tops
- White tutu’s
- Tiara’s
- White elbow length gloves
You could also do what my girlfriend’s and I did, each pick a Go-Go and dress like her.
For this you will need:
- Variety of 80s/new wave clothing
- Stiletto high-heels
- Big jewelry, big hair, sunglasses
- A friend with a pair of drumsticks
Examples of Group Go Go’s Costumes
These gals from Mobile’s roller derby team did a great job of re-creating the ‘Beauty and the Beat’ album cover! Photo Credit: al.com
So go ahead and grab your friends, get up and go and be a Go-Go – a fun, cute, sassy, sexy homage to one of the great groups of the 80s.
Report back to me on whether or not your towel stays on all night.