Jane Wiedlin is modest about her six-string chops and songwriting skills. It’s fair enough, as she was never a shredder – but there’s something to be said for hooks that stay with you for decades, right?
To that end, Wiedlin is a bit of a wizard: she penned classic Go-Go’s hits like Our Lips Are Sealed and lent her licks to ’80s staples like We Go the Beat and Head Over Heels, to name a few.
Since leaving The Go-Go’s while the band was in the thick of internal and addiction issues, Wiedlin has penned solo records and generally kept busy. In the ’90s, she saddled up with The Go-Go’s once more, an on-and-off arrangement that persists to this day, albeit on a very limited basis these days.
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The Go-Go’s here-and-there schedule has left Wiedlin with time to burn, leading to her book, TMI: Memoirs of a Go-Go, and a new album of cover songs, ¡I Protest!. Both are set for release in the fall of 2026.
Wiedlin tells Guitar World that she didn’t write her book without careful consideration. “Being a lyricist, I always loved words and loved writing,” she says. “I was reluctant to write a book because I was worried that my overly frank personality would hurt other people’s feelings. On my 65th birthday, I decided it was now or never.”
Once Wiedlin leaned in, she found the process cathartic. “Seeing the whole of my life through fresh eyes made it a very interesting experience,” she says. “How one thing led to another. How much chance played a part in my story. How the things that made me me persisted from childhood through adulthood.”
The result is that the still-modest pop-meets-punk gunslinger has found her swagger. “During the period of time writing the book, I became much bolder and more confident,” Wiedlin says. “In the past I never really felt like much of an adult, or much like a strong woman, but I do now.”
Discussing my lifelong mental struggles, especially the suicidal ideation that lasted for nearly 50 years, was a lot to process
You’ve got a book out, TMI: Memoirs of a Go-Go. What were the toughest parts of your life – in and out of music – to sift through and why?
Discussing my lifelong mental struggles, especially the suicidal ideation that lasted for nearly 50 years, was a lot to process. I made a lot of revelations while writing, connecting things that I hadn’t before.
Dealing with depression as a teen and young adult is tough – was music and guitar a way out of that for you?
Yes, I think music saved me, because it is truly magical.
What sort of scene did you grow up in, and how did it shape you musically?
I became a music fanatic around the age of six because I had older siblings. Growing up in the 1960s was a magical time for music, especially pop-rock music.
When did the guitar come into the picture, and when did you decide music would be what you did with your life?
I took a few weeks of folk guitar lessons at a local park one summer when I was 11 or 12. I never got good on guitar, but listening to and playing with friends was a huge part of my junior high and high school experience. Music was the most important part of my life, and it continued when I went to college and discovered punk rock in 1976.
The scene was very small and very underground. In fact, the first punk club in Hollywood, The Masque, was literally underground
How do you remember the L.A. punk scene, and how did you first meet the other gals in The Go-Go’s?
The scene was very small and very underground. In fact, the first punk club in Hollywood, The Masque, was literally underground. New bands were forming weekly, and almost everyone was in at least one, if not more [than one], band.
By early 1978, the only people left who hadn’t joined a band were mostly young women. I met Margot [Olavarria] – our original bass player – when all the L.A. punks drove to San Francisco to see the Sex Pistols.
She said she was starting an all-girl band. She was going to play bass, and her friend Elissa [Bello] was going to be the drummer. I told her I could kinda sorta play guitar, and she invited me to join. Belinda [Carlisle], who lived across the courtyard from me in the notorious punk apartment building The Canterbury, said she wanted to sing.
We all knew Charlotte [Caffey] because she was the ferocious bass player of The Eyes, and we asked if she could play lead guitar. She said “Yes,” even though it wasn’t true! Still, she was by far the most experienced musician of all of us.
With regard to Belinda, was the chemistry immediate? How did you know you wanted to be in a band with her?
We would see each other constantly, and she was always the person who stood out in any room. Perfectly put together, with this poise that’s not easy to describe. She was just an “It Girl.” She had it!
How were The Go-Go’s perceived early on, and how did that perception shift as you became established?
The Hollywood punk scene was an extremely nurturing environment, and all the kids and bands supported each other. People loved us! When we started getting bigger though, we were inevitably accused of being sellouts, which, as punks, was the worst thing you could be accused of, other than being a hippie!
What do you remember about writing We Got the Beat and Our Lips Are Sealed? And what sort of guitars and amps did you like to use back then?
Char wrote We Got the Beat late one night while watching The Twilight Zone, stoned. I composed Our Lips Are Sealed after Terry Hall, of The Specials, sent me the genesis of the lyrics.
We were all broke, so our equipment was terrible. I played a very cute red Rickenbacker, which did not sound great. We had solid-state amps. Also, it didn’t help a bit that I really couldn’t play. [Laughs]
Vacation was another big hit, propelling The Go-Go’s to even greater success. But at the same time, much of the band was struggling with addiction, and were said to put the likes of Lemmy to shame at parties.
Yes, we all partied too much, and addiction issues started surfacing. It was hard to tell at first, but it got pretty bad for some people. Charlotte, Kathy [Valentine], and Belinda all got sober decades ago, which is wonderful, because things were pretty out of hand.
Take us through recording Head Over Heels and Forget That Day, the latter of which led to your leaving the band.
I don’t think anyone makes the momentous decision of quitting an insanely successful career for one reason. There was a lot going on then, and none of us were mature enough to handle being together 24/7 for years and years and years. It was not healthy.
We were not in an atmosphere that encouraged being a grown-up or communicating thoughtfully. I had the lion’s share of songwriting credits on that third album. I asked to sing one song. Everyone said, “Yes.” Then everyone said, “No.” It was a painful experience, but there was way more going on than just that!
![The Go-Go's - Album Flash (Cinemax TV Special, 1984) [Full Episode] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Pub8KGzxmMc/maxresdefault.jpg "The life and times of Jane Wiedlin 21")
After leaving the band, you embarked on a solo career. By that point, what sort of guitars did you like to use, and how did you view yourself as a player and artist?
I was more interested in writing and singing during those first years as a solo artist. I did have a couple of lovely Gretsch’s and had already been playing Gibson SGs, which I continue to play. Guitars are a tool for me, and my passions lie in writing, singing, and producing. For someone as small as me, the SG is the absolute pinnacle of perfection.
How do you look back on your solo records, Jane Wiedlin, Fur, and Tangled? Would you change anything?
Those albums are okay. [I’m] not proud of Jane Wiedlin, but Fur and Tangled had a few good songs. The best albums I ever made were Cold with my band froSTed, and Kissproof World. And my new album, ¡I Protest!, is a banger! [is] all cover songs of modern protest music. I’m so proud of it and produced it myself.
Did you keep in touch with your Go-Go’s bandmates after leaving?
Yes, of course. Gina [Schock] and I are together constantly because we both live in the Bay Area. We also have a weekly band call to discuss any business and also just for fun.
What were the challenges of recording God Bless the Go-Go’s, and what’s kept the band from making new music since?
Making God Bless the Go-Go’s was a ton of fun. Unfortunately, the project was plagued with bad luck. We had terrible management, and 9/11 happened, which derailed the whole thing. It’s too hard to make new music as a band now because we’re scattered all over the planet, and Belinda continues to have a very, very busy solo career. The rest of us also continue to be very busy, too!
In recent years, The Go-Go’s have reunited for one-off shows. Describe the relationship you all share and what’s kept you coming together despite the lows you’ve experienced?
We’ve [also] done many tours in recent years! We continue to amuse each other with our unique girl gang sense of humor. There’s also been an enormous surge of interest in ’80s music, and the rush of having huge groups of people smiling and singing along to our songs is irresistible.
Do you have a favorite guitar?
Gibson gifted me two custom SGs in 2000. We had them custom painted at [Jane believes it’s called] Chuck’s Auto Shop. He created most of the famous movie and TV cars in the twentieth century. These two guitars are all I bring on tour. They are road warriors! Never go out of tune, never break strings, feel, play, and sound amazing.
We were under so much pressure, and we spent 24/7 together for years. It’s no wonder it all fell apart
What are your regrets? Would you change anything? On the flipside, what are you proudest of?
I try not to have regrets, which are pointless. I do sometimes wonder, though, if our band had taken a year off in 1985 and then regrouped, if things would’ve been very different. We were under so much pressure, and we spent 24/7 together for years. It’s no wonder it all fell apart.
How do you view the legacy of The Go-Go’s?
The Go-Go’s continue to be the first and only all-female band that played their own instruments, wrote their own songs, and went to number one on the charts. No one since has ever broken our record. Whatever someone thinks of my band, those are the facts.
