1986-1988: The Years in Heaven As we continue the story of Belinda's powerful life we found that she and other members of the Go-Go's said they were breaking up. She didn't know that soon her life would change. It was now late 1985 and Morgan was now sharing his condo with Belinda. At first they were not fond of each other but Diane Druanto, a great friend of Belinda's, thought they would be a good couple. So she called up Morgan and sounding like Belinda, she asked him out. Together, they went to a Hall And Oates concert, to a bar called Trader Vics, and the next day, viola! they were living together. She had fallen head over heals for him. Morgan also began telling Belinda how much she was missing if she didn't lose weight. He never gave her an ultimatum though. Then one morning Belinda looked in the mirror and said to herself, "You look frightening." In an interview recently Belinda mentioned, "I looked sick like a dog. My eyes were dead looking. I thought I was on the verge of a heart attack and made a desperate calls to the hospital." After her friend and former Go-Go Charlotte Caffey (who was in worse shape then Belinda) made the first move and went to a rehab center, Belinda knew it was time. So she finally decided she would fix herself up. She went through a major weight loss and persuaded herself to give up drugs. Belinda also began to take vocal lessons so she could strengthen her vocal cords and attended Alcoholics Anonymous as well as Narcotics Anonymous. She exercised all the time in her new home (a house that was once owned by Carol Lombard, Clark Gable's wife). Everyday, Belinda had to keep a strict routine of weight-training, cardivovascular exercises, and a careful diet. It was a hard process for Belinda to go through but when it all was over she had lost 40 pounds. Later in that year, Belinda began working on her first solo LP that would later be called Belinda. She showed of her new body to the public on her new photoshoots, and with Charlotte Caffey they created a great hit album. On April 12, 1986, Morgan Mason asked Belinda to marry him...and she said yes. The couple traveled to Paris and had a mock wedding in front of the one and only Notre Dame Cathedral. They then eloped but later that year they actually got married in Lake Tahoe. "We went to one of those tacky wedding parlous where we hired a waitress and a registrar. Within an hour we changed into jeans and T-shirts and were in the casinos," says Belinda. The first single released from Belinda was Mad About You, and in the summer of '86 the song peaked at #3 on Billboard. The album was well received by the audience and critics and when it debuted in July of that year, and peaked at #13, Belinda knew she was once again in the limelight; in America that is. Her first album didn't have the success in Europe as it did in the US. Mad About You only peaked at #67 in Europe. While Belinda was back in full swing in America she began to hear comments about herself from some people, saying things like, "She's just a rich bitch," " Did you hear she cut out her molars to give her those cheekbones," and "I heard she had cosmetic surgery to get that image." Belinda told them all, "It's not true at all. I've always had these cheekbones--except they were hidden under rolls of fat." As Mad About You was falling from the top, I.R.S. released a second single, I Feel The Magic (peaked at #65). With the single, Belinda became the spokesperson for Agree Shampoo and did a commercial for RAD about quitting drugs with her saying, "life's a beach!" Belinda also toured with Robert Palmer, The Beach Boys, and even had a few club dates on her own with Charlotte. She later made a video from one of her concerts which also included interviews with herself and Charlotte. While her Belinda reached GOLD status, a third and final single, entitled Band of Gold, was released. As a special treat to the fans, the single included a version with Freda Payne (the original singer who recorded the song). If 1986 seemed like a great year for Belinda, little did she know that 1987 would be even better. The first change came from Belinda doing something as simple as changing her hair color. After a stylist had over layered her heavy hair, Belinda was sent to Dusty Flemming of Beverly Hills whom asked Belinda, "Why not dye your hair red like your mum?" By softly layering her ends to go with her angular features and with a newfound red hair, Belinda was now a new woman. Early in 1987, Belinda recorded some tracks for two movies. The first was for a film called Mannequin in which Belinda had a song titled, In My Wildest Dreams. The other movie was called The Burglar, which starred Whoopi Goldberg, and Belinda's song was called, Dancing In The City (also released on a 7" single) Both songs were on I.R.S. Records. Later in the year, Belinda left I.R.S., who had given her the hit album Belinda and all of the Go-Go's records for a new label. She decided to go to MCA Records for a four album contract. Belinda interviewed people for the producer of the album, and finally picked Rick Nowels who CO-wrote I Can't Wait by Stevie Nicks. Rick also had a writing partner named Ellen Shipley, so she flew to New York from California to write some songs for Belinda. The team was trying to get ideas that would be a good concept for Belinda. While they were brainstorming, Ellen mentioned the title Heaven On Earth. Rick thought it was good and started singing it with a fresher title, Heaven Is A Place On Earth. Two months later they finished they finished the writing and began recording. In an interview about the recording of the song Rick said, "All along I knew there was a great chorus, but I was always a little uncomfortable with the verse," He and Shelly Yankus from A&M studios both said that the verse sounded like the words to another song, so Rick and Ellen rewrote the song and three days later. He then had to tell Belinda that she had to rerecord it again which he was nervous about telling her because he had put her through many changes to sing the vocal. When he finally told her, he played it on the piano and she agreed it was better and they should record it all over again because the verses and the bridge were all different. During the production of the album, Diane Warren (a songwriter who has written many songs for bands) contacted Belinda. Two songs were given to her, both becoming singles. Also on the album, Ellen Shipley and Rick Nowels sang backup vocals with Diane Warren, Michelle Phillips from the Mamas and the Papas, Chynna Phillips and Carnie Wilson from Wilson Phillips, Charolette Caffey, and Donna Delroy who is now working with Madonna. It was definitely a full album. They even got Thomas Dolby to play the keyboards. When the album was finally completed, it was then given the album.... Heaven On Earth. The first single (any guesses as to what it was?) was Heaven Is A Place On Earth which peaked at #1 all over the world including the US and the UK The video showed kids holding glowing earth's while spinning round and round. If you also look closely at the guy she is holding in the video it is her husband Morgan Mason. The video was directed by famous actress Diane Keaton who learned about the video from her agent whose other client is Belinda's husband. Her career rapidly grew from the song. During the making of the video American newspapers reported that the couple refused to speak to each other. One insider is reported to have said, "They look all lovey-dovey on screen, but as soon as the cameras stop rolling, they were looking daggers at each other. Morgan refused to let any other man near her, he was so possessive. When they had to speak, they virtually spat at each other. I think Morgan is frightened that Belinda's success might lead her back to her old ways," Of course Belinda said it was a lie. But December was a magical time for her. She had a phenomenal single, and her album peaked on the charts at #13 in the US and #4 in the UK Promotion soon followed. Belinda appeared on David Letterman, Johnny Carson, Top of the Pops and more. She became the spokesperson for LA Gear with posters and commercials promoting the shoes. She even had a fanclub from which Belinda herself had a fan from the club pick a name for it. A guy named Joseph chose the name, Messages from Heaven. She had posters everywhere. The problem though was at the time she was being stalked. At one point in her career she was being stalked by 32 people. One man was going to kill Morgan so he could be with Belinda. But it all was kept quiet to the public. The next single from the album was called I Get Weak (by Diane Warren), and peaked at #2 in America and #10 in Europe on March 19th. The video for it was also directed by Diane Keaton and featured model Tony Ward as Belinda's love interest. To even further promotion, Belinda began her "Good Heavens Tour" in the U.S. and Europe. While on tour, she released her third single, Circle In The Sand which peaked at #8 in the US and #4 in Europe. The video was the first from Heaven On Earth not directed by Diane Keaton. It was filmed near Halfman Bay near San Fransisco on a 45 degree day. It is considered one of her most beautiful, with seemingly smooth cinamatography of Belinda along a beach. With another hit on her hands, the Heaven album had now reached PLATINUM status with shipping numbers reaching the one million mark in the US. In 1988, Belinda received a Grammy nomination for the "Best Female Vocalist" but lost to Whitney Houston. She then released her final single in the US but not the UK It was titled I Feel Free. In the US it peaked at #80 on the singles charts but was #1 on the dance charts. The video was recorded live from her tour at the Tower theater in Darby, Pennsylvania. While still riding high she released her next single in the UK titled, World Without You (the second track written by Diane Warren). It peaked at #34. There was supposedly a video made for the song that was a compilation of her music videos'. When the single was flowing down the charts, MCA released a sixth and final single in Europe titled Love Never Dies and with the little promotion and radio airplay, it peaked at #54. Heaven On Earth proved to be an amazing album to the public. It showed a sleeker and tougher Belinda which helped it sell 3,000,000 copies worldwide, double platinum in the US! The album itself topped at #3 in the US and #4 in the UK She was confirmed as one of pop music's most engaging and dynamic vocalists. Belinda was even considered Madonna's only competitior in the music business. Belinda then released a video of her "Good Heavens Tour" titled Belinda Live! from the Tower Theater (same as the I Feel Free video). After a short hiatus of some grueling promotion, Belinda began working on her third solo album which would later become known as Runaway Horses and bring her fortune and heartache.
THE ULTIMATE BELINDOGRAPHY ----her lips unsealed |
