The Go-Go's 4 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jane Wiedlin

Jane solely wrote "Fun with Ropes." Is this song about macramé, handcrafts, Scout badges? According to Jane's interview with The A.V. Club, "'Fun with Ropes' is all about bondage and a super-funny song that was still loved. Belinda still loves to sing that song, which I adore about her" (Adams, 2011).

Of the 13 never-released songs on the album "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's" and its two singles, Jane solely wrote two and co-wrote six; therefore, Jane contributed the most by composing 37% of the "new" lyrics on the retrospective album.

Answer: Jane Wiedlin

Jane exclusively wrote "Forget That Day." Of The Go-Go's 11 songs on the album "Talk Show" and its three singles, Jane solely wrote two and co-wrote five; therefore, Jane contributed the most by composing 38% of the lyrics on the album. In addition to Jane's two sole-writing credits, Jane solely teamed with two outside writers on one song to be the only Go-Go with lyrical credit on three songs.

Answer: Blades

Margot co-wrote "Blades" with Jane and Belinda and it's her only lyrical credit during her two years and ten months with The Go-Go's. "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's" contains a rehearsal of "Blades" with Margot from Jan 1980 but eleven months later, Margot and the band had to go-go their separate ways.

Answer: Speeding

Don't get caught "Speeding" while driving to a Go-Go's show. The Go-Go's released "Get Up and Go" backed with "Speeding" as a single from the album "Vacation"; however, "Speeding" was not recorded on the album.

Ten days after the album was released, "Speeding" was included on the soundtrack of the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982). Scene: As Mike Damone (ticket scalper and all-round sleaze) leaves his apartment and he sees "PRICK" graffitied on the side of his AMC Gremlin, "Speeding" begins to play.

Twelve years after the album, The Go-Go's finally clocked "Speeding" by including it on their retrospective album "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's" in 1994.

Did you know Gina Schock was caught for speeding? According to the video on Facebook, Gina and Jane provide live commentary as Gina gets a ticket for speeding during their drive to Palm Springs in May 2012 ("Gina Gets a Speeding Ticket," Facebook, uploaded by Go-Go's).

Answer: Vicki Peterson of The Bangles

Vicki Peterson not only stood for Charlotte throughout the 18 shows of this tour but also the ten shows of The Go-Go's Acoustic Christmas Tour in 1994. After The Bangles broke up in 1989, Vicki was a member of Continental Drifters, The Psycho Sisters and Action Skulls and has also contributed her talents to Belinda Carlisle, Giant Sand, Hoodoo Gurus, John Doe and Tom Petty. Before standing in for Charlotte on this tour, Vicki sang harmony on Belinda's album "Real" in 1993.

Talk about a workweek! Starting on any Monday and ending on the following Sunday, the most shows The Go-Go's had performed during this seven-day cycle is eight. In their 45-year career, The Go-Go's had only done this twice...and both times were with Vicki: eight shows during 21-27 November 1994 and again during 12-18 December 1994.

Answer: Greatest

The Go-Go's released their first compilation album "Greatest" in 1990 and it was their first album since they had disbanded on 10 May 1985. "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's" was subsequently released in 1994 and "VH1 Behind the Music" in 2000. "Hellogg's Punk Tarts" was an unofficial release of live recordings at the Whiskey a Go Go on 4 Oct 1978 with originalists Elissa Bello (drums), Margot Olavarria (bass) and newcomer Charlotte Caffey (guitar). Unofficial means bootleg.

The Go-Go's last album before disbanding was "Talk Show" in 1984 and six years, six months and 16 days later, The Go-Go's released "Greatest."

Answer: Shapely girls

The Go-Go's bless body positivity with the lyrics "Girls are shapely by design...Exactly what you've got is so easy to adore" and "I'd rather be a pin-up girl than zero size." Speaking of blessings, Belinda was a shapely pin-up girl in the August 2001 issue of Playboy magazine.

In 1977, AC/DC had storied us, "Forty-two, thirty-nine, fifty-six...You could say she's got it all" with "Whole Lotta Rosie." Also in 1977, the Commodores constructed, "Thirty-six, twenty-four, thirty-six oh what a winning hand" with "Brick House" and in 1978, Queen treasured, "Fat-bottomed girls you make the rocking world go round" with "Fat Bottomed Girls."

In 1980, just as The Go-Go's adore your curves, the Talking Heads astronomically theorize "The world moves on a woman's hips" with "The Great Curve." These are professional songwriters; they know what they're saying.

Answer: Lover loves another lover

Lyrics: "And though now I know you love some other one [...] I knew I'd lost my heart." According to Jane's interview with Songfacts, "I was having a romance with this Euro-guy...another dramatic, tumultuous, everything-has-to-be-high-drama kind of relationship...that song was written about the town of Lyon in France. And I kind of remember being on a tower with him and birds were flying around us and it was raining...it was all very "Wuthering Heights"" (Wiser, 2007).

Answer: Beauty and the Beat

The Go-Go's released "Our Lips Are Sealed" on the album "Beauty and the Beat" in 1981 and this single had ranked on 14 music charts: #2 Australia Kent Music Report, #3 Canada RPM Top 100, #3 Canada Nielsen SoundScan, #10 US Billboard Disco Top 80, #12 Canada RPM 100 Year-End, #14 Sweden Top List, #15 US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, #17 Australia Kent Music Report Year-End, #20 US Billboard Hot 100, #23 New Zealand Recorded Music, #47 UK Singles Official Charts Company, #63 US Billboard Hot 100 Year-End, Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Pop Songs of All Time and Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Answer: This Town

The song "This Town" on the album "Beauty and the Beat" romanticizes how life is a "kick" in West Hollywood. According to Caffey's interview with Songfacts, "I had a guitar part, Jane wrote all the lyrics and it just came together in a really cool way...We were really proud of ourselves" (Wiser, 2010).

According to Jane's interview with Vulture, "I think 'This Town' might be our best song. After all these years the lyrics are still fantastic...It's just a great song" (Ivie, 2021).

In addition to Hollywood, The world-traveling Go-Go's also visit London in the song "London Boys" and refer to Los Angeles in the song "La La Land." The Go-Go's use the toponyms "Canterbury" (Canterbury, Kent, England) in the song "Living At The Canterbury," "champagne" (region in France) in the song "Party Pose," "cologne" (Cologne, Germany) in the song "Skidmarks on My Heart" and "bikini" (Bikini Atoll) in the song "The Whole World Lost Its Head."