Belinda Carlisle Revisits Split Enz on New Covers Album

Belinda Carlisle has released Once Upon a Time in California, her first English-language solo album in 29 years. The album features covers of songs from the 1970s that influenced her as a singer.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Carlisle recalled her connection to Split Enz, whose song “Stuff and Nonsense” she covered on her 1986 debut solo album. “I was a huge fan. In 1977, they came to LA and I saw them – with Neil and Tim Finn – at the Roxy. It was like theatre; it was the most amazing thing I’d seen,” she told Rolling Stone AU/NZ. She also shared a memorable story: “That same weekend, I had a party… and Neil Finn and some of the guys from Split Enz showed up. They couldn’t believe all these girls were at the party!”

The new album was in the works for eight years. Carlisle says she chose ten songs from “probably about 100” she considered. “Just because I liked the song didn’t mean it was gonna work. So we would demo everything and see if we could keep the integrity of the song, but make it like a song that I would do – the sound that I have,” she explained.

Highlights include The Association’s “Never My Love”, which Carlisle enhanced with Beach Boys-inspired harmonies: “I always loved the song and I wanted to put more of a twist on it… So that’s what we did and it totally worked with the song.” Her take on Harry Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talking” also drew from her childhood California influences: “Because the original has that ethereal, very California feel, I wanted to just add that same sort of vocal sound that was such a big part of my childhood… we just went for it.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Carlisle described growing up in California as a big influence on her music. “California radio was a big part of the culture at the time… music provided an escape for me, into my fantasy world of wanting to be a singer one day,” she said.

Belinda Carlisle’s Once Upon a Time in California is out now through Demon Music.