‘I knew the Go-Go’s had something’: Manager Miles Copeland looks back at future Rock and Roll Hall of Famers

“People automatically assume we were probably put together by some guy,” the Go-Go’s lead vocalist Belinda Carlisle says during the 2020 documentary “The Go-Go’s.” “But we did it all ourselves.”

The Go-Go’s took care of business sonically with their hook-laden debut, 1981’s game-changing “Beauty and the Beat. The Go-Go’s, which also include guitarists Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin, bassist Kathy Valentine and drummer Gina Schock, are the only all-female band to top the Billboard album charts by writing every song and playing every instrument.

However, the Go-Gos, who will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in October, are indebted to a man. Miles Copeland was far ahead of the curve at the dawn of the 1980s. Female rockers lacked respect and record deals. Copeland, who managed the Police, was enamored of an emerging Los Angeles band who was morphing from punk to new wave.

The Go-Go’s signed to Copeland’s label, I.R.S. Records. “I loved what the Go-Go’s were about,” Copeland said. “They were a breath of fresh air at the time.” The Go-Go’s were talented, driven and attractive. They were fortunate to be part of I.R.S. since they benefitted being part of a label with the Police as its crown jewel.

Copeland, who’s memoir “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back,” will hit shelves July 13, used $6,000 in found money after the Police returned under budget after a video shoot. The funds were used for the Go-Go’s to make “Our Lips Are Sealed.” The video, which captures the band blissfully tooling around Los Angeles, blew up on MTV.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Copeland said. “I knew the Go-Go’s had something, and I wanted to do all that I could to support them.” Well, Copeland did all that he could for the then-emerging band. The Go-Go’s scored the enviable gig of tour support for the Police’s “The Ghost in the Machine” tour. It was a fabulous show that I caught as a kid during the summer of 1981 in Philadelphia.

The bill also featured seminal artists such as Oingo Boingo and the Specials. My memories of the Go-Go’s was of a raw band who was not quite there. Three years later, I caught the Go-Go’s on their “Talk Show” tour in New York when they moved to the other end of the spectrum as a too-polished pop band who was forced to deliver every night since the opener was an exceptional young band with a singer who had a Jagger-esque quality.

The support act was INXS. The Go-Go’s upped their game even though it was the beginning of the end for the band. However, Copeland was excited about the Go-Go’s’ future, and he signed them to a multi-album deal. “I was trying to make up for what I missed out on with R.E.M,” Copeland said.

“Whenever I asked R.E.M. if they needed more money, they said that they didn’t. They were fine. When their deal ran out with us, they told us they were going to sign with Warner Bros. I told them I would pay whatever, but the band told me that Warner Bros. said that they would double anything that I was going to pay them. They ended up with the best record deal in industry history, but I signed the Go-Go’s.”

Unfortunately, the Go-Go’s deal was short-lived since the group was falling apart behind the scenes during the “Talk Show” tour. “By the time I got there and ‘Talk Show’ was being announced, they had some internal issues, including inter-band unrest, one or two with drug issues, and Gina leaving for a while to undergo heart surgery,” former I.R.S. publicist Cary Baker recalled.

“They were very well-protected by their new (post-Ginger Canzoneri) management, Irving Azoff’s Frontline Management. Gaining access was like pulling teeth.” The Go-Go’s broke up in 1985 and have reunited and splintered on numerous occasions.

However, the band will always have “Beauty and the Beat,” which includes hits such as “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips Are Sealed.” And then there is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction in October. To quote the moniker of the band’s last album, “God Bless the Go-Go’s.”