The Go-Go’s are perhaps the most successful female rock band of the ’80s, if not of all time. The band rose to fame in the LA punk scene and was considered to be a game-changer by many. During their rise, they were the first all-female band to reach commercial success that wrote, sang, and played their own instruments.
Dubbed as “America’s Sweethearts,” The Go Go’s rise in the music industry was anything but sweet. This documentary by Showtime takes us back to the ’80s, where an enticing group of female musicians joins forces to enter the limelight, make music that touches souls, and fight their way through the rampant sexism that was an integral part of the music industry.
Rock music was at its peak in the 80s. Bands like David Bowie, The Police, Queen, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and many more, were regulars in the scene. Now imagine being in a band that’s just entered the punk rock scene and has to keep up with the likes of such big names. Scary, right?
Now imagine entering that same scene, only this time, you’re an all-female rock band; things are about to get much, much harder for you.
Showtime’s documentary on The Go Go’s takes you through those exact moments that defined them as a band, as well as a game-changer. The 100-minute long movie vividly portrays the struggles the band and its members had to go through and talks about their triumphs as well.
As mentioned at the start, sexism was one of the many issues the band had to face. For instance, the documentary talks about the time in the UK when they had to act strong on stage during their performance while members of the audience were throwing sexist chants at them. At one point, these chants turned into verbal abuse, but the band pulled through it, only to break down after the show, and rethink the situation, and how it had gone wrong.
The Go Go’s documentary also does a fine job of talking about the group’s music and how it was becoming a part of the rock music scene. Punk rock was one of the band’s main genres, and they were making the genre their own as if there were no tomorrow. These girls were wild, hardcore, and above all, punk queens. They were badass women who loved to live.
Each member had a part in the documentary where they shared their personal experiences—for good or bad—from the formation of the band through its breakup. The Go Go’s, director Alison Ellwood did an amazing job in showing love and respect to a band that paved the way for many female musicians down the road.
