The Go-Go‘s performing at the Whisky A Go Go in 1980. From left to right: Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock, Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin and Margot Olavarria © Donna Santisi/Redferns

At first, it might seem a stretch to draw a link between Los Angeles’ underground hardcore punk scene emerging out of the sweaty clubs in the late 70s and the glossy commercial pop that topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic in the mid-80s. But, in fact, it can be achieved rather neatly via the stor y of just one individual: Dottie Danger, a rebellious teen who briefly played drums for cult heroes Germs – a band that once called themselves Sophistifuck And The Revlon Spam Queens. You will no doubt know her bet ter as Belinda Carlisle. Indeed, if it wasn’t for another germ – a severe case of glandular fever, in fact, which put Dottie out of action for Germs’ first gig – history might have taken a different path.

The clubs of Los Angeles and California’s other big cities were a rich melting pot at the turn of the 80s, producing both underground heroes and unlikely chart toppers, often from the same group. It’s a story worthy of the Hollywood treatment, one that encompasses the birth of new wave, the rise of all-girl groups and gloss rock, and the very essence of the American Dream itself.

THE WESTSIDE MELTING POT

The 80s East Coast club scene is welldocumented, spawning pop sensations from Madonna to Cyndi Lauper. The nascent house culture coming out of Manhattan and Brooklyn gave these acts a distinctive quality. But while business was booming in NYC, there was something of a different nature brewing nearly 3,000 miles away on the Pacific coast.

In LA, homegrown hopefuls brushed shoulders with drifters from elsewhere, lured by the bright lights. Barely could you move in a diner or bar without bumping into a Hollywood star, a legendary rocker, or someone aspiring to be one. Several notorious haunts on the Sunset Strip were magnets for these types: The Roxy, The Troubadour, The Marquee and the Whisky A Go Go, which helped to launch the careers of various acts including Alice Cooper and The Doors the generation before. Trying to hone in on ‘the scene’ as a single entity is like trying to lock down on several moving targets at once. LA has always been a fluid blend of overlapping scenes and sub-scenes, like individual ripples in a pond all colliding together, sometimes in synergy, sometimes in opposition. There were the hard rockers led by Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses – following in the wake of Van Halen. Then there were the weirdo alt-rock bunch who actively rejected the poodle rock posturing. With intentionally obtuse monikers like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Butthole Surfers, Jane’s Addiction and Circle Jerks, a mainstream future seemed highly unlikely. And in another part of town altogether, West Coast hip-hop was taking early steps. While many were destined to remain underground, others were plucked from the mayhem into stardom – often, the most unlikely of candidates.