A solo career is when a musician who found fame in a band steps out to record and perform under their own name. Belinda Carlisle’s solo career after the Go-Go’s brought her the global No. 1 Heaven Is a Place on Earth, while Billy Idol’s solo move after Generation X made him an MTV superstar. Both journeys show how new wave stars outgrew their bands, a theme explored in the MGM+ docuseries New Wave.
(Andrew Hurley / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0))
Mentioned in: From Punk Clubs to Pop Royalty: How New Wave Stars Like Belinda Carlisle and Billy Idol Conquered the ’80s