After almost four decades, the Go-Go’s — Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock and Jane Wiedlin — are calling it quits after one last farewell tour that lands them at Massey Hall tonight along with indie upstarts Best Coast. Post City spoke with Belinda Carlisle about the band. 

After almost four decades, why call it quits?
We’ve been together for 39 years, so it has to end sometime. We are all older and we all have different lives in different parts of the world. So it’s just time. It’s good to leave on a high note. There’s no acrimonious feeling in the band. This is all about celebrating our legacy this summer.

You were so groundbreaking. You should have ushered in this massive change for women in rock bands, but you didn’t. Why?
I think it’s really weird, I don’t know why. You’d think there would be a lot of all-female bands out there doing their thing.… They’re just not. Or, at least, they are not coming from it organically. Who knows? With the Go-Go’s and the Bangles, you’d think there would be.

Tell me about your first stage name, Dottie Danger?
It just sounded like a cute punk rock name, very faux angry. We all had funny names. It was kind of the fashionable thing to do.

When did the band realize you were onto something special?
We were in the U.K. touring with a lot of the Two Tone bands, Madness, the Specials, and we used to write back home how great we were and how successful we were when we really weren’t. This was before the Internet, so no one could tell if it was the truth or not. At the insistence of Madness, “We Got the Beat,” was put out by Fifth Records, and it became, as an import, a dance hit. When we came back from England, there were lineups around the block at [West Hollywood club] the Starwood. And not just punk kids, all kinds of people. That’s when we knew it was maybe taking on a life of its own.  

The band first broke up in 1985. It must feel good that three decades have passed and there is still a hunger for a tour.
We broke up in ’85 — or took a bit of a break for four years — and then got back together in ’89, and with the exception of a few summers, have been working every year. People love the band, I think because it’s authentic and especially, in this day and age, there is a lack of authenticity. I like to think of the Go-Go’s as a runaway train, and you never know if it’s going to crash or not. And I think that energy is really special in this day and age. And the songs are really good, and it’s a good show, a good, live rock ’n’ roll show.

Any fond memories from playing in Toronto over the years?
Oh, I have some I can’t talk about. It’s a beautiful city, and I wish we had more time there. I remember lots of great restaurants and just a beautiful vibe.