4
Tuesday, March 5th, 1985, 7:41 P.M.
As Charlotte began feeling nostalgic on her final stretch home, she naturally thought about her beloved band and the show as a combination; How fate allowed the two to come together.
The Go-Go’s half-hour television program debuted on CBS on September 9th, 1982. It was a much anticipated premier due to all of the hype and advertising that network television could afford. Roadside billboards, with the girl’s bright, smiling faces, were popping up all over southern California and the rest of the country soon after the start of the new year 1982, letting everyone know that the band would be on T.V. for the upcoming Fall season. The Go-Go’s were already enormously popular in the Hollywood area, which only heightened the excitement for the local fandom. As their single, “We Got the Beat,” was being played on radio stations all across the Los Angeles area, their legion of fans were beginning to wonder with baited enthusiasm when an album was coming out.
And, one surely would have come out if a certain network hadn’t stepped in and put their footprint on television history.
The idea for the show had already been in the brain-trust at CBS for almost two years prior, and the network was fully prepared to begin auditions for the parts of the all-girl band. It was to be a manufactured group, made up of actresses, with songs supplied by professional songwriters. The network even had several names for the band being tossed around.
The whole thing made perfect sense. Network executives and movie producers alike are always trying to capitalize on the success of previous vehicles. Obviously, that’s why sequels get made. The geniuses over at CBS were no different. Their idea was to recapture the magic of “The Monkees”, the hit T.V. series from back in the sixties. It had been fifteen years since those lovable lads were bouncing around, and the time was ripe for a new group to take their place.
Keeping in step with the parlance of the times, the network made the calculated decision to switch from an all-male group to an all-female group. It was perfect: Four, fabulous foxes, frolicking around in colorfully clad outfits and bikinis, singing their infectious, little ditties for everyone to enjoy. Blatant titillation designed for the American public.
It was time for a change and the world was ready for it.
The network was sure of it.
Tryouts were to begin shortly after the start of the new year in 1981, way ahead of schedule. The network wanted ample time to record plenty of songs in anticipation of a debut album release just before the show would air, and then another one two or three months into the season.
It was all carefully calculated when fate would step in and change the course of direction.
The tryouts were about to take a serious turn.
Philip Thielen, one of the program directors over at CBS, caught wind of an all-female rock band that played around the Hollywood area on a regular basis. After doing some digging, he discovered that they were playing at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go on a particular Saturday night. Even though this wasn’t really in his job description, he decided to drive over to the establishment anyway and give them a look. As his brain was telling him that he was wasting his time, his gut instincts kept telling him differently the whole ride over. After all, how good could an all-chick band be— right?
When he arrived at the club, his brain was kicked in the nuts and his gut instincts were validated instead. The room had a distinctive vibe about it. He could overhear some of the people talking about the band. Dressed in his suit jacket and tie, the patrons looked at him as if he were an agent or someone else scouting out talent. It was something that happened often at The Whiskey and they were right. That’s exactly what Philip was doing.
He made his way to the back of the stage area and stood against the wall. It was about the only room left in the whole place to stand. The joint was packed. He certainly wasn’t interested in standing close to the stage. All he wanted to do was get a good look at the band and make his determination shortly thereafter.
When the Go-Go’s were introduced, the crowd roared their approval. Some of the patrons even shouted out their names. They seemed to be well known. When they started playing, the crowd got even louder.
Mr. Thielen stood and watched with definite intrigue.
“Is it possible I got this lucky?” he asked to himself. “These girls are fantastic! Plus, they can all play their own instruments. We wouldn’t have to fake it. On top of that, they were cute as hell. All five of them!”
Philip could hardly believe his good fortune. Did he indeed catch lightening in a bottle? Did it matter that there were five of them instead of four?
After watching their entire first set, he was convinced that he had found the right thing. The crowd loved them. What more approval did he need? He made up his mind right then and there, when they were done playing, he was going to approach them and make them an offer.