Go-Go’s co-founder Jane Wieldin has led a pretty eventful and colorful life, and she’s planning to share plenty of details about it in an upcoming memoir. Wiedlin shared some information about her book in a recent conversation with American Songwriter.
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“I wanted to tell you that I just finished writing my first book,” the 67-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer said. “It’s an autobiography and it will be coming out in a year, ’cause I guess that’s how long it takes to get a book ready to come out. But I finished writing it. That’s the amazing part.”
As for what period of her life the book covers, Wiedlin revealed, “It starts from birth and then it goes till the [band’s] Rock & Roll Hall induction [in 2021].”
Jane said the book is titled TMI: Memoirs Of A Go-Go.
“And it’s definitely TMI,” she added. “I’m warning people in advance. They’re gonna go, like, ‘Wait, whaaat?’ There’s a lot of really intimate and crazy s— in it.”
When the interviewer commented that that’s the kind of stuff people want to read in a memoir, Wiedlin replied, “That’s exactly my attitude. Like, why do one if you’re not going to tell all? Or at least tell almost all, you know?”
One topic Jane revealed she wrote about in the book was a conflict she had with Go-Go’s frontwoman Belinda Carlisle about her desire to sing lead on one on the songs she’d written.
“I explain everything from my point of view,” she teased.
About the Challenge of Writing the Book
Wiedlin also pointed out that she will be “the fourth the fourth Go-Go to put out a book.”
Carlisle was the first band member to publish a memoir, Lips Unsealed, in 2011. Bassist Kathy Valentine was next, releasing All I Ever Wanted: A Rock ‘N’ Roll Memoir in 2020. Drummer Gina Schock followed that in 2021 with Made In Hollywood: All Access With The Go-Go’s.
Wiedlin explained, “So, that was kind of the tricky part was to try and not to retell stories that people had already told. So I’m pretty sure I’m good on that. I mean, obviously, everyone has their own perspective though. … [O]ne person could see a story from a different viewpoint. But yeah … writing that book was very fun, believe it or not.”
She continued, “And it made me very introspective, ’cause you really have to dig deep. And I went through tons of boxes and stuff looking for clippings and diaries and photos. … [S]o that was helpful, because I have a terrible memory.
Jane added, with a laugh, “I have the ‘CRS’ disease … can’t remember s—, but I managed to do it. So, I’m actually patting myself on the back.”
Wiedlin said she also conferred with a couple of her Go-Go’s bandmates to check on how they remembered certain events.
“I talked to Gina and Charlotte a lot when I had like a vague memory and I wasn’t sure if it was true, to get them to verify,” she explained. “So that was nice having their help.”
Other Recent Wiedlin News
The Go-Go’s played a series of West Coast shows in spring 2025, including two performances at the Coachella festival.
As for whether the band will be playing shows in 2026, Wiedlin said, “Well, we don’t have any plans at this point, but … things just always seem to, just when you think it’s done, something else pops up. So, who knows? Hopefully. I really love playing with The Go-Go’s. I mean, you know, it’s been my whole life, basically. Well, not my whole life. That’s silly. It’s been a lot of my life.”
Regarding possibly making some new music, Jane said, “I’ve had lots of little ideas,” but noted that she’d been mainly focused on writing her book. She also revealed that she’s been dealing with an illness that causes “chronic fatigue and brain fog,” suggesting that that’s also hampered her songwriting output.
Wiedlin’s most recent release was a 2024 EP titled ED she recorded with Elettrodomestico, her duo with Italian multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Pietro Straccia.
Meanwhile, Wiedlin and Schock recently took part in star-studded, two-show benefit event called Freezing Man. The concerts were held on January 9 and 10 at The Sylvee venue in Madison, Wisconsin. Freezing Man raises money for Joey’s Song, a charity that supports research into finding treatments and a cure for epilepsy, as well as helps children with special needs.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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