Even though the Sex Pistols (and punk rock in general) had nothing to offer musically, the band inspired numerous other musicians to form their own bands. Attending the Sex Pistols’ concert in San Francisco in 1978 was what prompted Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin to pick up an instrument themselves and form a band. Three years later, Belinda Carlisle (vocals) and Jane Wiedlin (rhythm guitar), together with three fellow bandmates (Gina Schock – drums, Kathy Valentine – bass and Charlotte Caffey – lead guitar), released their debut album "Beauty and the Beat" as The Go-Go's, featuring a blend of pop, punk and new wave that was extremely contemporary for its time. Unlike Belinda Carlisle later on as a solo artist, The Go-Go's were less successful in Europe, so I’ve actually only listened to this album for the first time today. And that’s perhaps my problem: the momentum for this kind of music has passed. If you didn’t get to know and love them back then, it remains superficial and sounds just like countless other pop-oriented American new wave bands – perhaps even a touch more commercial than would have been good for it. The historical significance of the Go-Go's is, at least in the US, undisputed, but musically they simply offer well-crafted – and at times merely well-intentioned – new wave pop music.