Heaven Is A Place On Earth

This effervescent song is about finding heaven on Earth in the form of true love. It was written by the San Francisco songwriter Rick Nowels (who wrote and produced Stevie Nicks' "I Can't Wait") and the New York-based Ellen Shipley. The initial idea came to Shipley at a Brooklyn gas station where she spotted a greeting card that said "Heaven On Earth." When she and Nowels started working on a song for Belinda Carlisle, Shipley wrote that phrase on the blackboard as an idea. Nowels wrote in the words "Is A" to make it "Heaven Is A Place On Earth."

The big backing vocals on the chorus were sung by Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas, prolific hit songwriter Diane Warren (worked with Whitney Houston, Cher, Celine Dion), and the song's writers, Ellen Shipley and songwriter Rick Nowels. Warren wrote two tracks on the album: "World Without You" and "I Get Weak."

This was the first single from Carlisle's second solo album. After her group The Go-Go's split in 1985, she remained signed to their label, I.R.S., and issued her self titled debut in 1986. The Go-Go's had some squabbles that led to their breakup, but Carlisle remained close to her bandmate Charlotte Caffey, who worked on those first two solo albums as a songwriter and guitarist. The Go-Go's other guitarist, Jane Wiedlin, had modest success early on with her solo career, but Carlisle had an instant hit with her first single, "Mad About You," and became a superstar when "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" became a global smash, topping the charts in several countries, including the UK, US and Ireland. It was Carlisle's only UK or US chart topper with or without The Go-Go's.