Singer celebrates the melodies that defined a generation and the California of her dreams
Belinda Carlisle revisits her roots with the release of a new studio album, Once Upon A Time In California.
Following the success of her 2023 EP Kismet and the single Big Big Love, Once Upon A Time In California sees Belinda Carlisle take a deeply personal journey through the golden sounds of her youth. It is a heartfelt tribute to the vintage pop culture that shaped her musical identity.
Commenting on the album Belinda says, “I was born and raised in California at a time when music was an important part of Californian culture. I lived and breathed music, it was my great escape – a refuge of fantasy and imagination. Every day after school and when it was summer vacation, I would listen and sing along to the music on the radio for the entire day. Always fantasising about being a singer myself, one day.
“This collection of songs is the best representation of what I loved back then that I could think of – listening to it brings back so many memories of a time and a California that doesn’t really exist anymore. That’s not meant to sound like a bad thing, it’s just different – there was an innocence and energy back then that was unique and magical. Things I doubt will ever be felt in quite the same way again. Here’s to the California of my dreams.”
A Personal Education In Pop
Once Upon A Time In California was recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Gabe Lopez, who worked with Belinda on her 2017 studio album Wilder Shores.
It’s a carefully curated and beautifully realised salute to Belinda’s personal education in pop music, and the magical sounds that arrived in her life from near and far, on the radio and on cherished 45s.
The LP opens with a stirring remake of the Burt Bacharach & Hal David gem written for Dionne Warwick, Anyone Who Had A Heart. Belinda then pays her respects to such timeless artists as the Carpenters (Superstar), Gordon Lightfoot (If You Could Read My Mind), and Jim Croce (Time In A Bottle), and to songs for the ages including Everybody’s Talking and One (Harry Nilsson), Reflections Of My Life (Marmalade) and Never My Love (The Association).
The result is an entirely different kind of Californian dreaming for a new generation. Although this marks the first time all 10 tracks have been available on one album, three of them – Superstar, If You Could Read My Mind and Get Together (The Youngbloods) have been available on previous Belinda Carlisle collections.
Included among the 10 tracks is the lead single The Air That I Breathe, a rework of The Hollies’ hit, released today (6 June). Listen below:
Tracklisting
Anyone Who Had A Heart
If You Could Read My Mind
One
Never My Love
The Air That I Breathe
Time In A Bottle
Superstar
Everybody’s Talkin’
Get Together
Reflections Of My Life
Set for release on 29 August via Demon Music, Once Upon A Time In California will be available on CD, vinyl including picture discs and digital formats. Available to pre-order now, click here.
Image credit: Albert Sanchez
Heavenly Hits Tour
In addition to the album release Belinda embarks on her Heavenly Hits tour in the UK with shows between 5-13 September 2025. Alongside festival appearances at Saint Helen’s Retrospective Festival (Friday 5 September) and Chelmsford’s Radio 2 in the Park (Saturday 6 September) the singer visits:
Tuesday 9 September – Edinburgh, Usher Hall
Wednesday 10 September – Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall
Friday 12 September – Hammersmith Apollo
Saturday 13 September – Manchester Apollo
For ticket availability and to book click here
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