Songfacts®:

• Belinda Carlisle's first single as a solo artist, "Mad About You" was written as a Go-Go's song while the group was still together in 1985. Guitarist Jane Wiedlin had left the group, replaced by Paula Jean Brown. They played the Rock In Rio festival in January that year and started work on a fourth album, but the group fell apart. Carlisle remained signed to their label, I.R.S. Records, and began work on a solo album with help from her ex-bandmates Wiedlin, Brown and Charlotte Caffey, all of whom played on it. "Mad About You" was written by Paula Jean Brown with two other songwriters: Mitchell Evans and James Whelan.
• This catchy love song is about being crazy about your partner. The title had some traction as a hook: in 1992, a successful TV show called Mad About You began airing on NBC.
• When The Runaways broke up, their guitarists with the songwriting chops, Joan Jett and Lita Ford, became the solo stars while their lead singer, Cherie Currie, faded into obscurity. It was a different story for The Go-Go's: lead singer Belinda Carlisle, who wasn't a songwriter and didn't play an instrument, became the huge star. "Mad About You" was a hit, establishing her as a solo artist. Her next album contained "Heaven Is A Place On Earth," a #1 smash that was one of the biggest hits of the '80s.
  
  Carlisle was well-suited for the era, with a big voice that could make whatever she was singing sound jubilant. She also got lots of help from various producers, songwriters and studio musicians who put her in a position to succeed.
  
  As for the Go-Go's guitarists, Jane Wiedlin had a modestly successful solo career and expanded into acting with roles on Clue and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Charlotte Caffey, happiest out of the spotlight, worked on Carlisle's first two solo albums and formed a group called The Graces in 1989 with Meredith Brooks. That group was supported by much of the team that made Carlisle so successful, but they didn't pan out and split after just one album. Caffey remained active as a songwriter.
• Carlisle showed off a svelte new look in the video, which was directed by Leslie Libman. With The Go-Go's, she had a casual girlie look, but her solo style was more elegant, with a touch of Hollywood glamor. Even in the beach scenes, she's fully clothed with perfect hair and makeup.
• One of Carlisle's hits from her next album was "I Get Weak," which has a very similar theme. That one was written by Diane Warren.
• Carlisle had great timing with music video networks: MTV went on the air in 1981, the same year The Go-Go's released their first album. VH1, a more adult-oriented network, launched in 1985, a year before Carlisle's more adult-oriented debut solo album.