We Got the Beat by The Go-Go’s was released in the United States on January 16, 1982, with Can’t Stop the World as the B side. It was the second single from the band’s debut album Beauty and the Beat. 

Previously in 1980, a demo version of the song was released on Stiff Records in the United Kingdom, while The Go-Go’s were touring there with the ska band Madness. The demo version features Margot Olavarria on bass. She was later replaced by Kathy Valentine, who plays bass on the popular version.

We Got the Beat was The Go-Go’s biggest hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The music video for the song was taken from a live performance at Palos Verdes High School in Los Angeles on December 4, 1981.

The picture sleeves from the 1980 (right) and the 1982 (left) releases of We Got the Beat: