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Blondie (band)
Encyclopedia
Blondie is an American rock
band, founded by singer Deborah Harry
and guitarist Chris Stein
. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave
and punk
scenes of the mid-1970s. Their first two albums contained strong elements of these genres, and although successful in the United Kingdom and Australia, Blondie was regarded as an underground band in the United States until the release of Parallel Lines
in 1978. Over the next three years, the band achieved several hit singles and became noted for its eclectic mix of musical styles incorporating elements of disco
, pop
, rap, and reggae
, while retaining a basic style as a New Wave band.
Blondie broke up after the release of their sixth studio album The Hunter in 1982. Deborah Harry continued to pursue a solo career with varied results after taking a few years off to care for partner Chris Stein
, who was diagnosed with pemphigus
, a rare autoimmune disease of the skin.
The band reformed in 1997, achieving renewed success and a number one single in the United Kingdom with "Maria
" in 1999. The group toured and performed throughout the world during the following years, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 2006. Blondie has sold 40 million records worldwide and is still active today, with a new album, Panic of Girls
, released 30 May 2011 in the UK.
moved from Brooklyn
to Manhattan
. Inspired by the burgeoning new music scene at the Mercer Arts Center
, he sought to join a similar band. He joined The Stilettos in 1973 as their guitarist
and formed a romantic relationship with one of the band's vocalists, Deborah Harry
, a former waitress and Playboy Bunny
. Harry had been a member of the folk-rock band, The Wind in the Willows
in the late 1960s. In 1974, Stein parted ways with The Stilettos and Elda Gentile, the band's originator. Stein and Harry formed a new band with drummer Billy O'Connor and bassist Fred Smith
. By 1975, after some personnel turnover (including sisters Tish
and Snooky Bellomo on backing vocals), Stein and Harry were joined by drummer Clem Burke
, keyboard player Jimmy Destri
and bass player Gary Valentine
. Originally billed as Angel and the Snakes, they renamed themselves Blondie in late 1975. The name derived from comments made by truck drivers who catcalled "Hey, Blondie" to Harry as they drove by. Later, band members were amused to learn that the name was shared by Adolf Hitler
's dog Blondi
, a fact acknowledged in parody when, in 1997, they semi-anonymously contributed a cover of "Ordinary Bummer" to the Iggy Pop
tribute album We Will Fall under the pseudonym 'Adolph's Dog'.
Blondie became regulars at Max's Kansas City
and CBGB
. They got their first record deal with Private Stock Records
in early 1976 and released their debut single "X-Offender
" on June 17, 1976. Their debut album Blondie
(AUS No. 14, UK No. 75) was issued in December 1976. In September 1977, Blondie bought back its contract with Private Stock and then signed with Chrysalis Records
. The first album was re-released on the new label in October 1977. Rolling Stone
s review of the debut album observed the eclectic nature of the group's music, comparing it to Phil Spector
and The Who
, and commented that the album's two strengths were Richard Gottehrer
's production and the persona of Deborah Harry, saying she performed with "utter aplomb and involvement throughout: even when she's portraying a character consummately obnoxious and spaced-out, there is a wink of awareness that is comforting and amusing yet never condescending." It also noted that Harry was the "possessor of a bombshell zombie's voice that can sound dreamily seductive and woodenly Mansonite
within the same song".
The band's first commercial success occurred in Australia in 1977, when the music television program Countdown mistakenly played their video "In the Flesh", which was the B-side of their current single "X-Offender
". Jimmy Destri later credited the show's Molly Meldrum for their initial success, commenting that "we still thank him to this day" for playing the wrong song. In a 1998 interview, drummer Clem Burke recalled seeing the episode in which the wrong song was played, but he and Chris Stein suggested that it may have been a deliberate subterfuge on the part of Meldrum. Stein asserted that "X-Offender" was "too crazy and aggressive [to become a hit]", while "In the Flesh" was "not representative of any punk sensibility. Over the years, I've thought they probably played both things but liked one better. That's all." In retrospect, Burke described "In the Flesh" as "a forerunner to the power ballad".
Both the single and album reached the Australian top five in October 1977, and a subsequent double-A release of "X-Offender" and "Rip Her to Shreds" was also popular. A successful Australian tour followed in December, though it was marred by an incident in Brisbane
when disappointed fans almost rioted after Harry canceled a performance, due to illness.
In February 1978, Blondie released their second album, Plastic Letters
(UK No. 10, US No. 78). The album was recorded as a four-piece band because Gary Valentine left the band. Plastic Letters was promoted extensively throughout Europe and Asia by Chrysalis Records. The album's first single, "Denis", was a cover version of Randy and the Rainbows' 1963 hit. It reached number two on the British singles charts, while both the album and its second single, "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear
", reached the British top ten. Chart success, along with a successful 1978 UK tour, including a gig at London's Roundhouse, made Blondie one of the first American New Wave bands to achieve mainstream success in the United Kingdom. By this time, Gary Valentine had been replaced by Frank Infante
(guitar, bass guitar), and shortly after that Nigel Harrison
(bass guitar) joined, expanding the band to a six-piece for the first time.
(Australia No. 2, UK No. 1, US No. 6) Blondie's third album, released in September 1978 was produced by Mike Chapman, became the group's most successful effort, selling 20 million copies worldwide. The album's first two singles were "Picture This
" (UK No. 12) and "Hanging on the Telephone
" (UK No. 5).
"Heart of Glass
" was their first U.S. hit. The disco-infused track topped the U.S. charts in April 1979. It was a reworking of a rock and reggae-infused song that the group had performed since its formation, updated with strong elements of disco
music. Clem Burke later said the revamped version was inspired partly by Kraftwerk
and partly by the Bee Gees
' "Stayin' Alive
", whose drum beat Burke tried to emulate. He and Stein gave Jimmy Destri much of the credit for the final result, noting that Destri's appreciation of technology had led him to introduce synthesizers and to rework the keyboard sections. Although some members of the British music press condemned Blondie for "selling out", the song became a success, worldwide. Selling more than a million copies and garnering major airplay, the single reached number one in many countries including the U.S., where Blondie had previously been considered an "underground" band
. The song was accompanied by a music video that showcased Harry's hard-edged and playfully sexual persona, and she began to attain a celebrity status that set her apart from the other band members, who were largely ignored by the media.
Blondie's next single in the U.S. was a more aggressive rock song, "One Way or Another
" (US No. 24), which became their second hit single in the United States. Meanwhile, in the UK, an alternate single choice, "Sunday Girl
", became a No. 1 hit. Parallel Lines
is ranked No. 140 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 greatest albums of all time. In June 1979, Blondie, photographed by Annie Leibovitz
, was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone
magazine.
Their fourth album, Eat to the Beat
(Australia No. 9, UK No. 1, US No. 17), released in October 1979, was well-received by critics as a suitable follow-up to Parallel Lines
, but in the U.S., its singles failed to achieve the same level of success as in the UK, where "Atomic" (UK No. 1, US No. 39) reached number one, "Dreaming" (UK No. 2, US No. 27) reached number two, and "Union City Blue" (UK No. 13) charted in the top 20.
Blondie's next single, the Grammy-nominated "Call Me
" was the result of Deborah Harry's collaboration with the Italian songwriter and producer Giorgio Moroder
, who had been responsible for Donna Summer
's biggest hits. This track was not included on any Blondie studio album; rather, it was the title theme of the soundtrack for the film American Gigolo
. Released in February 1980, "Call Me" spent six consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the U.S. and Canada, reached No. 1 in the U.K. and became a hit throughout the world. The song is the band's biggest selling single in the U.S. (over a million copies sold - gold status) and was Billboard magazine's No. 1 single of 1980.
In November 1980, Blondie's fifth studio album, Autoamerican
(Australia No. 8, UK No. 3, US No. 7) was released and contained two more No. 1 US hits: the reggae-styled "The Tide Is High
", a cover version of a 1967 song by The Paragons
, and the rap-flavored "Rapture
", which was one of the earliest songs containing elements of rap vocals to reach number one in the U.S., sweeping the world by storm. "Rapture" would be the band's only single to achieve a higher chart position on the U.S. charts than in the UK, where it peaked at No. 5. Autoamerican
was a departure from previous Blondie records, featuring less New Wave and rock in favor of stylistic experiments, including acoustic jazz: "Faces", and from an early Broadway show, "Camelot", came "Follow Me". As the title somewhat suggested, a recurring general theme of the album was the car as a subject; obvious for example in the song "T-Birds", referring to the Ford Thunderbird, and Harry's spoken intro after the first instrumental track, "Europa". Autoamerican was, however, not generally well-received by critics.
In October 1981, Chrysalis Records released The Best of Blondie
(Australia No. 1, UK No. 4, US No. 30), the group's first greatest hits
compilation.
Following their success of 1978-80, Blondie took a brief break in 1981. That year, Deborah Harry and Jimmy Destri both released solo albums; Stein helped out with Harry's album Koo Koo
(UK No. 6, US No. 28) and Burke with Destri's Heart on a Wall
. Frank Infante sued the band regarding a lack of involvement during the Autoamerican sessions; it was settled out of court, and Infante remained in the band (though Harry has subsequently said Infante was not on the next LP).
The band reconvened in 1981 to record and release (in 1982) The Hunter (Australia No. 15, UK No. 9, US No. 33). In contrast to their earlier commercial and critical successes, The Hunter was poorly received and failed to hit the top 20 in the U.S. The album did have two moderate hit singles: "Island of Lost Souls
" (No. 13 Australia, No. 11 UK, No. 37 US) and "War Child
" (No. 39 UK). War Child stalled due to lack of interest from the band itself, and a largely uninterested public, and the unfortunate fact that the Falklands War broke out the week before the single's release.
With tensions within the band on the rise due to the act's commercial decline and the attendant financial pressures that brought, as well as the constant press focus on Harry to the exclusion of the other band members, events reached a breaking point when Stein was diagnosed with the life-threatening illness pemphigus
.
As a result of Stein's illness, coupled with drug use by members of the band, financial mismanagement, and slow ticket sales, Blondie canceled their tour plans early in August 1982. Shortly thereafter, the band splintered, with at least one (unspecified) member quitting and instigating lawsuits against the other group members. The group formally announced their breakup in November, 1982.
Stein and Harry, still a couple at the time, stayed together and retreated from the public spotlight for a few years, with the exception of the minor single releases "Rush Rush" (1983, from the film Scarface
) and 1985's dance track "Feel the Spin". Harry was forced to sell the couple's five-story mansion to pay off debts that the band had run up, Stein owed in excess of $1 million, and drug use was becoming an increasing concern for them. Harry decided to call off her intimate relationship to Stein and moved downtown. She stated in a 2006 interview that she felt she was having a sort of breakdown due to all the stress. After Stein recovered from his illness, Harry resumed her solo career with a new album (Rockbird
) in 1986, with active participation from Stein. Meanwhile, Burke became a much-in-demand session drummer, playing for a time with the Eurythmics
, and Destri maintained an active career as a producer and session musician.
A remix
album entitled Once More into the Bleach
was released in 1988, and featured remixes of classic Blondie tracks and material from Harry's solo career.
and No Doubt
. Chrysalis
/EMI Records
also released several compilations and collections of remixed versions of some of its biggest hits.
Harry continued her successful solo career after the band broke up, which helped keep the band in the public eye. In 1990, she reunited with Stein and Burke for a summer tour of mid-sized venues, as part of an "Escape from New York" package with Jerry Harrison
, the Tom Tom Club
and the Ramones
.
In 1996, Stein and Harry began the process of reuniting Blondie and contacted original members Burke, Destri, and Valentine. Valentine had by this time moved to London and become a full-time writer under his real name Gary Lachman; his New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation (2002) is a memoir of his years with the band. Former members Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante did not participate in the reunion, and they unsuccessfully sued to prevent the reunion under the name Blondie.
In 1997, the original five-piece band reformed, including Valentine on bass, did three live performances, all at outdoor festivals sponsored by local radio stations. Their first reunion performance occurred on May 31, 1997, when they played the HFStival
at R.F.K. Stadium in Washington, DC. An international tour in late 1998 and early 1999 followed.
A new album, No Exit
(UK No. 3, US No. 18), was released in February 1999 and was described by Jimmy Destri as "15 songs about nothing". The band was now officially a four-piece, consisting of Harry, Stein, Burke and Destri. Valentine by this point had left the group, and did not play on the album or contribute to the writing of any songs. (The two songs on the album co-authored by "Valentine" were in fact co-authored by Kathy Valentine
of the Go-Go's, no relation to Gary Valentine.) Session musicians Leigh Foxx (bass) and Paul Carbonara (guitar) played on this and subsequent Blondie releases.
No Exit reached number three on the UK charts, and the first single, "Maria
", which Destri had written thinking about his high school days, became Blondie's sixth UK number one single exactly 20 years after their first chart-topper, "Heart of Glass", giving the band the distinction of being one of only two American acts to reach number one in the UK singles charts in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s (the other being Michael Jackson
who had No. 1 hits with The Jacksons and solo in the same decades).
The reformed band released the follow-up album The Curse of Blondie
(UK No. 36, US No. 160) in October 2003. Curse proved to be Blondie's lowest-charting album since their debut in 1976, although the single "Good Boys
" managed to reach number 12 on the UK charts. The album remains a cult favorite with fans and despite the low chart placing was acclaimed by the critics on its release in 2003.
In 2004, Jimmy Destri left the group in order to deal with problems related to drug addiction, leaving Harry, Stein and Burke as the only members of the original line-up still with the band. Though Destri's stint in rehab was successful, he has not been invited back into Blondie. He intended to work on their 2011 album Panic Of Girls, but did not contribute as either a songwriter or a musician to the finished product.
with a concert at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland. The tour covered some Eastern and Midwestern US cities throughout the month of June. In July, the tour took the band overseas to Israel, the UK, Russia, Europe and Scandinavia, wrapping up on August 2, 2008 at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway.
Clem Burke
and Paul Carbonara both told interviewers in 2008 and 2009 that the band was working on another record, which would be their first new album since the release of The Curse of Blondie
in 2003. Carbonara described it as "a real Blondie record."
Blondie undertook a North American tour of mid-sized venues with Pat Benatar
and The Donnas
in the summer of 2009. Following the tour, in October, the band began recording sessions for their ninth studio album with producer Jeff Saltzman in Woodstock, New York
. In December 2009, the band released the song "We Three Kings" to coincide with the Christmas holiday. The new album, to be titled Panic of Girls
, which was being mixed at the time, was said to follow in 2010. Chris Stein stated that Dutch artist Chris Berens
would provide the cover art. In April 2010, it was announced that guitarist Paul Carbonara had amicably left Blondie to pursue other projects and was replaced by Tommy Kessler
.
In June 2010, Blondie began the first leg of a world tour named "Endangered Species Tour", which covered the United Kingdom and Ireland, supported by UK band Little Fish
. The set lists featured both classics and new material from the forthcoming Panic of Girls
. After a break in July, the tour resumed in August and covered the United States and Canada over a course of six weeks. Blondie then took the "Endangered Species Tour" to Australia and New Zealand in November–December 2010, co-headlining with the Pretenders
. It was revealed that the band's album was going to be released first in Australia
on the Australian Sony label December 2010, but Sony later backed out of the deal, leaving the album still unreleased. The album's release date was finally set for June 1 with a the lead single 'Mother' being released the week before and receiving critical acclaim and good radio play.
On May 18, 2011, Blondie released the official music video for
"Mother". The video was directed by Laurent Rejto, and includes cameos by Kate Pierson
of The B-52s, James Lorinz (Frankenhooker), Johnny Dynell, Chi-Chi Valenti, The Dazzle dancers, Rob Roth, Barbara Sicuranza, Larry Fessenden, Alan Midgette (Andy's Warhol double), The Five Points Band, Guy Furrow, Kitty Boots, and Hattie Hathaway. As of July 2011, Clem Burke confirmed on the band's "Panic Of Girls" Facebook page, that the next single will be "What I Heard".
In July 2011 it was revealed in the Fan Pack of Panic of Girls was that J.H Williams III will be the artist for the cover of Blondie's next album after Panic of Girls. Also that a video concept for the album featuring the first single has been made. Debbie Harry also backed this up on an interview backstage posted on YouTube.
, reaching from their punk
roots to embrace New Wave
, disco
, and rap. Each of the group's four No. 1 singles in the U.S. demonstrated a different style, or influence, of music including disco ("Heart of Glass
"), Europop
("Call Me
"), reggae
("The Tide Is High
") and rap ("Rapture
").
In March 2006, Blondie, following an introductory speech by Shirley Manson
of Garbage
, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
. Seven members were invited to the ceremony, which led to an on-stage spat between the extant group and their former bandmates, Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante, who asked during the live broadcast of the ceremony to be allowed to perform with the group, a request refused by Harry. On May 22, 2006, Blondie was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame at Guitar Center
on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard
. New inductees are voted on by previous Rock Walk inductees.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band, founded by singer Deborah Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
and guitarist Chris Stein
Chris Stein
Christopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
scenes of the mid-1970s. Their first two albums contained strong elements of these genres, and although successful in the United Kingdom and Australia, Blondie was regarded as an underground band in the United States until the release of Parallel Lines
Parallel Lines
Parallel Lines is the third studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1978 by Chrysalis Records. Their most popular and best-selling effort, Parallel Lines was the first Blondie album to be produced by Mike Chapman. The album reached number one in the United Kingdom in February 1979...
in 1978. Over the next three years, the band achieved several hit singles and became noted for its eclectic mix of musical styles incorporating elements of disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, rap, and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, while retaining a basic style as a New Wave band.
Blondie broke up after the release of their sixth studio album The Hunter in 1982. Deborah Harry continued to pursue a solo career with varied results after taking a few years off to care for partner Chris Stein
Chris Stein
Christopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
, who was diagnosed with pemphigus
Pemphigus
Pemphigus is a rare group of blistering autoimmune diseases that affect the skin and mucous membranes.In pemphigus, autoantibodies form against desmoglein. Desmoglein forms the "glue" that attaches adjacent epidermal cells via attachment points called desmosomes...
, a rare autoimmune disease of the skin.
The band reformed in 1997, achieving renewed success and a number one single in the United Kingdom with "Maria
Maria (Blondie song)
"Maria" is a song by the American band Blondie, taken from their 1999 album No Exit. This song was Blondie's comeback single, their first since "War Child" in July 1982. In the UK, it was the band's sixth no.1 single, topping the charts exactly 20 years after their first UK no.1 "Heart of Glass" in...
" in 1999. The group toured and performed throughout the world during the following years, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
in 2006. Blondie has sold 40 million records worldwide and is still active today, with a new album, Panic of Girls
Panic of Girls
Panic of Girls is the ninth studio album by the American New Wave band Blondie. The album was first released digitally on May 30, 2011, followed by physical releases later .-Background and release:...
, released 30 May 2011 in the UK.
Early career (1975–1978)
In the early 1970s, Chris SteinChris Stein
Christopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
moved from Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Inspired by the burgeoning new music scene at the Mercer Arts Center
Mercer Arts Center
The Mercer Arts Center was a group of live theaters on Mercer Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, and was part of the Broadway Central Hotel until its collapse on August 3, 1973....
, he sought to join a similar band. He joined The Stilettos in 1973 as their guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and formed a romantic relationship with one of the band's vocalists, Deborah Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
, a former waitress and Playboy Bunny
Playboy Bunny
A Playboy Bunny is a waitress at the Playboy Club. The Playboy Clubs were originally open from 1960 to 1988. The Club re-opened in one location in The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas in 2006...
. Harry had been a member of the folk-rock band, The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows (band)
The Wind in the Willows was an American band which included Deborah Harry. The band took its name from British writer Kenneth Grahame's, The Wind in the Willows, a classic of children's literature....
in the late 1960s. In 1974, Stein parted ways with The Stilettos and Elda Gentile, the band's originator. Stein and Harry formed a new band with drummer Billy O'Connor and bassist Fred Smith
Fred Smith (bassist)
Fred Smith is an American bass guitarist, best known for his work with Television. He was the original bassist with Blondie until he replaced Richard Hell when Hell left Television in 1975 to form The Heartbreakers. At the time, Television played at CBGB along with Blondie...
. By 1975, after some personnel turnover (including sisters Tish
Tish Bellomo
Tish Bellomo, along with sister Snooky Bellomo, was a member of rock group Blondie. The sisters sang back-up at early Blondie gigs at Max's Kansas City and CBGB, and went on to form another band called the Drop-Outs. In 1977, their friend Russell Wolinsky invited them to join a band he was forming...
and Snooky Bellomo on backing vocals), Stein and Harry were joined by drummer Clem Burke
Clem Burke
Clem Burke is an American musician who is the drummer for the band Blondie. Recruited by Chris Stein and Debbie Harry when they were first forming Blondie, Burke remained with the band through its first stage and later returned for its late 1990s reunion and then its extensive 2009 tour.Following...
, keyboard player Jimmy Destri
Jimmy Destri
Jimmy Destri is an American musician. He played keyboards in the rock band Blondie, and is one of the principal songwriters for the band along with Chris Stein and Deborah Harry. Destri stopped touring with the band in 2004, but remained an official member of the band for several more years...
and bass player Gary Valentine
Gary Valentine Lachman
Gary Lachman, born December 24, 1955 in Bayonne, New Jersey, is an American writer and musician. Lachman is best known to readers of mysticism and the occult, in the numerous articles and books he has published...
. Originally billed as Angel and the Snakes, they renamed themselves Blondie in late 1975. The name derived from comments made by truck drivers who catcalled "Hey, Blondie" to Harry as they drove by. Later, band members were amused to learn that the name was shared by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's dog Blondi
Blondi
Blondi was Adolf Hitler's German Shepherd dog, given to him as a gift in 1941 by Martin Bormann. Blondi stayed with Hitler even after his move into the Führerbunker located underneath the garden of the Reich Chancellery on January 16, 1945...
, a fact acknowledged in parody when, in 1997, they semi-anonymously contributed a cover of "Ordinary Bummer" to the Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
tribute album We Will Fall under the pseudonym 'Adolph's Dog'.
Blondie became regulars at Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South, in New York City, which was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Origin of name:...
and CBGB
CBGB
CBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
. They got their first record deal with Private Stock Records
Private Stock Records
Private Stock Records was a record label which was started in 1974 by Larry Uttal after he was ousted from Bell Records. The label had hit records with singles by David Soul of Starsky and Hutch fame , Starbuck , Austin Roberts , Samantha Sang , Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band , and Frankie...
in early 1976 and released their debut single "X-Offender
X-Offender
"X Offender" is a song by American New Wave band Blondie. Written by Gary Valentine and Debbie Harry for the band's self-titled debut album, Blondie, the song was released as the album's lead single on Private Stock in June 1976.-Song information:...
" on June 17, 1976. Their debut album Blondie
Blondie (album)
Blondie is the eponymous debut album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1976 on Private Stock Records. The first single "X Offender" was originally entitled "Sex Offender" but since radio stations would not play a song with such a controversial title, the band renamed the song...
(AUS No. 14, UK No. 75) was issued in December 1976. In September 1977, Blondie bought back its contract with Private Stock and then signed with Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
. The first album was re-released on the new label in October 1977. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s review of the debut album observed the eclectic nature of the group's music, comparing it to Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
and The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, and commented that the album's two strengths were Richard Gottehrer
Richard Gottehrer
Richard Gottehrer is an American songwriter, record producer and record label executive.-Career:Gottehrer came to prominence as a songwriter in the 1960s with his most notable songs being "My Boyfriend's Back" and "I Want Candy". As Feldman-Goldstein-Gottehrer , he wrote various songs including...
's production and the persona of Deborah Harry, saying she performed with "utter aplomb and involvement throughout: even when she's portraying a character consummately obnoxious and spaced-out, there is a wink of awareness that is comforting and amusing yet never condescending." It also noted that Harry was the "possessor of a bombshell zombie's voice that can sound dreamily seductive and woodenly Mansonite
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
within the same song".
X-Offender
"X Offender" is a song by American New Wave band Blondie. Written by Gary Valentine and Debbie Harry for the band's self-titled debut album, Blondie, the song was released as the album's lead single on Private Stock in June 1976.-Song information:...
". Jimmy Destri later credited the show's Molly Meldrum for their initial success, commenting that "we still thank him to this day" for playing the wrong song. In a 1998 interview, drummer Clem Burke recalled seeing the episode in which the wrong song was played, but he and Chris Stein suggested that it may have been a deliberate subterfuge on the part of Meldrum. Stein asserted that "X-Offender" was "too crazy and aggressive [to become a hit]", while "In the Flesh" was "not representative of any punk sensibility. Over the years, I've thought they probably played both things but liked one better. That's all." In retrospect, Burke described "In the Flesh" as "a forerunner to the power ballad".
Both the single and album reached the Australian top five in October 1977, and a subsequent double-A release of "X-Offender" and "Rip Her to Shreds" was also popular. A successful Australian tour followed in December, though it was marred by an incident in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
when disappointed fans almost rioted after Harry canceled a performance, due to illness.
In February 1978, Blondie released their second album, Plastic Letters
Plastic Letters
Plastic Letters is the second studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in February 1978 on Chrysalis Records. It was the second and final Blondie album to be produced by Richard Gottehrer...
(UK No. 10, US No. 78). The album was recorded as a four-piece band because Gary Valentine left the band. Plastic Letters was promoted extensively throughout Europe and Asia by Chrysalis Records. The album's first single, "Denis", was a cover version of Randy and the Rainbows' 1963 hit. It reached number two on the British singles charts, while both the album and its second single, "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear
(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear
" Presence, Dear" is a song from the 1977 album Plastic Letters by Blondie, and was the second single off that album, following up the international breakthrough single "Denis", reaching number 10 in the UK in May 1978...
", reached the British top ten. Chart success, along with a successful 1978 UK tour, including a gig at London's Roundhouse, made Blondie one of the first American New Wave bands to achieve mainstream success in the United Kingdom. By this time, Gary Valentine had been replaced by Frank Infante
Frank Infante
Frank Infante is an American guitarist and bassist best known as a former member of the punk/new wave band, Blondie.Prior to Blondie, he established himself playing guitar in heavy, electric blues groups such as The Elegant End and World War III. In 1975, he joined Sniper, an early, American glam...
(guitar, bass guitar), and shortly after that Nigel Harrison
Nigel Harrison
Nigel Harrison is an English musician, and best known as the bass player of the rock band Blondie....
(bass guitar) joined, expanding the band to a six-piece for the first time.
Mainstream success (1978–1981)
Parallel LinesParallel Lines
Parallel Lines is the third studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1978 by Chrysalis Records. Their most popular and best-selling effort, Parallel Lines was the first Blondie album to be produced by Mike Chapman. The album reached number one in the United Kingdom in February 1979...
(Australia No. 2, UK No. 1, US No. 6) Blondie's third album, released in September 1978 was produced by Mike Chapman, became the group's most successful effort, selling 20 million copies worldwide. The album's first two singles were "Picture This
Picture This (song)
"Picture This" is track number 3 from the 1978 album Parallel Lines by Blondie, the first collaboration with producer Mike Chapman, and was also the fourth single release from Chrysalis Records...
" (UK No. 12) and "Hanging on the Telephone
Hanging on the Telephone
"Hanging on the Telephone" is a song written by Jack Lee and first performed by Lee's short-lived US West Coast power pop trio The Nerves, who placed it as the lead-off track on their 1976 EP, the band's only release. New Wave band Blondie popularised the song when it was released as the second...
" (UK No. 5).
"Heart of Glass
Heart of Glass (song)
"Heart of Glass" is a song by American New Wave band Blondie, written by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. Featured on the band's third studio album, Parallel Lines, it was released as a single in January 1979 and topped the charts in several countries, including the US and UK.Rolling...
" was their first U.S. hit. The disco-infused track topped the U.S. charts in April 1979. It was a reworking of a rock and reggae-infused song that the group had performed since its formation, updated with strong elements of disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
music. Clem Burke later said the revamped version was inspired partly by Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
and partly by the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
' "Stayin' Alive
Stayin' Alive
"Stayin' Alive" is a song by the pop group Bee Gees from the Saturday Night Fever motion picture soundtrack. The song was written by the Bee Gees and produced by the Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. It was released on 13 December 1977, as the second single from the Saturday Night Fever...
", whose drum beat Burke tried to emulate. He and Stein gave Jimmy Destri much of the credit for the final result, noting that Destri's appreciation of technology had led him to introduce synthesizers and to rework the keyboard sections. Although some members of the British music press condemned Blondie for "selling out", the song became a success, worldwide. Selling more than a million copies and garnering major airplay, the single reached number one in many countries including the U.S., where Blondie had previously been considered an "underground" band
Underground music
Underground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...
. The song was accompanied by a music video that showcased Harry's hard-edged and playfully sexual persona, and she began to attain a celebrity status that set her apart from the other band members, who were largely ignored by the media.
Blondie's next single in the U.S. was a more aggressive rock song, "One Way or Another
One Way or Another
"One Way or Another" is a song by American New Wave band Blondie.-Song information:Written by Debbie Harry and Nigel Harrison for the band's third studio album, Parallel Lines , the song was inspired by one of Harry's ex-boyfriends who stalked her after their break up. The song was released as a...
" (US No. 24), which became their second hit single in the United States. Meanwhile, in the UK, an alternate single choice, "Sunday Girl
Sunday Girl
"Sunday Girl" was a UK number-one single by Blondie for three weeks in May 1979. It was Blondie's second UK number-one single after "Heart of Glass"; it was, however, never released as a single in the US.-Song information:...
", became a No. 1 hit. Parallel Lines
Parallel Lines
Parallel Lines is the third studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1978 by Chrysalis Records. Their most popular and best-selling effort, Parallel Lines was the first Blondie album to be produced by Mike Chapman. The album reached number one in the United Kingdom in February 1979...
is ranked No. 140 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 greatest albums of all time. In June 1979, Blondie, photographed by Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz
Anna-Lou "Annie" Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer.-Early life and education:Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children. She is a third-generation American whose great-grandparents were Jewish immigrants, from Central and Eastern Europe. Her father's...
, was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine.
Their fourth album, Eat to the Beat
Eat to the Beat
Eat to the Beat is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Blondie. It reached no.1 on the UK album charts in October 1979, no.9 in Australia and no.17 in the US.-History:...
(Australia No. 9, UK No. 1, US No. 17), released in October 1979, was well-received by critics as a suitable follow-up to Parallel Lines
Parallel Lines
Parallel Lines is the third studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1978 by Chrysalis Records. Their most popular and best-selling effort, Parallel Lines was the first Blondie album to be produced by Mike Chapman. The album reached number one in the United Kingdom in February 1979...
, but in the U.S., its singles failed to achieve the same level of success as in the UK, where "Atomic" (UK No. 1, US No. 39) reached number one, "Dreaming" (UK No. 2, US No. 27) reached number two, and "Union City Blue" (UK No. 13) charted in the top 20.
Blondie's next single, the Grammy-nominated "Call Me
Call Me (Blondie song)
"Call Me" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie. Released in 1980, "Call Me" topped the singles charts in both the US and the UK ....
" was the result of Deborah Harry's collaboration with the Italian songwriter and producer Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
, who had been responsible for Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
's biggest hits. This track was not included on any Blondie studio album; rather, it was the title theme of the soundtrack for the film American Gigolo
American Gigolo
American Gigolo is a 1980 crime drama film, written and directed by Paul Schrader. It is informally considered the second installment in his "lonely man" trilogy, following the Martin Scorsese directed Taxi Driver and preceding Light Sleeper .-Plot:Julian Kaye is a male prostitute in Los Angeles...
. Released in February 1980, "Call Me" spent six consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the U.S. and Canada, reached No. 1 in the U.K. and became a hit throughout the world. The song is the band's biggest selling single in the U.S. (over a million copies sold - gold status) and was Billboard magazine's No. 1 single of 1980.
In November 1980, Blondie's fifth studio album, Autoamerican
Autoamerican
Autoamerican is the fifth studio album by the US new wave band Blondie. It was released in November 1980 and reached #3 in the UK charts, #8 in Australia and #7 in the US....
(Australia No. 8, UK No. 3, US No. 7) was released and contained two more No. 1 US hits: the reggae-styled "The Tide Is High
The Tide Is High
"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 song written by John Holt and originally performed by The Paragons with John Holt as lead singer. The song went mainly unnoticed in the rest of the world until it was rediscovered in 1980 when it became a US/UK number 1 hit for the band Blondie...
", a cover version of a 1967 song by The Paragons
The Paragons
The Paragons were a rocksteady band from Kingston, Jamaica, active in the 1960s. Their most famous track was "The Tide Is High", written by band member, John Holt.-Career:...
, and the rap-flavored "Rapture
Rapture (song)
"Rapture" is a single by the American new wave band Blondie. It was released in January 1981 and was the second and final song to be released from the band's 1980 top 10 album Autoamerican, the first being "The Tide Is High", which had topped the chart in the US and UK. "Rapture" went on to reach...
", which was one of the earliest songs containing elements of rap vocals to reach number one in the U.S., sweeping the world by storm. "Rapture" would be the band's only single to achieve a higher chart position on the U.S. charts than in the UK, where it peaked at No. 5. Autoamerican
Autoamerican
Autoamerican is the fifth studio album by the US new wave band Blondie. It was released in November 1980 and reached #3 in the UK charts, #8 in Australia and #7 in the US....
was a departure from previous Blondie records, featuring less New Wave and rock in favor of stylistic experiments, including acoustic jazz: "Faces", and from an early Broadway show, "Camelot", came "Follow Me". As the title somewhat suggested, a recurring general theme of the album was the car as a subject; obvious for example in the song "T-Birds", referring to the Ford Thunderbird, and Harry's spoken intro after the first instrumental track, "Europa". Autoamerican was, however, not generally well-received by critics.
In October 1981, Chrysalis Records released The Best of Blondie
The Best of Blondie
- Chart positions :- References :# [ Allmusic]...
(Australia No. 1, UK No. 4, US No. 30), the group's first greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
compilation.
Hiatus, The Hunter, and breakup (1981–1982)
Koo Koo
KooKoo is the debut solo album by the American singer Debbie Harry, released in 1981.-Album information:KooKoo was made while Harry and boyfriend Chris Stein were taking a year long break from the band Blondie...
(UK No. 6, US No. 28) and Burke with Destri's Heart on a Wall
Heart on a Wall
Heart on a Wall is a solo album by Blondie keyboardist and composer Jimmy Destri, released on Chrysalis Records in 1981.After Blondie's 1980 album Autoamerican, the band members took a break from both recording and touring as a group...
. Frank Infante sued the band regarding a lack of involvement during the Autoamerican sessions; it was settled out of court, and Infante remained in the band (though Harry has subsequently said Infante was not on the next LP).
The band reconvened in 1981 to record and release (in 1982) The Hunter (Australia No. 15, UK No. 9, US No. 33). In contrast to their earlier commercial and critical successes, The Hunter was poorly received and failed to hit the top 20 in the U.S. The album did have two moderate hit singles: "Island of Lost Souls
Island of Lost Souls (song)
"Island Of Lost Souls" is a song recorded by Blondie in 1981 and released as a single in April 1982. It was the first single released from their sixth studio album, The Hunter.-Song information:...
" (No. 13 Australia, No. 11 UK, No. 37 US) and "War Child
War Child (song)
"War Child" is a 1982 song by the American rock band Blondie, featured on their sixth studio album The Hunter. The song was released as a single in various countries, but not in the band's native US.-Single information:...
" (No. 39 UK). War Child stalled due to lack of interest from the band itself, and a largely uninterested public, and the unfortunate fact that the Falklands War broke out the week before the single's release.
With tensions within the band on the rise due to the act's commercial decline and the attendant financial pressures that brought, as well as the constant press focus on Harry to the exclusion of the other band members, events reached a breaking point when Stein was diagnosed with the life-threatening illness pemphigus
Pemphigus
Pemphigus is a rare group of blistering autoimmune diseases that affect the skin and mucous membranes.In pemphigus, autoantibodies form against desmoglein. Desmoglein forms the "glue" that attaches adjacent epidermal cells via attachment points called desmosomes...
.
As a result of Stein's illness, coupled with drug use by members of the band, financial mismanagement, and slow ticket sales, Blondie canceled their tour plans early in August 1982. Shortly thereafter, the band splintered, with at least one (unspecified) member quitting and instigating lawsuits against the other group members. The group formally announced their breakup in November, 1982.
Stein and Harry, still a couple at the time, stayed together and retreated from the public spotlight for a few years, with the exception of the minor single releases "Rush Rush" (1983, from the film Scarface
Scarface (1983 film)
Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...
) and 1985's dance track "Feel the Spin". Harry was forced to sell the couple's five-story mansion to pay off debts that the band had run up, Stein owed in excess of $1 million, and drug use was becoming an increasing concern for them. Harry decided to call off her intimate relationship to Stein and moved downtown. She stated in a 2006 interview that she felt she was having a sort of breakdown due to all the stress. After Stein recovered from his illness, Harry resumed her solo career with a new album (Rockbird
Rockbird
Rockbird is the second solo album by the American singer Debbie Harry, released in November 1986.-Album information:Rockbird was Harry's second solo album, and came four years after the split of Blondie in 1982. Harry had largely put her music career on hold during the mid-1980s in order to look...
) in 1986, with active participation from Stein. Meanwhile, Burke became a much-in-demand session drummer, playing for a time with the Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
, and Destri maintained an active career as a producer and session musician.
A remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
album entitled Once More into the Bleach
Once More into the Bleach
Once More into the Bleach is a remix album released in 1988 by the band Blondie and Debbie Harry. The thirteen-track compilation contains remixes of Blondie songs and material from Debbie Harry's solo career. It was issued as a double vinyl album, double cassette, and compact disc...
was released in 1988, and featured remixes of classic Blondie tracks and material from Harry's solo career.
Reformation and No Exit (1997–2004)
During the 1980s and 1990s, Blondie's past work began to be recognized again by a new generation of fans and artists including GarbageGarbage (band)
Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production...
and No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
. Chrysalis
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
/EMI Records
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
also released several compilations and collections of remixed versions of some of its biggest hits.
Harry continued her successful solo career after the band broke up, which helped keep the band in the public eye. In 1990, she reunited with Stein and Burke for a summer tour of mid-sized venues, as part of an "Escape from New York" package with Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison is an American songwriter, musician and producer...
, the Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, both also known for being bandmembers of Talking Heads.-Biography:...
and the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
.
In 1996, Stein and Harry began the process of reuniting Blondie and contacted original members Burke, Destri, and Valentine. Valentine had by this time moved to London and become a full-time writer under his real name Gary Lachman; his New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation (2002) is a memoir of his years with the band. Former members Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante did not participate in the reunion, and they unsuccessfully sued to prevent the reunion under the name Blondie.
In 1997, the original five-piece band reformed, including Valentine on bass, did three live performances, all at outdoor festivals sponsored by local radio stations. Their first reunion performance occurred on May 31, 1997, when they played the HFStival
HFStival
The HFStival is an annual Washington, D.C. / Baltimore, Maryland rock festival. Held every summer from 1990 through 2006 by radio station WHFS, and annually since 2010 in commemoration of the now-defunct station's legacy, the HFStival was at its peak the largest yearly music festival on the East...
at R.F.K. Stadium in Washington, DC. An international tour in late 1998 and early 1999 followed.
A new album, No Exit
No Exit (Blondie album)
No Exit is the seventh studio album by the US rock/new wave group Blondie. It was released in February 1999 and marked the first time the band recorded or performed together since 1982, when they released their previous studio album The Hunter....
(UK No. 3, US No. 18), was released in February 1999 and was described by Jimmy Destri as "15 songs about nothing". The band was now officially a four-piece, consisting of Harry, Stein, Burke and Destri. Valentine by this point had left the group, and did not play on the album or contribute to the writing of any songs. (The two songs on the album co-authored by "Valentine" were in fact co-authored by Kathy Valentine
Kathy Valentine
Kathy Valentine is the American bass guitarist for the all-girl rock band, The Go-Go's....
of the Go-Go's, no relation to Gary Valentine.) Session musicians Leigh Foxx (bass) and Paul Carbonara (guitar) played on this and subsequent Blondie releases.
No Exit reached number three on the UK charts, and the first single, "Maria
Maria (Blondie song)
"Maria" is a song by the American band Blondie, taken from their 1999 album No Exit. This song was Blondie's comeback single, their first since "War Child" in July 1982. In the UK, it was the band's sixth no.1 single, topping the charts exactly 20 years after their first UK no.1 "Heart of Glass" in...
", which Destri had written thinking about his high school days, became Blondie's sixth UK number one single exactly 20 years after their first chart-topper, "Heart of Glass", giving the band the distinction of being one of only two American acts to reach number one in the UK singles charts in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s (the other being Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
who had No. 1 hits with The Jacksons and solo in the same decades).
The reformed band released the follow-up album The Curse of Blondie
The Curse of Blondie
The Curse of Blondie is the eighth studio album from the US rock band Blondie. It was released in October 2003, and peaked at no.36 in the U.K..The band departed from bankrupt Beyond Records and signed with Sony Music...
(UK No. 36, US No. 160) in October 2003. Curse proved to be Blondie's lowest-charting album since their debut in 1976, although the single "Good Boys
Good Boys
"Good Boys" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie. Released in 2003, it was the only single to be released from their eighth studio album The Curse of Blondie. The single peaked at number 12 in the UK and was the final single from the band for eight years.The single was released as part...
" managed to reach number 12 on the UK charts. The album remains a cult favorite with fans and despite the low chart placing was acclaimed by the critics on its release in 2003.
In 2004, Jimmy Destri left the group in order to deal with problems related to drug addiction, leaving Harry, Stein and Burke as the only members of the original line-up still with the band. Though Destri's stint in rehab was successful, he has not been invited back into Blondie. He intended to work on their 2011 album Panic Of Girls, but did not contribute as either a songwriter or a musician to the finished product.
Parallel Lines 30th anniversary tour and Panic of Girls (2008–present)
On June 5, 2008, Blondie commenced a world tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Parallel LinesParallel Lines
Parallel Lines is the third studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1978 by Chrysalis Records. Their most popular and best-selling effort, Parallel Lines was the first Blondie album to be produced by Mike Chapman. The album reached number one in the United Kingdom in February 1979...
with a concert at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland. The tour covered some Eastern and Midwestern US cities throughout the month of June. In July, the tour took the band overseas to Israel, the UK, Russia, Europe and Scandinavia, wrapping up on August 2, 2008 at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway.
Clem Burke
Clem Burke
Clem Burke is an American musician who is the drummer for the band Blondie. Recruited by Chris Stein and Debbie Harry when they were first forming Blondie, Burke remained with the band through its first stage and later returned for its late 1990s reunion and then its extensive 2009 tour.Following...
and Paul Carbonara both told interviewers in 2008 and 2009 that the band was working on another record, which would be their first new album since the release of The Curse of Blondie
The Curse of Blondie
The Curse of Blondie is the eighth studio album from the US rock band Blondie. It was released in October 2003, and peaked at no.36 in the U.K..The band departed from bankrupt Beyond Records and signed with Sony Music...
in 2003. Carbonara described it as "a real Blondie record."
Blondie undertook a North American tour of mid-sized venues with Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...
and The Donnas
The Donnas
The Donnas are an American all-female rock band from Palo Alto, California. They draw inspiration from The Ramones, The Runaways, AC/DC, Bachman–Turner Overdrive and Kiss. Rolling Stone has stated that "the Donnas offer a guileless take on adolescent alienation; they traffic in kicks, not...
in the summer of 2009. Following the tour, in October, the band began recording sessions for their ninth studio album with producer Jeff Saltzman in Woodstock, New York
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodstock is in the northern part of the county...
. In December 2009, the band released the song "We Three Kings" to coincide with the Christmas holiday. The new album, to be titled Panic of Girls
Panic of Girls
Panic of Girls is the ninth studio album by the American New Wave band Blondie. The album was first released digitally on May 30, 2011, followed by physical releases later .-Background and release:...
, which was being mixed at the time, was said to follow in 2010. Chris Stein stated that Dutch artist Chris Berens
Chris Berens
Chris Berens is a Dutch painter. While he takes inspiration from the quality of light in the paintings of Vermeer and Rembrandt, his themes lie more within the realms of surrealism and visionary art than traditional painting. Although his work is completely hand-painted, his paintings are often...
would provide the cover art. In April 2010, it was announced that guitarist Paul Carbonara had amicably left Blondie to pursue other projects and was replaced by Tommy Kessler
Tommy Kessler
Tommy Kessler is American guitar player currently in the new wave/rock band, Blondie. He joined the band in April 2010, replacing guitarist Paul Carbonara who had left Blondie to pursue other projects. When not touring with Blondie, he performs as a guitarist in the fictional 1980's Rock Band...
.
In June 2010, Blondie began the first leg of a world tour named "Endangered Species Tour", which covered the United Kingdom and Ireland, supported by UK band Little Fish
Little Fish (band)
Little Fish are a British garage rock band from Oxford, United Kingdom, formed in 2006 by vocalist and guitarist Julia "Juju" Sophie Heslop and drummer Neil "Nez" Greenaway....
. The set lists featured both classics and new material from the forthcoming Panic of Girls
Panic of Girls
Panic of Girls is the ninth studio album by the American New Wave band Blondie. The album was first released digitally on May 30, 2011, followed by physical releases later .-Background and release:...
. After a break in July, the tour resumed in August and covered the United States and Canada over a course of six weeks. Blondie then took the "Endangered Species Tour" to Australia and New Zealand in November–December 2010, co-headlining with the Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
. It was revealed that the band's album was going to be released first in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on the Australian Sony label December 2010, but Sony later backed out of the deal, leaving the album still unreleased. The album's release date was finally set for June 1 with a the lead single 'Mother' being released the week before and receiving critical acclaim and good radio play.
On May 18, 2011, Blondie released the official music video for
"Mother". The video was directed by Laurent Rejto, and includes cameos by Kate Pierson
Kate Pierson
Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Pierson is an American vocalist and one of the lead singers and founding members of The B-52's. One of the multi-instrumentalists in the band, Pierson played guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments...
of The B-52s, James Lorinz (Frankenhooker), Johnny Dynell, Chi-Chi Valenti, The Dazzle dancers, Rob Roth, Barbara Sicuranza, Larry Fessenden, Alan Midgette (Andy's Warhol double), The Five Points Band, Guy Furrow, Kitty Boots, and Hattie Hathaway. As of July 2011, Clem Burke confirmed on the band's "Panic Of Girls" Facebook page, that the next single will be "What I Heard".
In July 2011 it was revealed in the Fan Pack of Panic of Girls was that J.H Williams III will be the artist for the cover of Blondie's next album after Panic of Girls. Also that a video concept for the album featuring the first single has been made. Debbie Harry also backed this up on an interview backstage posted on YouTube.
Legacy
By 1982, the year the band initially broke up, Blondie had released six studio albums, each exhibiting a stylistic progression from the last. The band is known not only for the striking stage persona and vocal performances of Harry but also for incorporating elements in their work from numerous subgenres of popular musicPopular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, reaching from their punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
roots to embrace New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
, disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
, and rap. Each of the group's four No. 1 singles in the U.S. demonstrated a different style, or influence, of music including disco ("Heart of Glass
Heart of Glass (song)
"Heart of Glass" is a song by American New Wave band Blondie, written by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. Featured on the band's third studio album, Parallel Lines, it was released as a single in January 1979 and topped the charts in several countries, including the US and UK.Rolling...
"), Europop
Europop
Europop refers to a style of pop music that first developed in today's form in Europe, throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and ’90s...
("Call Me
Call Me (Blondie song)
"Call Me" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie. Released in 1980, "Call Me" topped the singles charts in both the US and the UK ....
"), reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
("The Tide Is High
The Tide Is High
"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 song written by John Holt and originally performed by The Paragons with John Holt as lead singer. The song went mainly unnoticed in the rest of the world until it was rediscovered in 1980 when it became a US/UK number 1 hit for the band Blondie...
") and rap ("Rapture
Rapture (song)
"Rapture" is a single by the American new wave band Blondie. It was released in January 1981 and was the second and final song to be released from the band's 1980 top 10 album Autoamerican, the first being "The Tide Is High", which had topped the chart in the US and UK. "Rapture" went on to reach...
").
In March 2006, Blondie, following an introductory speech by Shirley Manson
Shirley Manson
Shirley Anne Manson is a Scottish recording artist and actress, best known internationally as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Garbage. For much of her international career Manson commuted between her home city of Edinburgh to the United States to record with Garbage but now lives and...
of Garbage
Garbage (band)
Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production...
, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
. Seven members were invited to the ceremony, which led to an on-stage spat between the extant group and their former bandmates, Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante, who asked during the live broadcast of the ceremony to be allowed to perform with the group, a request refused by Harry. On May 22, 2006, Blondie was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame at Guitar Center
Guitar Center
Guitar Center is the largest chain of musical instrument retailers in the world with 223 locations throughout the United States. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California....
on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
. New inductees are voted on by previous Rock Walk inductees.
Band members
Current members- Clem BurkeClem BurkeClem Burke is an American musician who is the drummer for the band Blondie. Recruited by Chris Stein and Debbie Harry when they were first forming Blondie, Burke remained with the band through its first stage and later returned for its late 1990s reunion and then its extensive 2009 tour.Following...
– drums, percussion, backing vocals (1975–1982, 1997–present) - Debbie HarryDebbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
– lead vocals (1975–1982, 1997–present) - Leigh Foxx – bass (1997–present)
- Matt Katz-Bohen – keyboards, piano, organ (2008–present)
- Tommy KesslerTommy KesslerTommy Kessler is American guitar player currently in the new wave/rock band, Blondie. He joined the band in April 2010, replacing guitarist Paul Carbonara who had left Blondie to pursue other projects. When not touring with Blondie, he performs as a guitarist in the fictional 1980's Rock Band...
– guitar (2010–present) - Chris SteinChris SteinChristopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
– guitar, bass (1975–1982, 1997–present)
Former members
- Paul Carbonara – guitar (1997–2010)
- Jimmy DestriJimmy DestriJimmy Destri is an American musician. He played keyboards in the rock band Blondie, and is one of the principal songwriters for the band along with Chris Stein and Deborah Harry. Destri stopped touring with the band in 2004, but remained an official member of the band for several more years...
– keyboards, piano, synthesizer, organ, backing vocals (1975–1982, 1997–2003) - Nigel HarrisonNigel HarrisonNigel Harrison is an English musician, and best known as the bass player of the rock band Blondie....
– bass (1977–1982) - Frank InfanteFrank InfanteFrank Infante is an American guitarist and bassist best known as a former member of the punk/new wave band, Blondie.Prior to Blondie, he established himself playing guitar in heavy, electric blues groups such as The Elegant End and World War III. In 1975, he joined Sniper, an early, American glam...
– guitar, bass, backing vocals (1977–1982) - Eddie MartinezEddie MartinezEddie Martinez is an American guitarist, born and raised in New York City, who mainly functions as a session musician. He has worked with David Lee Roth , Run-D.M.C. , Robert Palmer , Meat Loaf , several Jim Steinman projects, and many others...
– guitar (1982) - Kevin Patrick (Kevin Topping) – keyboards, piano (2004–2007)
- Gary ValentineGary Valentine LachmanGary Lachman, born December 24, 1955 in Bayonne, New Jersey, is an American writer and musician. Lachman is best known to readers of mysticism and the occult, in the numerous articles and books he has published...
– bass, guitar (1975–1977, 1997)
Discography
Studio albums- BlondieBlondie (album)Blondie is the eponymous debut album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1976 on Private Stock Records. The first single "X Offender" was originally entitled "Sex Offender" but since radio stations would not play a song with such a controversial title, the band renamed the song...
(1976) - Plastic LettersPlastic LettersPlastic Letters is the second studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in February 1978 on Chrysalis Records. It was the second and final Blondie album to be produced by Richard Gottehrer...
(1978) - Parallel LinesParallel LinesParallel Lines is the third studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1978 by Chrysalis Records. Their most popular and best-selling effort, Parallel Lines was the first Blondie album to be produced by Mike Chapman. The album reached number one in the United Kingdom in February 1979...
(1978) - Eat to the BeatEat to the BeatEat to the Beat is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Blondie. It reached no.1 on the UK album charts in October 1979, no.9 in Australia and no.17 in the US.-History:...
(1979) - AutoamericanAutoamericanAutoamerican is the fifth studio album by the US new wave band Blondie. It was released in November 1980 and reached #3 in the UK charts, #8 in Australia and #7 in the US....
(1980) - The Hunter (1982)
- No ExitNo Exit (Blondie album)No Exit is the seventh studio album by the US rock/new wave group Blondie. It was released in February 1999 and marked the first time the band recorded or performed together since 1982, when they released their previous studio album The Hunter....
(1999) - The Curse of BlondieThe Curse of BlondieThe Curse of Blondie is the eighth studio album from the US rock band Blondie. It was released in October 2003, and peaked at no.36 in the U.K..The band departed from bankrupt Beyond Records and signed with Sony Music...
(2003) - Panic of GirlsPanic of GirlsPanic of Girls is the ninth studio album by the American New Wave band Blondie. The album was first released digitally on May 30, 2011, followed by physical releases later .-Background and release:...
(2011)
Awards and nominations
- 1980Juno Awards of 1980The Juno Awards of 1980, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 2 April 1980 in Toronto at a ceremony hosted by Burton Cummings at the Harbour Castle Hilton....
- Juno Award for Best Selling Single ("Heart of GlassHeart of Glass (song)"Heart of Glass" is a song by American New Wave band Blondie, written by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. Featured on the band's third studio album, Parallel Lines, it was released as a single in January 1979 and topped the charts in several countries, including the US and UK.Rolling...
") (Won) - 1981Grammy Awards of 1981The 23rd Grammy Awards were held February 25, 1981, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1980.- Award winners :*Record of the Year...
- Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with VocalGrammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with VocalThe Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
("Call MeCall Me (Blondie song)"Call Me" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie. Released in 1980, "Call Me" topped the singles charts in both the US and the UK ....
") (Nominated) - 1980Juno Awards of 1982The Juno Awards of 1982, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 14 April 1982 in Toronto at a ceremony hosted by Burton Cummings at the Harbour Castle Hilton Convention Centre....
- Juno Award for International Single of the Year ("The Tide Is High") (Nominated) - 1982 - Grammy Award for Video of the YearGrammy Award for Video of the YearThe Grammy Award for Video of the Year was an honor presented to recording artists at the 24th Grammy Awards in 1982 and the 25th Grammy Awards in 1983 for music videos...
("Eat To The BeatEat to the BeatEat to the Beat is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Blondie. It reached no.1 on the UK album charts in October 1979, no.9 in Australia and no.17 in the US.-History:...
") (Nominated) - 1998 - Q Music Award for Q Inspiration Award (Won)
- 2006 - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for Inductees (Won)
See also
External links
- Official Blondie website
- Official European Blondie website
- The Complete Blondie Discography
- Blondie discography at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...