Blondie (band)

History

1974–1978: Early career

Inspired by the burgeoning new music scene at the Mercer Arts Center in Manhattan, musician Chris Stein sought to join a similar band. He joined the Stillettoes in 1973 as their guitarist and formed a romantic relationship with Debbie Harry, who was one of the band's vocalists, a former waitress and Playboy Bunny. Harry had been a member of a folk-rock band, The Wind in the Willows, in the late 1960s. In July 1974, Stein and Harry parted ways with the Stillettoes and Elda Gentile, the band's originator, forming a new band with ex-Stillettoes bandmates Billy O'Connor (drums; born 1953, died 2015){{cite news |access-date=7 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403205240/http://www.post-gazette.com/news/obituaries/2015/04/03/Obituary-William-P-Billy-O-Connor-Jr-Original-drummer-for-rock-band-Blondie-was-also-a-chemist/stories/201504030162 |archive-date=3 April 2015

By the spring of 1975, O'Connor had left the music business and Smith replaced Richard Hell in Television, while Kral eventually joined the Patti Smith Group. Stein and Harry continued the band, and proceeded with auditions to recruit drummer Clem Burke and bassist Gary Valentine (Gary J. Lachman).. Within weeks, the Bellomo sisters were let go without notice.

Blondie became regular performers at Max's Kansas City and CBGB. In June 1975, the band's first recording came in the way of a demo produced by Alan Betrock. To fill out their sound, they recruited keyboard player Jimmy Destri in November 1975. The band signed with Private Stock Records and released their first single "X-Offender" in June 1976, while their debut album, Blondie, was issued in December 1976. Neither was initially a commercial success, and the band spent the rest of the year touring with Television and visiting the UK. Blondie opened for David Bowie and Iggy Pop on the latter's US tour in early 1977 supporting The Idiot. Blondie was invited by Bowie and Pop after the pair had heard their debut. In July 1977, Valentine decided to leave the band and form his own group, the Know; he was replaced by Frank Infante.

In September 1977, the band bought back its contract with Private Stock and signed with British label Chrysalis Records. The first album was re-released on the new label in October 1977. Rolling Stones review of the debut album observed the eclectic nature of the group's music, comparing it both to Phil Spector and to the Who, and commented that the album's two strengths were Richard Gottehrer's production and the persona of Debbie Harry.

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 the single "X-Offender". In a 1998 interview, drummer Burke recalled seeing the episode in which the wrong song was played, but he and 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".

The single reached number two in Australia, and the album entered the Australian top twenty in November 1977.

In February 1978, Blondie released their second album, Plastic Letters (UK number 10, Stein is credited with lead guitar, bass, e-bow and vibes. Plastic Letters was promoted extensively throughout Europe and Asia by Chrysalis Records. made Blondie one of the first American new wave bands to achieve mainstream success in the UK. After the album's release, Infante was made an official band member and moved to guitar, and the British musician Nigel Harrison was hired as the group's full-time bassist. This expanded Blondie to a six-piece for the first time and marking a stabilization in the band's line-up.

1978–1981: Mainstream success

Blondie completed the recording of their third album, Parallel Lines, during the summer of 1978 together with Australian producer Mike Chapman. It was released in September of that year and reached number one in the UK, number six in the US, and number two in Australia. It finally broke the band into the American market on the strength of the worldwide hit single "Heart of Glass". Parallel Lines became the group's most successful album, selling 20 million copies worldwide.{{cite news |access-date=February 25, 2010

"Heart of Glass" was released in early 1979 and the disco-infused track topped the UK charts in February 1979, Although some critics condemned Blondie for "selling out" by dabbling in disco, the song became a worldwide success and one of the biggest selling singles of 1979. As the focal point for the band, Harry began to attain a celebrity status that set her apart from the other band members. She also embarked on an acting career and appeared in the film The Foreigner directed by Amos Poe.

Blondie's next single in the US was a more aggressive rock song, "One Way or Another" (US number 24), though in the UK, an alternate single choice, "Sunday Girl", became a number one hit. Blondie, photographed by Annie Leibovitz, was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in June 1979. The band returned to the studio with Chapman to record their next album in the summer of 1979.

Blondie's fourth album, Eat to the Beat (UK number one, At the end of the year, the show filmed at the Apollo theatre in Glasgow was broadcast by the BBC on the Old Grey Whistle Test. In March 1980, "Atomic" reached number one in the UK and the album was certified gold the following month.

Blondie's next single, the Grammy-nominated "Call Me", was the result of Debbie Harry's collaboration with Italian songwriter and producer Giorgio Moroder, who had been responsible for many of Donna Summer's biggest hits. The track was recorded as the title theme of the Richard Gere film American Gigolo. Released in the US in February 1980, "Call Me" spent six consecutive weeks at number one in the US and Canada. Released in the UK in April 1980, it reached number one and became a global hit. The single was also number one on Billboard magazine's 1980 year-end chart. In the summer of 1980, the band appeared in a bit part in the film Roadie starring Meat Loaf. Blondie performed the Johnny Cash song "Ring of Fire", and the live recording was featured on the film soundtrack and on a later CD reissue of the Eat to the Beat album.

In November 1980, Blondie's fifth studio album and third with Chapman, Autoamerican (UK number three, US number seven, Australia number eight), was released. Autoamerican contained two more US number one hits: the reggae-styled "The Tide Is High", a cover version of a 1967 song written by John Holt of the Paragons, and the rap-flavored "Rapture", which was the first song featuring rapping to reach number one in the US. In the song, Harry mentions the hip hop and graffiti artist Fab Five Freddy who also appears in the video for the song. Autoamerican featured a far wider stylistic range than previous Blondie albums, including the avant-garde instrumental "Europa", the acoustic jazz of "Faces", and "Follow Me" (from the Broadway show "Camelot"). The album went platinum in both the US and the UK.

Blondie took a break for most of 1981. Debbie Harry appeared on Saturday Night Live in February 1981 as both the guest host-actor and as a singer, with Stein and Burke backing her during musical performances. Harry and Destri both released solo albums. Stein worked on Harry's album KooKoo (UK number six, US number twenty-eight) produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. He also joined Burke on Destri's album Heart on a Wall.{{cite web |url=http://archive.blondie.net/images/memorabilia/jimmy_destri_heart_on_a_wall_back_cover.jpg

1982: ''The Hunter'' and breakup

The band reconvened in December 1981 to record a new album, The Hunter, released in May 1982 (UK number nine, US number thirty-three, Australia number fifteen). Infante was initially not included in the new album due to friction with other group members, but began legal proceedings and was later reinstated after an out-of-court settlement. Infante's name appears in the credits of The Hunter, and he is pictured as a member of the group, but Harry has averred in interviews that Infante's contributions to the finished record are minimal to non-existent.

In contrast to their earlier commercial and critical successes, The Hunter was poorly received. The album had two moderate hit singles: "Island of Lost Souls" (UK number 11, US number 37, Australia number 13) and "War Child" (UK number 39). The album also included "For Your Eyes Only", a track the band had been commissioned to write and record for the 1981 James Bond film of the same name, which was rejected by the film's producers who ultimately chose another song with the same title recorded by Sheena Easton.

In June 1982, Harry contributed backing vocals to the Gun Club's second album, Miami, being credited as "D.H. Lawrence Jr". Stein produced the record, and is credited as "bongos" and "cover photos/design". The Gun Club's singer Jeffrey Lee Pierce was a fan, emulating Harry's hairstyle and founding the West Coast Blondie Fan Club, before becoming friends with the band in New York.

For the brief North American tour (July to August 1982) to promote the Hunter album, guitarist Infante was replaced with session musician Eddie Martinez. Also added to the live lineup were second keyboardist Abel Domingues and a three-man horn section comprising Douglas Harris, Joseph Kohanski, and Arthur Pugh. A UK and European tour was cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

In November 1982, the band publicly announced that they had disbanded. In 1983, Stein was diagnosed with the life-threatening illness pemphigus, and Harry cared for him. Harry embarked on solo career in the mid-1980s, including two singles—the 1983 track "Rush Rush" from the film Scarface, and the 1985 track "Feel The Spin"—released while she continued to feature in films. Harry released the album Rockbird in 1986, with active participation from Stein. The album was a moderate success in the UK where it reached gold certification and gave her a UK top 10 hit with "French Kissin'". Meanwhile, Burke became a much-in-demand session drummer, playing and touring with Eurythmics for their 1986 album Revenge, 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, including "Denis". Harry continued releasing solo albums, Def, Dumb and Blonde (1989) and Debravation (1993), while continuing to tour. Further collections follow with The Complete Picture - The Very Best of Deborah Harry and Blondie reaching number three in UK charts in 1991. In 1993, a rarities album Blond and Beyond appeared while The Platinum Collection was released a year later in the US. A second remix album Beautiful: The Remix Album was released in 1995 and a live album Picture This Live followed in 1997.

1997–2007: Re-formation, ''No Exit'' and ''The Curse of Blondie''

During the 1990s, Blondie's past work began to be recognized again by a new generation of fans and artists including Garbage and No Doubt. Chrysalis/EMI Records also released several compilations and collections of remixed versions of some of their biggest hits.

Harry continued her moderately successful solo career after the band broke up, releasing albums in 1989 and 1993 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.{{Cite book | author-link = Gary Lachman

In 1997, the original five-piece band re-formed—including Valentine on bass—and made three live appearances, 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, D.C.{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fA8EAAAAMBAJ&dq=blondie+hfstival+1997&pg=RA1-PA93

A new album, No Exit (UK number three,

No Exit reached number three on the UK charts became Blondie's sixth UK number one single 20 years after their first chart-topper "Heart of Glass". This gave 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 number one hits with the Jacksons and solo in the same decades).

The re-formed band released the follow-up album The Curse of Blondie (UK number 36, US number 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 in the UK charts.

In 2004, Jimmy Destri left the group in order to deal with 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 was not invited back into the band. He intended to work on their 2011 album Panic Of Girls, but did not contribute as either a songwriter or a musician on the finished product, nor to any future Blondie release.

In 2005, a new CD/DVD hits package titled Greatest Hits: Sight + Sound was released, peaking at number 48 in the UK.

Blondie co-headlined a tour with the New Cars in 2006, releasing a cover of the Roxy Music hit "More than This" in support of the tour.

2008–2012: Parallel Lines 30th Anniversary Tour and ''Panic of Girls''

On June 5, 2008, Blondie commenced a world tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Parallel Lines 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 4, 2008, at Store Vega in Copenhagen, Denmark. Inspired by attendances for the tour, Burke and 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."{{cite web | url =https://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/latest/2008/07/07/exclusive-blondie-to-release-brand-new-album-115875-20634914/ | first = Jody | last = Thompson |access-date = July 24, 2009 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090724003851/http://www.crca.net/2009/05/paul-carbonara/ |archive-date = July 24, 2009

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. After playing with the band for over a decade, both Foxx (bass) and Carbonara (guitar) were elevated to official membership status with Blondie. Keyboard player Matt Katz-Bohen, who had replaced Destri, was also made an official member, making Blondie a six-piece band.

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 be ready to follow in 2010. Stein stated that Dutch artist Chris Berens would provide the cover art. In April 2010, it was announced that guitarist Carbonara had amicably left Blondie to pursue other projects and was replaced by Tommy Kessler (the finished Panic of Girls album credits both Kessler and Carbonara as official members).

In June 2010, Blondie began the first leg of a world tour named "Endangered Species Tour", which covered the UK 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 US and Canada over the course of six weeks. Blondie then took the "Endangered Species Tour" to Australia and New Zealand in November to December 2010, co-headlining with the Pretenders.

It was first revealed that the band's album was going to be released first in Australia through the Australian Sony label in December 2010, but Sony later backed out of the deal, leaving the album still unreleased. The album's release date was finally set for mid-2011 without the involvement of a major record label. The album was first released in May 2011 as a limited edition "fan pack" in the UK with a 132-page magazine and various collectible items, before being released as a regular CD later in the summer. The lead single "Mother" was released beforehand as a free download. A music video for the song was released on May 18, 2011. It was directed by Laurent Rejto and features cameos by Kate Pierson from the B-52's, James Lorinz (Frankenhooker), Johnny Dynell, Chi Chi Valenti, the Dazzle Dancers, Rob Roth, Barbara Sicuranza, Larry Fessenden, Alan Midgette (Andy Warhol's double), The Five Points Band, Guy Furrow, Kitty Boots, and Hattie Hathaway. A second single from the album, "What I Heard", was available as a digital release in July 2011.

On August 20, 2011, Blondie performed a live set for "Guitar Center Sessions" on DirecTV. The episode included an interview with program host Nic Harcourt. The band continued to tour regularly into 2012. A concert in New York City was streamed live on YouTube on October 11, 2012. The same week, the band listed three previously unreleased songs recorded during the Panic of Girls sessions ("Bride of Infinity", "Rock On", and "Dead Air") on Amazon.com which were made available for free download in the US, and in the UK via the band's official website. Another track, "Practice Makes Perfect", was also made available as a free download in November 2012.

2013–2023: ''Ghosts of Download'' and ''Pollinator''

On March 20, 2013, Harry and Stein were interviewed on the radio show WNYC Soundcheck in which they confirmed they were working on a new Blondie album and previewed a new song entitled "Make a Way". In June and July 2013, the band held a "Blast Off Tour" of Europe. The US "No Principals Tour" followed in September and October 2013.

The album Ghosts of Download was released in May 2014 as part of a two-disc package titled Blondie 4(0) Ever to coincide with the band's 40th anniversary. The package also includes Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux, a compilation of re-recordings of Blondie's past singles. The band's official worldwide 40th anniversary tour began in February 2014.

Blondie recorded a concert for PBS's Soundstage to be aired some time in 2016 and included two new tracks, "My Monster" and "Gravity". In 2015, Blondie members Harry and Stein made a guest appearance alongside the Gregory Brothers in an episode of the YouTube series Songify the News, where they collaborated again to parody the 2016 US presidential election debates.

In January 2017, it was announced that the band would support Phil Collins at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on June 25, 2017, as part of his Not Dead Yet tour. The band also toured Australia and New Zealand on a co-headlining tour with Cyndi Lauper.

In the March 2017 issue of Mojo magazine, the band announced that their eleventh studio album, Pollinator, would be released on May 5, 2017. The album was recorded at The Magic Shop in SoHo, New York City, and featured songs written by the likes of TV on the Radio's David Sitek, Johnny Marr, Sia, Charli XCX, and Dev Hynes. Pollinator spawned hit singles "Fun" and "Long Time" and embarked Blondie on a promotional tour in North America, South America and Europe. The album peaked at number four in the UK and is Blondie's most successful studio album since No Exit.

On December 21, 2019, Blondie announced through their social media that they would release an EP and mini-documentary entitled Vivir en La Habana. It was recorded during the band's residency in Havana, Cuba, in March 2019, and directed by Rob Roth and was shown at several film festivals around the globe. The EP is not entirely a "live" recording as Stein, who was not present at the Havana concerts, added guitar parts in the studio to enhance the live tracks. In October 2020, Harry and Stein appeared in Schmoyoho's parody of the 2020 US presidential debates between vice presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Mike Pence in a song titled "One Heartbeat Away", where they played the role of moderators.

On October 20, 2020, Blondie announced that they would be embarking on a ten-date arena tour of the UK in November 2021 with Garbage as the opening act. The tour was postponed until April 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnny Marr, formerly of the Smiths, replaced Garbage on the tour. Additional dates were subsequently added in the US. In April 2022, prior to the launch of the UK/US tour, it was announced that Stein would be unable to tour with the group due to heart issues. "I've been dealing with a dumbass condition called Atrial Fibrillation or AFib which is irregular heartbeats and combined with the meds I take for it I'm too fatigued to deal", Stein said. He was replaced by Andee Blacksugar. Bassist Foxx, too, was absent due to a back injury. Former Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock filled in for Foxx. Matlock also recorded with the band for the forthcoming Blondie album.

Blondie performed at the 22nd Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2023.

2024–present Upcoming twelfth studio album, ''High Noon''

In a June 2024 interview for BBC Radio 6 Music, Harry and Stein stated that Blondie's upcoming twelfth album will be released in Spring 2025. This was followed up on November 6, 2024 by images posted onto Stein's and Blondie's official social media, showing Harry in the recording studio, captioned 'Whatever. Blondie album next year. Alea iacta est'. However, the album has yet to be released.

Exactly fifty years after first joining Blondie, drummer Clem Burke died of cancer on April 6, 2025.

On August 19, 2025, the band revealed that the new studio album High Noon would be released in the spring of 2026, and will feature drums recorded by Burke before his death.

Style and 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 reaching from their punk roots to embrace new wave, power pop and dance-rock, with elements of disco, pop, rap, and reggae. The New York Timess Ann Powers stated the modernised girl-group style Blondie perfected became a blueprint for other female-fronted bands. With over 40 million records sold, they became punk era's best-selling group.

In March 2006, Blondie, following an introductory speech by Shirley Manson of Garbage, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Seven members (Harry, Stein, Burke, Destri, Infante, Nigel Harrison, and Valentine) were invited to the ceremony, which led to an on-stage spat between the extant group and their former bandmate Infante, who asked during the live broadcast of the ceremony that he and Nigel Harrison be allowed to perform with the group, a request refused by Harry who stated that the band had already rehearsed their performance. 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.

Band members

Current

• Debbie Harry – lead vocals (1974–1982, 1997–present)
• Chris Stein – guitar, bass (1974–1982, 1997–present; not touring since 2019)
• Leigh Foxx – bass (2009–present; touring: 1997–2009; not touring since 2022)
• Matt Katz-Bohen – keyboards, backing vocals, guitar (2009–present; touring 2004–2009)
• Tommy Kessler – guitar, backing vocals (2010–present)

Touring

• Jimi K Bones – guitar (2003)
• Kevin Patrick – keyboards, backing vocals (2003–2007)
• Andee Blacksugar – guitar, backing vocals (2021–present)
• Glen Matlock – bass (2022–present)

Former

• Fred Smith – bass (1974–1975)
• Billy O'Connor – drums (1974–1975; died 2015)
• Tish Bellomo - backing vocals (1974-1975)
• Snooky Bellomo - backing vocals (1974-1975)
• Ivan Kral – guitar (1974; died 2020)
• Clem Burke – drums, percussion (1975–1982, 1997–2025; his death)
• Gary Valentine – bass, guitar (1975–1977, 1997)
• Jimmy Destri – keyboards, backing vocals (1975–1982, 1997–2004)
• Frank Infante – guitar, backing vocals (1977–1982), bass (1977–1978)
• Nigel Harrison – bass (1978–1982, 1997)
• Paul Carbonara – guitar, backing vocals (2009–2010; touring 1997–2009)

Timeline

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Discography

Main article: Blondie discography

Studio albums

• Blondie (1976)
• Plastic Letters (1978)
• Parallel Lines (1978)
• Eat to the Beat (1979)
• Autoamerican (1980)
• The Hunter (1982)
• No Exit (1999)
• The Curse of Blondie (2003)
• Panic of Girls (2011)
• Ghosts of Download (2014)
• Pollinator (2017)
• High Noon (2026)

Tours

Headlining (main tours)

• Plastic Letters Tour (1978)
• Parallel Lines Tour (1979–1980)
• Tracks Across America Tour (1982)
• No Exit Tour (1998–1999)
• Camp Funtime Summer Tour (2002)
• Phasm 8 Tour (2003–2005)
• Parallel Lines 30th Anniversary Tour (2008)
• Endangered Species Tour (2010)
• Panic of Girls Tour (2011)
• Blast Off/No Principals Tour (2013)
• Pollinator Tour (2017–2019)
• Against the Odds Tour (2022)
• Ball of Confusion Tour (2024)

Co-headlining

• Road Rage Tour with The New Cars (2006)
• Call Me Invincible Tour with Pat Benatar (2009)
• Endangered Species Tour with The Pretenders and Cheap Trick (2010)
• Whip It To Shreds Tour with Devo (2012)
• No Principals Tour with X (2013)
• Rage and Rapture Tour with Garbage (2017)
• Elvis Costello & The Imposters and Blondie Co-Headlining 2019 Tour with Elvis Costello & The Imposters (2019)
• Pandemonium 2024 with Alice Cooper (2024)

Awards and nominations

• 1980Juno Award for Best Selling Single ("Heart of Glass") (Won)
• 1981Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ("Call Me") (Nominated)
• 1980Juno Award for International Single of the Year ("The Tide Is High") (Nominated)
• 1982Grammy Award for Video of the Year ("Eat To The Beat") (Nominated)
• 1998Q Music Award for Q Inspiration Award (Won)
• 2006Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for Inductees (Won)
• 2014NME Award for NME Godlike Genius Award (Won)
• 2016Q Music Award for Q Inspiration Award (Won)
• 2016Grammy Hall of Fame for "Heart of Glass" (Inducted)
• 2022BBC Longshots Audience Award for Blondie: Vivir en la Habana (Won)
• 2023Grammy Award for Best Historical Album for Against the Odds: 1974–1982 (Nominated)
• 2023 – Songwriters Hall of Fame (Nominated)

Notes

References

References

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