Footage Of Blondie Drummer In The Studio With The Melvins Available
... Studio footage of
Blondie drummer Clem Burke laying down his parts for the Melvins' cover of The Kinks' "Attitude" can be found online via Drummagazine.com. The finished track appears on the Melvins' newly-released covers album, "Everybody Loves Sausages", which hit stores today, April 30th. Footage Of
Blondie Drummer In The Studio With The Melvins Available ...
[ read more ]Deborah Harry: "Blondie were at the bottom rung of the CBGBs ladder..."
... Deborah Harry reveals she believes
Blondie were looked down on at legendary New York punk club CBGB. Denying that her and Patti Smith disliked each other, in the new issue of Uncut the singer says: "I don't think she'd waste her time hating me. Thing is, I always think
Blondie were at the bottom rung of the whole CBGBs ladder. "She came at her craft from a literary, intellectual point of view, whereas I - although I have read some books, you know! - but I think I came strictly from a more underground pop-culture thing." The singer answers your questions in the new issue, tackling topics including Chris Stein's occult interests, The Muppets, Robert Fripp's guitar playing and the early hip-hop shows she used to hang out at. Uncut's June 2013 issue is out now. Uncut is now available as a digital edition! Download here on your iPad/iPhone and here on your Kindle Fire or Nook. Deborah Harry: "
Blondie were at the bottom rung of the CBGBs ladder..." ...
[ read more ]One Direction given Blondie's approval
... spirit to our early cover versions. They seem good kids.'' Hopefully the success of One Direction's track will give Debbie some hope for the future, as she has previously said she thinks the record industry has been ruined. Speaking in 2011, she said: ''The music industry is already ruined. Computers and the internet and downloading songs completely ruined the music industry and everything artists used to work for.'' Debbie also says
Blondie's new album will feature Gossip singer Beth Ditto, adding: ''I adore Beth, she's got the most incredible voice.'' One Direction given
Blondie's approval ...
[ read more ]
Blondie
(1974-1982, 1997-)
Debbie Harry (vocals)
Chris Stein (guitar)
Jimmy Destri (keyboards)
Gary Valentine (bass) 1974-1977
Clem Burke (drums)
Nigel Harrison (bass) 1977-1982
Artistfacts®: You can leave comments about the artist/band at the bottom of the page.
Originally, they had two back-up singers known only as "Jackie," "Julie," "Tish," and "Snooky" which they later shed.
Before Blondie, Debbie Harry was in a folk band called Wind in the Willows, named after the children's book by Kenneth Grahame. This is the same book that was adapted into a Disney Studios animated story and on which Walt Disney theme parks based the popular (now defunct) attraction "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride."
Blondie's formation came from the fruitful New York neighborhood around CBGB in the 1970s, and so shared new-wave and punk roots with Patti Smith (briefly sharing guitarist Ivan Kral), Ramones, New York Dolls, and the Talking Heads.
At the beginning of Blondie's success in 1977, producer Mike Chapman took the band under his wing. Chapman was quite experienced with punk-type female leads - he had previously worked with Suzi Quatro. With the smash-hit single "
Heart Of Glass," the group had established themselves as a consumer-friendly pop-new-wave alternative band, with just enough of a punk tinge to be edgy. Under Chapman's care, the album
Parallel Lines became their breakout success, selling 20 million copies worldwide.
Debbie Harry has said that Marilyn Monroe was an influence on her style; however, her main intention was to invoke being blonde by itself, since it is associated with glamour, success, and desire.
Blondie's four #1 hits on the US Hot 100 were "Heart of Glass" ('79), "
Call Me" and "
The Tide Is High" ('80), and "
Rapture" ('81). Curious for a New York band, they did even better on the UK charts, scoring additional #1s on the UK Singles charts with "Sunday Girl" ('79), and "Atomic" ('81). Three #1 US hits were also #1 in the UK, leaving only "Rapture" to score a #5 in the UK.
A number of pressures led to the breakup of Blondie by 1982. The media focused on Harry to the point where the rest of the group felt like they didn't exist (think No Doubt). Their popularity was starting to wane and they weren't seeing the money they were used to. Morale was low and bickering broke out. But the coup de grace was when guitarist Chris Stein was diagnosed with pemphigus, a rare autoimmune disease that causes huge blisters on the skin and mucus membranes. He managed to get cured after a long struggle.
Blondie briefly reformed in the late 1990s to early 2000s, and again in the late 2000s, with the original members Harry, Stein, and Burke. In 2008, they toured with Pat Benatar.
The band has nothing to do with the newspaper comic strip of the same name, which began life in 1930 and until the late '70s was what most people thought of when you said "Blondie."
Debbie Harry was a Playboy bunny at the New York City Playboy Club from 1968-1973.
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