Blondie

Blondie was an American rock band co-founded by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band were pioneers in the American punk and then the new wave scene of the early mid-1970s in New York.

Stein and Harry were joined by drummer Clem Burke on drums, Frank Infante on Guitar and Englishman Nigel Harrison on Bass, then to complete their sound, they recruited keyboard player Jimmy Destri in November 1975.

Their first two albums, the self titled 'Blondie' and 'Plastic Letters' contained strong elements of these genres, and although highly successful in the United Kingdom, Blondie was regarded as an underground band in the United States until the release of 'Parallel Lines' in 1978.

From the first album we got the great 'X-Offender'

and from the second we got 'Denis' and 'Detroit 442'

Over the next three years, the band achieved several hit singles including "Heart of Glass", "Call Me", "Rapture" and "The Tide Is High".

The band became noted for its eclectic mix of musical styles incorporating elements of disco, pop, reggae, and early rap music.

'Parallel Lines' was pretty well released piece by piece as singles, each one a gem, I call out the following but these could change day to day...

'Picture This'

I remember seeing this concert live on TV on New Year's Eve 1979, best New Year's Eve ever at the time!

'Hangin on the Telephone'

'Sunday Girl'

with a bit of 'Dreaming' from their third album 'Eat to the Beat' or fun! This also included 'Union City Blue' and 'Atomic'

The Band's sound was changing, some said it was going mainstream and disco but they still pulled the odd gem out of the bag, namely 'Rapture' in 1981

Blondie disbanded after the release of its sixth studio album, The Hunter, in 1982. Debbie 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 re-formed in 1997, achieving renewed success and a number one single in the United Kingdom with "Maria" in 1999, exactly 20 years after their first UK No. 1 single "Heart of Glass".

Simon & Garfunkel

Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk-rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, however, my fondness for them really boils down to the ' Bridge over Troubled Waters ' album, which was a world wide hit and included many of the tracks that were later to be featured in the film ' The Graduate ' on of my favourite films. Their biggest hits—included the wonderful " The Sound of Silence ", " Mrs. Robinson " " The Boxer " " Bridge over Troubled Water " all of which I believe were worldwide hit singles. All of these videos are taken from a recording of their concert in Central Park New York in the very early 1980s, I remember watching this on TV or a video around that time and thinking that some of it was a bit self indulgent but these tracks were great.

Talking Heads

Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in the mid 1970s in New York City and active until 1991. The band was composed of former art school students David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Frantz (drums), Tina Weymouth (bass), and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). they were a pioneering new wave group who drew inspiration from punk, art rock, funk, and other stances. They released their 1977 debut album, ' Talking Heads: 77 ', to positive reviews and one of my favourite albums of the year They collaborated with producer Brian Eno on a trio of experimental and critically acclaimed album releases: ' More Songs About Buildings and Food ' released in 1978, ' Fear of Music ' from 1979 and ' Remain in Light ' released in 1980. In 1981 they had eth track ' Once in a Lifetime '. After a pause, during which time husband and wife Frantz and Weymouth, formed the Tom Tom Club, they returned with a great tracks like " Burning Down the House ...

Hazel O'Connor

Hazel O'Connor was a bit of a flash in the pan, new wave star in the early 1980s, she shot to fame in the film 'Breaking Glass' for which she wrote and performed the sound track. I saw her perform in Reading, when at Uni and she was supported by an up and coming New Romantic group called 'Duran Duran'. Her two big tracks were ' Eighth Day ' and ' Will You '

Bronski Beat

Bronski Beat were a British electro-pop trio which achieved success in the mid-1980s, particularly with the 1984 chart hit " Smalltown Boy ", from their debut album ' The Age of Consent '. All members of the band were openly gay and their songs reflected this, often containing political commentary on gay issues. The initial line-up, which recorded the majority of the band's hits, consisted of Jimmy Somerville (vocals), Steve Bronski (keyboards, percussion) and Larry Steinbachek (keyboards, percussion). A notable track was ' I Feel Love ', a version of which was recorded with Marc Almond, formerly of Soft Cell. Somerville left Bronski Beat in 1985, and went on to have success as lead singer of the Communards and as a solo artist. He was replaced by vocalist John Foster, with whom the band continued to have hits in the UK and Europe through 1986. Foster left Bronski Beat after their second album, and the band used a series of vocalists before dissolving in...

Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper is the name of the lead singer and band that recorded released the ' Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits ' album, the very first record I ever bought, from Sounds Groovy in Horsham back in the early 1975 as best as I can remember! Originally the group was Cooper on vocals, Glen Buxton on Drums, Neal Smith on Lead Guitar and Michael Bruce on Rhythm Guitar and Dennis Dunaway on Bass Guitar. After 1975 Alice Cooper became a solo act and the band broke-up. As with many, my first awareness of eth band was with ' School's Out ' an anthem from 1972, which was knocked off the No.1 spot in the UK by Donny Osmond! Warning many of these videos contain snakes. After this hit, the band had hits with ' Elected ' and ' Billion Dollar Babies ' It was not until I got hold of the Greatest Hits album that I was really hooked on the group until the emergence of Punk and New Wave... Early tracks such as ' I'm Eighteen ' and ' Under my Wheels ...

Muzical Mystery Tour

Search This Blog