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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".




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