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".

Patti Smith

Patti Smith was an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and poet who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ' Horses '. Her most widely known song is " Because the Night ", which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen. It reached number 13 in America and number 5 in the U.K.

The Psychedelic Furs

The Psychedelic Furs were a British new wave band founded in London in the mid to late 1970s, led by singer Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene. Their music went through several phases, from an initially austere art rock sound, to later touching on new wave and elements of hard rock. Early tracks that I particularly liked included ' Sister Europe ' & ' India ' from their self-named debut album in 1979. The band had several hits in their early career. In 1986, filmmaker John Hughes used their song " Pretty in Pink " for his film of the same name. I saw them play at the Sports Centre in Crawley and then again later in Reading, whilst at Uni.

Puff Daddy

Sean Combs also known by the stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy , is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and actor. Combs was born in New York City but was raised in Mount Vernon, New York. He worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, in 1993. Combs' debut album, ' No Way Out ' from 1997 was an instant success, followed by multiple successful albums and singles. Combs formed the musical group Dirty Money and also produced and cultivated artists such as Mary J. Blige and The Notorious B.I.G. The Track ' I'll be Missing You ' featuring Faith Evans is about the death of The Notorious B.I.G. in a shooting incident, and samples heavily form The Police 's ' Every Breath I Take '.

JoBoxers

JoBoxers were a British new wave group formed in the early 1980s, when former Subway Sect members Rob Marche (guitarist), Dave Collard (keyboardist), Chris Bostock (bassist), and Sean McLusky (drummer), teamed up with England-based American singer Dig Wayne. The band's debut single, " Boxerbeat ", peaked at number three in the UK while the group were the opening act on the Madness 'Rise and Fall' tour. However, it was their next hit, " Just Got Lucky ", that broke the band internationally. This single made the UK Top 10, and cracked the US Top 40, in 1983. The band split in 1985.

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones were an English rock band formed in London in the early 1960s. THey were at odds wit hthe prevailing popular pop music of the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered a gritty, heavier-driven sound that came to define hard rock. The band's first stable line-up consisted of bandleader Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica, keyboards), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Bill Wyman (bass guitar), Charlie Watts (drums), and Ian Stewart (piano), the last of whom was removed from the official line-up in 1963, but continued to work with the band as a contracted musician until his death in 1985. Jones left the band less than a month before his death in 1969, having already been replaced by Mick Taylor, who in turn left in 1974 and was replaced in 1975 by Ronnie Wood, who has since remained. To my mind there are only four great Stones tracks - three from the late 60s, early 70s period, these being ' Paint it Black ' 'Sympat...

Muzical Mystery Tour

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