Blondie is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1974 by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer of the new wave genre emerging from the CBGB scene of the mid-1970s. They achieved global commercial success with their third album, Parallel Lines (1978), and a string of multi-genre hit singles including "Heart of Glass", "Call Me", and "Rapture". Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, the band has sold over 40 million records worldwide.
Although the band's first two albums, Blondie (1976) and Plastic Letters (1978), were successful in the UK and Australia, Blondie was regarded as an underground band in the US until the release of their critically acclaimed third album Parallel Lines (1978). Over the next two years, the band released a string of hit singles,"Blondie". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 2006. including "Heart of Glass" (US and UK No. 1), "One Way or Another", "Dreaming", "Call Me" (US and UK No. 1), "Atomic", (UK No.1), "The Tide Is High" (US and UK No. 1), and "Rapture" (US No. 1).
Blondie disbanded after the release of their sixth studio album, The Hunter (1982). Harry continued to pursue a moderately successful solo career after taking a few years off to care for her partner Stein, who was diagnosed with pemphigus, a rare autoimmune disease of the skin. The band re-formed in 1997, achieving renewed success with their seventh album No Exit (1999) and their sixth number one single in the UK with "Maria" in 1999, exactly 20 years after their first UK number one single, "Heart of Glass".
The group toured and performed throughout the world during the following years, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Blondie has sold over 40 million records worldwide and continues to actively perform. The band's eleventh studio album, Pollinator, was released on 2017, charting at number 4 in the UK. A new studio album, High Noon, has been announced as being in progress. A previously announced tentative release date in 2025 was later revised to spring 2026, but was missed; the band has issued no further updates about the album.
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) and Fred Smith (bass). Originally billed as Angel and the Snake for two shows in August 1974, they had renamed themselves Blondie and the Banzai Babies, and then shortened the band name to Blondie by October 1974, while Ivan Kral joined the band on guitar, as well as Tish and Snooky Bellomo on vocals, who, according to Harry, "sang backup with us, on and off for over a year and a half". The new name derived from comments made by truck drivers who catcalled "Hey, Blondie" to Harry as they drove past. eNotes.com. 2006. September 12, 2010
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."Talent Talk", Billboard, October 22, 1977: 54 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". Jimmy Destri later credited the show's Molly Meldrum for their initial success, commenting that "we still thank him to this day" for playing the wrong song. 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. A subsequent double-A release of "X-Offender" and "Rip Her to Shreds" reached number 81. A successful Australian tour followed in December 1977, though it was marred by an incident in Brisbane when disappointed fans almost rioted after Harry cancelled a performance due to illness.
In February 1978, Blondie released their second album, Plastic Letters (UK number 10, US number 78, Australia number 64). The album was recorded the summer of 1977, with the group officially a quartet. Frank Infante was brought in as a session musician to play bass on the album, and is credited on all issues of the record with bass and rhythm guitar." Stein is credited with lead guitar, bass, e-bow and vibes. Valentine describes his July 4, 1977, departure from the band. Plastic Letters was promoted extensively throughout Europe and Asia by Chrysalis Records. The album's first single, "Denis", was a cover version of the Randy and the Rainbows' 1963 hit "Denise". It reached number two on the British singles charts, while both the album and its second single, "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear", reached the British top ten. Chart success, along with a successful 1978 UK tour, including a gig at London's Roundhouse, 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 marked 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. The album's first two singles were "Picture This" (UK number 12) and "Hanging on the Telephone" (UK number five). As the band previously had success with a cover, Chrysalis Records chose their version of Buddy Holly's "I'm Gonna Love You Too" as the lead single from Parallel Lines in the US. This turned out to be a miscalculation as the single failed to chart.
"Heart of Glass" was released in early 1979 and the disco-infused track topped the UK charts in February 1979, and the US charts in April 1979. It was a reworking of a rock and reggae-influenced song that the group had performed since its formation in the mid-1970s, updated with strong elements of disco music. Burke later said the revamped version was inspired partly by Kraftwerk and partly by the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive", whose drum beat Burke tried to emulate. He and Stein gave Destri much of the credit for the final result, noting that Destri's appreciation of technology had led him to introduce synthesizers and to rework the keyboard sections. 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. Parallel Lines has been ranked number 140 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 greatest albums of all time. 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, US number seventeen, Australia number nine), also produced by Chapman, was released in September 1979. Although well received by critics as a suitable follow-up to Parallel Lines, the album and its singles failed to achieve the same level of success in the US. In the UK, the album delivered three top 20 hits, including the band's third UK number one ("Atomic", UK number one, US number thirty-nine). The lead track off the album, "Dreaming", reached number two in the UK. But it only made it to number 27 in the US. The second single "Union City Blue" (UK number 13) shared the title of a film featuring Harry, directed by Marcus Reichert. Along with the inspiration from the film, "Union City Blue"'s lyrics derived from her living in Union City, New Jersey. She worked various jobs across the Hudson River from Manhattan, noting the scenic skyline and passion she embraced while living there, before giving birth to Blondie. The single was not released in the US in favor of the track "The Hardest Part". Chrysalis Records' Linda Carhart asked Jon Roseman Productions US division to shoot videos for every song and create the first ever video album. David Mallet directed and Paul Flattery produced it at various locations and studios in and around New York. It was nominated for a Grammy, the first year the Recording Academy instituted an award for music videos. 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.