Let's celebrate Blondie!

BLONDIE IS A GROUP, YOU DUMB CUNT.

And they released four of their original six albums in the '70s.

THREAD CLOSED.

Heart of Glass is THE Blondie classic.

Call Me!!

You sound like a joy to be around, R1.

Please sir, may I have some more?

One way or another...

[quote]Blondie's music makes me so happy, and it screams 1980's.

Screams is right.

ATOMIC and CALL ME were my favorites. I also liked RUSH RUSH.

However, I do remember RAPTURE as one of the first rap songs to get mainstream airplay.

And one of the first songs to reference men dancing with men

toe to toe

don't move too slow.

Blondie really only had 4 hit records, but all of them (Heart Of Glass, Call Me, The Tide Is High, Rapture) went to number 1 on Billboard.

I loved (and still do) X OFFENDER and RIP HER TO SHREDS (which could be a gay anthem).

X OFFENDER was originally titled SEX OFFENDER but the label made them change it.

I remember the giddiness when people thought the RAPTURE lyric was "finger fucking/24-hour shopping" — it was "finger popping" but it sounded close enough to get a dirty thrill when it was on the radio.

I love Blondie also, and R1 is correct. I just finished reading Debbie Harry’s memoir (while listening to Blondie’s first four albums) and really enjoyed it.

One of my favorite songs of theirs is (I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear.

I saw Debbie Harry coming out of the Shinnecock reservation cigarette shop in Southhampton on Long Island about 15 yrs ago. I was struck by how tiny she was. No more than 5' if even that tall.

THIS is Blondie.

Saw DH sing at Cafe Carlyle a few years ago. Old girl still has it.

THIS IS THE REAL BLONDIE

Fab five Freddy told me everybody's fly.

Blondie is a band, Debbie Harry is a person.

Giant ants from space

Waste the Human race

Then they eat your face

Never leave a trace

La la la-la-la

La la la-la-la

La la la-la-la

Rapture was

Parallel Lines is a great album. 11:59 is one of my favourites.

Debbie Harry was and remains the essence of cool.

I agree R18, Parallel Lines is their most consistently enjoyable album. I love Picture This, but almost every song on that album is a classic.

What Mike Chapman put Blondie through to create Parallel Lines was pretty insane. Clem Burke describes their sessions as "torture". They were all addicts and it was musical boot camp, but a timelessly perfect record came out of it.

Atomic. Maria. Rapture.

Her ?? Blondie is the name of the BAND !

Maria is a great song.

I will humor the Aspie Irrelevant Pop Namedropper this time because Blondie is one of my favorite bands. And I don't mind conflating Blondie with Deborah Harry because everyone knows the OP means Deborah Harry and the band was named for her nickname.

I'm such a fan that I listen to their new albums, which are still good. My favorite songs are a tossup between "Heart of Glass" and "Maria." But my "Best of Blondie" playlist is 61 songs long.

Since you guys are going to burn through Blondie's greatest hits pretty quickly, I'll draw your attention to some rare recordings most of you don't know about.

Blondie did a fabulous cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" for the movie "Roadie."

Blondie also did a fabulous, long-unreleased cover of "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer, the DL Fave:

I'll throw in solo Debbie Harry's "French Kissin' in the U.S.A.," as it was my first exposure to a Debbie Harry song.

And I wholeheartedly recommend the house remix album BLONDIE: REMIXED, REMADE, REMODELED to all the gays. Especially if you like:

Or you like:

Bermuda Triangle Blues (flight 45)

Blondie was HUGE in the UK and had more than 4 hits there, R8.

Who cares how many hits? They had tons of good music.

If Taylor Swift is what you have to be to hit, then NO THANK YOU.

Classic:

Classic

And speaking of French lyrics, I love Blondie's French-language gender swap of Randy and the Rainbows' doo wop classic "Denise."

Since nobody linked the original:

But I want you to remember the fabulous cover of "Atomic" by Sleeper for the TRAINSPOTTING soundtrack. It really cooks:

Does anyone remember Atomic Kitten's cover of "Tide is High" from 2001?

I love the new chorus they made up for it.

A personal fave. Love that Carribbean vibe!

Did you know Blondie is a total class act who can do old-school jazz? Lovely:

Picture This - You got clouds on your lids and you'd be on the skids If it weren't for your job at the garage

Another long-unreleased gem was Blondie's cover of David Bowie's "Heroes."

Who HASN'T covered that song?

LGBT HISTORY CORNER FOR THE CHILDREN:

Blondie came up in the '70s at the famous C.B.G.B. club in New York. You may have heard how the Ramones and Talking Heads exploded out of this indie rock club to invent punk and New Wave while Iggy Pop stood naked in the bar and let anyone blow him.

But you may not know that C.B.G.B.s, or Hilly's on the Bowery, as it was originally called, was chock-full of queer and drag queen musicians, too! Jayne County, Lou Reed, Lance Loud and the Mumps were all in the mix.

Miki, Paul and Mandy Zone were all musicians, all brothers and all GAY! Their band The Fast performed throughout the '70s at C.B.G.B.s alongside Blondie, etc. innovating new sounds.

In the '80s, Paul and Miki formed a homoerotic Hi-NRG band called Man 2 Man, producing their most famous hit, "Male Stripper," which I'll include here. It was pretty "ballsy" for the time, pun intended.

At any rate, here is Deborah Harry's 1990 collaboration with gay-as-fuck Paul Zone. She sings the backup vocals on "I'll Try Anything Once."

Thanks, r42. A nice history.

A friend who was around that scene at the time (friends with Lance Loud and Lydia Lunch) once told me, "You could always tell when Debbie was using again because she looked FABULOUS."

LOL

Slow motion

Blonde will always remind me of an edgier and more interesting New York.

My favourite BLONDIE song is "Screaming Skin," which is on the April 1999 Gap In-Store Playlist.

"Maria" is on there as well.

[quote]Does anyone remember Atomic Kitten's cover of "Tide is High" from 2001?

It's on the November 2002 GapKids In-Store Playlist!

die young stay pretty

A testament to the wild popularity of Blondie in the UK: in 1981 a Blondie tribute act called "This Year's Blonde" charted at number #46 with a medley of Blondie hits, called Platinum Pop.

Their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction was cringe worthy!

Don't leave me hanging on the telephone, why was it cringe worthy? I didn't see it.

The booted band member(s) tried to get Debbie, Chris et al. to agree to play with them live at the ceremony even though they knew that was not going to happen.

I'd like to know why Debbie and Chris won't play with Jimmy Destri anymore. I'm hoping it's in Debbie's memoir, FACE IT, which I haven't read yet.

Jimmy innovated their electronic keyboard-disco sound that really set them apart from disco.

R55 Damnright. Unfortunately I think Destri is only mentioned briefly in Harry’s memoir Face It. I have the book and I’m a fan, but couldn’t get into it. It sounds like Destri was cast out of the band for an issue with sobriety, but then again I think he is a sober coach and counselor. I agree his fingers are all over their best music. Blondie is a great old band but looks to be a clique that was controlled by Stein and Harry (possibly rightly so since they originated the concept). But there is a lot of shabby s treatment and backstabbing internally in the band. Harry’s bio is thin and shallow, not so interesting or revealing. It’s a shame. Maybe you shouldn’t ever meet your idols.

Anyone who's seen an interview with Harry should know that she was never going to write a revealing memoir.

Fantabulous, r51. That's what should be on TV every Saturday -- just different musicians covering Blondie songs to a crowd dancing. I'd totally make Blondie Bandstand happen if I were Kim Jong Un.

I love that they have retro-'60s dancers Watusi'ing in the background. That's really what Blondie and all the punk rockers were trying to get back to — Do Wop of the '50s and '60s, just with louder guitars and an attitude problem.

"Hanging On The Telephone" by Blondie is on the February 1994 Gap In-Store Playlist!

I thought you guys would have listed all of Blondie's greatest hits by now. Do I have to do everything myself?

"Fade Away and Radiate" creates a haunting, dreamy tone unlike anything else.

And when played through an acidic jazzy remix, you get something this beautiful:

1982's "Island Of Lost Souls" by Blondie is on the August 1995 Gap In-Store Playlist!

1979's "Union City Blue" by Blondie is on the October 1997 Gap In-Store Playlist!

"(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear" by Blondie is on the August 2005 Gap In-Store Playlist!

I was into Blondie's music even as a boy. "Heart of Glass" was my favorite. The pretty music teacher with dark, giant, rolled hair bought the sheet music and was going to play it on the 88s while I sang it for the school talent show, but I got too scared at the last minute. Oh well. "Dreaming' is also beautiful, but I don't remember that one.

My mother enjoyed my singing and dancing around the house. She bought a stereo/turntable for their bedroom. At at very young age (about 7), I put it on an oldies station and was rocking and dancing to the Rolling Stones "Brown Sugar". Mmm, you taste so good.. A child has no idea what that means. I was having fun and getting exercise. My bigoted sister ran in, shut it off and started an argument that badly upset me. Don't want to publish what she said, but my mother gave it back to her double and told her to leave me alone! We know Blondie was gone by the time I was a teen.

I re-listened to BLONDIE: REMIXED, REMADE, REMODELED today when I was shopping about. It brought back a lot of great memories from when I was a teenager, getting laid and being gay for the first times. This was also when I was discovering most of Blondie's music for the first time -- almost 20 years after their heyday.

A hot D.J. gave me this album. It's also kind of sad for me, because he killed himself about 10 years ago. 😞😞

Anyway, D.J. Damien's Supermarket Mix of "One Way or Another" is another gem off the album. It's Blondie sampled with movements from the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams," "Thriller" and "Funkytown!" Total gaynip. I remember spinning the shit out of this album while working out at my college field house with no air conditioning, during the days I was fucking the dude who gave it to me. Bittersweet!

Always liked the cool urgency of this:

And the Kung Furgency of this:

Blondie's cover of Buddy Holly's "I'm Gonna Love You, Too" was always fun.

Believe a program on VH1 pointed out that Blondie's "Rapture" featured one of the first raps in American music. I like listening to that song.

Yes, we've got to have the full song and video for "Rapture."

"Atomic: The Very Best of Blondie" is their quintessential compilation.

R72, my apologies. Apparently, the episode of "Wonder Woman" with Charles Pierce didn't slow activity on The DL.. Someone needed to point out that was either the first rap or one of the first. Thanks for the kind reminder,

R71

Not many people know Blondie's new music because it doesn't have any hits. Because young people don't want to listen to old people.

But it's still good music. So I'll share some of my favorites from 21st century Blondie, starting with this traditional, Japanese folk song from CURSE OF BLONDIE, rendered pleasantly groovy:

The full-length MAN TO MAN version of "Rapture" is on the August 1997 Gap In-Store Playlist!

I also like "The Tingler." Maybe cuz I'm a William Castle fan.

R76 thanks! Since I only shopped there a few times, do you or anyone else know if people did or do go to large The Gap stores just to listen to music, browse and hang out?

Blondie really brought back the Caribbean influence with 2011's PANIC OF GIRLS.

Here be mah favorite tracks, mon:

Funny:

Poppin:

Breezy:

2014's GHOSTS OF DOWNLOAD brought some pretty pleasant tunes and more musical styles from around the world.

Check out the Tejanos on this one!

This one almost reminds me of Goldfrapp:

'80s fans might like Blondie's haunting cover of "Relax" by another '80s icon, Frankie Goes to Hollywood!

Don't let the slow intro fool you. It builds!

Groovy:

Need to find more later Blondie/Debbie. I’ve heard some great stuff in gay bars but haven’t researched.

As a 13 year old gay boy, my boom box was always cranking out Blondie. Wonder if it was a gay thing. I always thought it was straight music - which is why 13 year old closet case me played it to friends. Maybe not.

E.D.M.

[Quote] Because young people don't want to listen to old people.

And yet Blondie topped the UK charts with "Maria," when Debbie was 54.

Smooth jazz electronica:

The singles from POLLINATOR are great.

Since they did Official Videos, You get to see more of what they look like now.

Love this:

Classic '70s-sounding Blondie rock, reflecting on their past.

But enough of this new stuff nobody recognizes. How come nobody has mentioned Debbie Harry's second-most successful solo song? TOTAL GAYNIP

.... of which there are many cool remixes.

Or how about dance hit "I Can See Clearly?"

Here in the U.S. we had BLONDIE: THE PLATINUM COLLECTION, r73.

This is the album that ensured I would have to get into Blondie. It came out the same year I lost my virginity -- 1994!

But I do like those remixes, r73. I found them in my Napster/Limewire days thanks to some benevolent Brit, I'd imagine!

Blondie Vs. Edison has some cool "Heart of Glass" remixes that are good on high-cardio days at the gym!

R101 thanks for that! I was freaked out because I also heard David Bowie's excellent "Let's Dance"and I was freaked out! Took me forever to find the problem! Have a great weekend.

N.P., keep it Atomic!

Several of these links show us much awful music Harry put out in the space between Blondie’s projects. I’m likely to get flamed here, and I may deserve it, but Jesus some of her solo material is really thin and bad. Blondie is the clear zenith of her career and she doesn’t seem to know it. She has said that if they placed the Blondie label on any of her solo records, these solo recordings would have done as well as the Blondie catalog. We saw in their latest releases that’s untrue.

It’s not all attributable to ageism, either. No Exit was an authentic success. But I held my ears through her late solo material (Necessary Evil, in particular). Curse and, less so, Panic of Girls had some good tracks, but the engineering was wonky and they couldn’t reproduce their sound live because they they altered the pitch of her voice on the album tracks. It’s a shame because she really can sing and often the live, televised versions of songs like “Mother” are close to great.

Harry also had some excellent performances with Jazz Passengers and very effective passes at two classics of Italian Cinema. But overall her solo material is uneven and pretty bad. She would have ranked more highly as a singer and performer without it. Blondie’s music was successful under certain conditions that they weren’t able to maintain or replicate over time and because of their cancerous band relationships. Harry was right when she described Blondie as “the same old fuckups” in their VH1 documentary Behind the Music. But I still admire their best music. Everyone does.

I didn't check out "Necessary Evil" but I liked "Two Times Blue."

r104 reminds of the Blondie haters who've infected Datalounge in years past.

Like the fans of the punk purist critic at ROLLING STONE who trashed them, libeling AUTOAMERICAN as an album without "hooks, rhythm or structure."

Or this contrarian trolling. So glad I've found fellow fans, though.

R104 here, neglected to say I really liked their version of “We Three Kings. ”

I always loved this track from the early 90s Debravation album. Produced by Anne Dudley, and sounding very much lone of the more intimate Pet Shop Boys songs

Debbie Harry for Sara Lee bread!

If you can believe it.

Great, r108. Something to put on my Christmas playlist!

R106 No, Actually Autoamerican is an amazing example of Blondie’s early genius. They tried every genre and mastered several. No Exit, too, took on ska, rap (again), Jazz, and a country track “The Dream’s Lost on Me”. I’m no hater, but admire their better material enough to be honest about the other content.

Sugar on the Side is a sexy and subversive modern Blondie track, too. This is a side of Harry that is so appealing, a real hot shit.

R26 Harry’s version of I Feel Love actually was released on a collection of remixes. I have it somewhere.

Unpopular opinion, I thought this was a great single, and the legal shit means we'll never get it live again.....

Huge huge huge Blondie/Debbie fan Huge StockAitkenWaterman fan.

Didn't know this even existed before Napster, and I was a record store geek who knew lots of shit.

She was robbed. I blame Geffen.

My second favorite Debbie song is 1981's "Now I Know You Know." Creem Magazine hated that song!

BTW, I think I know someone in this thread: the guy who is worshipping the 2003 album. I knew someone then when rambled on and on about that album just like our poster here.

Are you him?

I'll also go to my grave loving this song and the video was directed by Geiger FFS.

R115 I didn’t think it was any good when I first heard Goodboys, but in retrospect it was suitable for release as a single, and spawned some amazing remixes. It was a hard sound for Harry to reproduce live, so she performed it in a different pitch and tempo, on Letterman and also on TV in Europe, where I lived at the time. She sort of took the song under her wing and delivered a live version that was different but so good. The Curse is a Blondie album I was happy to see make it to market. I think they lost the original master for it, and had a tough time getting it out. But there are some amazing songs on it. I think Chris Stein’s fingers are all over the theme of circus horror, like The Tingler and also the video for Goodboys. I’m glad you posted this track. It’s from a really interesting time in Blondie’s history. The album contains an amazing samba tribute to Joey Ramone that’s beautiful. It’s a Blondie highpoint. Diamond Bridge is another underrated tracks from this album.

1987's "Mind Over Matter" by EG Daily could not be surpassed. Debbie didn't even need to attempt it.

The guys in the video are so cute!

They are such a legacy band for me - first concert I got to go to sans parents. And I once hooked up with a guy cuz he pulled out Plastic Letters.

R115 I’m a longtime Blondie admirer, but never knew of any legal issue related to Goodboys. What happened? I think I remember the drum track wasn’t Clem Burke’s playing, but that’s about it. Interesting.

You do realize it's the exact same backing track?

This was slotted as a follow-up to In Love With Love (which I adored), and as the OST for the movie was on Chrysalis and she was a Geffen artist at that point they said nope.

R122, I think Brian May threatened to or actually did sue.

I like her song[italic] Hi, I'm a Junkie Whore![/italic]

Oh, sorry ... that was her life.

R117 I’m not. Separately, I haven’t ever seen this Geiger video or heard this track, but it’s wild. Sounds like Harry’s voice around the time of Autoamerican.

I know, r114. What I was saying was that it was unreleased for 15 years after it was recorded.

Debbie has always been a big LGBT supporter and used to come to Wigstock each year.

The whole band has been LGBT supporters. Hasn't Chris Stein been on RuPaul's Drag Race.

And they already sing that some men dance toe to toe.

Wasn't Debbie a big pussyhund?

*pussyhound

Debbie briefly said she was "bisexual" a few years back and then announced that she was wrong and that's she's truly heterosexual. She tried bisexuality and it didn't seem authentic for her.

Her solo output is blondie only using Debbie Harry. Necessary Evil is good.

I like Debbie's solo stuff.

Def, Dumb & Blonde is my favourite solo Harry album. Some of the songs definitely have a strong Blondie influence. And I love the closing song "End of the Run". It worked as a closer to the album and the '80s overall since the album came out in 1989.

And love her cover of Liar, Liar for the Married to the Mob soundtrack.

Koo Koo is Debbie’s best work by far!

R110, Harry seems zonked in that commercial. Never saw it before. I don't understand how illicit drug users survive to their 70s, now understand why she and others have difficulty making coherent conversation. I still like Blondie's early music.

... I will give you my finest hour, the one I spent watching you shower....

(p.s. This concert at the Apollo in Glasgow will be 40 years ago this coming New Years Eve!)

Another 'unpopular' choice, being their last single first-go-around which landed with a whimper, rather than a thud, but I always thought it was one of their very best. Clem's drumming blows the bloody doors off. I always thought that if this had been the lead single off 'The Hunter' rather than the cheesy 'Island Of Lost Souls' the album might have done better

THE HUNTER was desperately trying to replicate the success of AUTO AMERICAN, especially the sound of "The Tide Is High," thus the inclusion of "Islands Of Lost Souls."

Also, the rapping in "Rapture" was carried over to "Dragonfly" and "The Beast."

I love THE HUNTER but Blondie seemed desperate with the song style choices.

"Danceway" was CLASSIC Blondie and one of their best! "For Your Eyes Only" was recorded for the 1981 movie but then they found out that only Debbie was wanted to sing the already-composed theme song, which Blondie rejected (and became a Number One hit single for Sheena Easton.)

The Extended Version of "War Child" is one of their best songs ever!

I love "Island of Lost Souls!" Best track from a mostly lame album.

Amusing duet with Iggy Pop.

How about a little early Blondie? By mid-1976 they had pretty much discovered their sound and having a lot of fun with the material. Here they are torturing the audience at Max's Kansas City with a '20s German novelty/torch song called "Bilbao Song".

[quote]The guys in the video are so cute!

SUMMER SCHOOL is a hilarious comedy I'm rather fond of, GapPlayListGuy @ r120. It had everything a Nice Gay Boy could want: cute boys, male strippers and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE references.

But Debbie Harry's original recording of "Mind Over Matter" was superior to Daily's. Harry had such a commanding, cool voice back then.

Oh shit — that scene from SUMMER SCHOOL @ r143 is even playing "Rapture!" LOL

r109 thinks Pet Shop Boys, but that song is the bassline and instrumentation of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time." Seriously, you can sing "Time After Time" over it.

"Rush Rush" has instrumentation from Berlin's "No More Words." It's disappointing hearing someone of Debbie's caliber biting others and chasing trends — but that's pop music for you.

They used a Deborah Harry lookalike and not the real thing to promote The Best of Blondie album. How odd.

There is a photo of her today attending a benefit for the Rainforest Foundation. Goddamn she looks amazing. Eerily well-preserved. Scroll down the list in the link posted here. Wow. Harry is pictured in photo number 8.

Link.

Is this a tattoo of Debbie?

R148 Was that "Blondie" lookalike trans?

For OP

We didn't really get into Deborah Harry's acting career.

Most of you know Harry's famous roles from movies like HAIRSPRAY and VIDEODROME.

But did you realize Harry and Chris Stein wrote and performed several musical numbers for the animated, rock fantasy film called ROCK & RULE from 1983? Other punk rockers like Lou Reed and Iggy Pop also contributed music.

It was a Canadian rip-off of the animated HEAVY METAL movie's success. But the American distributor, MGM, savagely censored and reworked it, then let it die in limited release and stopped printing home videos. Basically, Americans never saw the best version of the show, if they heard of it at all.

Deborah Harry plays the singing voice of the female lead Angel, and her band of human/animal hybrids have to stop an established rock icon from taking over the world and releasing demonic forces.

It's not as good as HEAVY METAL. But it is a trip, not terrible in its Canadian version and fans of Blondie should totally see it. Furries would love it, too!

I just got Debbie Harry’s book for Christmas. Can’t wait to read it.

I like Blondie's 70's music better than their 80's music.

I'd never heard this Blondie and Doors mash-up of "Rapture" and "Riders on the Storm" before. They were playing it on the muZak at Target .. lol! I guess it's currently a standard on their playlist.

Debbie Harry was so sexy in Videodrome, and her performance iconic. It would have been nice to see her play the femme fatale more often in her younger days. David Cronenberg originally had a much bigger and complex role in mind for Harry.

Much more was filmed regarding her character than was used. The way it turned out on screen is a good example of a performance being cobbled together in the editing room. I guess after Cronenberg was able to coax a good performance out of Marilyn Chambers in Rabid, he was expecting something similar but decided with Harry "less was more".

R159 I think she’s been edited out of a lot of films. She’s an interesting presence, but has a strangely flat affect and limited range as an actress. I think she had a beefier role in the film Copland, but was edited out nearly entirely. In Six Ways to Sunday, My Life Without Me and a few other independent films, she managed mature roles. Her Velma in Hairspray was effective high camp. I did see her on stage in a play called Crave, and she was very good in that particular role. She’s great but odd, unevenly talented.

My god Deborah was fantastic in Six Ways to Sunday. Her character is completely evil and amoral. A combination of every kook and crackpot she ever played mixed together in one character.

After reading Deborah's autobiography, and what she said about her experiences with David Bowie, and him exposing himself, etc... I can't help but think that he was the male she was writing about in the song Backfired:

You came into my life to test me

Your diplomatic drag depressed me

The glitter in your eye undressed me.

You were honestly, really thick

Wasting time

Dropping lines like: "I could get you into movies"

Bowie didn’t specialize in movies, so I doubt that.

I’m sensing a lot of namedropping lengthy experiences with Deborah’s oeuvre that aren’t likely in anything but the Aspie Pop Namedropper’s internet research.

Very early performance of" In the Flesh" with Gary Valentine (Lachman) still in the band. .. I guess he just can't not pogo... lol!

I love "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear," which Valentine wrote, yet he'd left the group prior to it charting. He also wrote "X-Offender" another fave of mine and the band's debut single.

What are some good BLONDIE covers? I've heard Atomic Kitten cover THE TIDE IS HIGH. I've heard FRANZ FERDINAND cover CALL ME. Any other covers of note?

The most beautiful woman in the world at one time. Hands down.

R161 The soundtrack to Six Ways to Sunday is pretty filthy and kind of fun.

R165 Wouldn't Atomic Kitten's cover of "The Tide Is High" be considered a cover the original done by The Paragons (1967), which Blondie covered?

Hello R168 from R165. I'd say you're correct.

We’ve already discussed Atomic Kitten and Sleeper’s “Atomic,” r165.

Here are 189 covers for you to choose from:

Nouvelle Vague’s “Heart of Glass” is enjoyable if you’re in a mellow mood.

Well, I finally made it through FACE IT, the Debbie Harry autobiography. No, there was nothing "revealing" to the point of making Debbie look ugly or unsympathetic, unless you have zero tolerance for cocaine and heroin use. If those drugs ever seriously ruined Debbie or Blondie members' lives, it wasn't shared.

But here's the tea I found most surprising or didn't know about:

Deborah Harry believes she's psychic.

Deborah Harry believes in ghosts.

Debbie was adopted and her biological family wanted/wants nothing to do with her.

"Out in the Streets" and "Hanging on the Telephone" are covers!

Debbie attended Woodstock.

Debbie was in a girl-fronted band with Elda Gentile and Andy Warhol "Superstar" drag queen Holly Woodlawn called The Stilettos; that's where she met Chris Stein.

Debbie firmly believes she was almost a victim of Ted Bundy's, having taken a dangerous ride from a stranger on the wrong side of town in the middle of the night. The stranger had a car stripped of handles on the passenger doors and stripped of other interior features, which was also Ted Bundy's M.O. Debbie had to roll down the window, open the door from the outside and fell out of the car as the stranger veered to a stop, then sped away. But others have informed Debbie that Bundy was in Florida at this time.

Debbie and Chris were mugged, bound in their apartment, robbed and then Debbie was raped.

"One Way or Another" is based on the real-life psycho Debbie dated who stalked her after she dumped him. The stalker broke into her new apartment late at night, manhandled her and held a gun to her.

Speaking of psychos, legendary music producer and convicted murderer Phil Spector held a gun to Debbie's leg at an after-party, too!

Debbie was friends with Andrew Crispo, the gay art dealer who tortured and killed, or tried to kill, his random, BDSM hookups!! Crispo gave her a connection to the producer for one of her solo albums.

David Bowie dick-flashed Debbie after a concert one night. He supposedly has a huge dick and was well-known for it behind-the-scenes, where he would flash both men and women.

Debbie feels that Blondie during its heyday "got taken" by sleazy business managers and their record labels. She says that she and Chris were "broke" in 1983 after massive success, when the band broke up and Chris was diagnosed with the terrible illness pemphigus. They had to sell their house, much of what they owned for back taxes and broke up as a couple.

Debbie actually hooked up with Harry Dean Stanton, the actor briefly mentioned in her solo single, "I Want That Man," though Harry insists the song is not about him. This was after the single came out. Debbie claims she was always a fan of Stanton's from movies like PARIS, TEXAS and REPO MAN. But you'll remember Stanton as Brett, the engineer from ALIEN who gets killed while following Jones the Cat into a dark cargo bay. HE WAS OLD AND UGLY, EEEEEWW!!

Debbie hooked up with and dated Penn Jillette, the magician of Penn & Teller fame. EEEWW!

Debbie says the decision not to include Frank Infante, Nigel Harrison and Gary Valentine in Blondie's reformed career was not her decision alone, so she resented it when Frank brought it up on-stage at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction/mess.

Debbie doesn't elaborate on why she and Chris no longer collaborate with seminal writer/keyboardist Jimmy Destri, though other sources I've read report "substance abuse" on Destri's part. But Debbie did say that Destri was a macho, sexist, Brooklyn macho man who used to stare at her tits during collaborations.

Also, did you know that Mattel made a Blondie Barbie doll?!

It features Debbie in the dress she wore for the PLASTIC LETTERS album cover.

Mattel also has Barbies of Cyndi Lauper, Joan Jett, Cher and Frida Kahlo! Who knew?

Debbie also posed for romantic photographs with Joey Ramone for a comical story in PUNK MAGAZINE.

I wish I could find every page of the issue online!

Chris and Debbie also participated for several years in Andy Warhol's cable access TV show TV PARTY, along with every punk/N.Y. art scene luminary of the era, such as George Clinton, Iggy Pop, Bowie, The Clash, Klaus Nomi, Michel Basquiat, etc.

It was supposed to be like INTERVIEW MAGAZINE and The Factory live on TV.

R174 Are you talking about the Mutant Monster Beach Party feature? A German Facebook user Undergroundcomix.de has that in a photo album, but I guess DL doesn't allow links to FB, as it won't take the link here.

Thanks

Holy shit, I just learned that both Deborah Harry and Chris Stein collaborated with Dee Dee Ramone on Dee Dee's notorious hip hop album, STANDING IN THE SPOTLIGHT!

I actually like their cover of Hendrix's "Foxy Lady." It's a bit like Run DMC.

Whenever I revisit Blondie, they're not as good as I remember. Some fun tunes, but not otherworldly. I would have loved to seen them live.

Here they are on "Mashed Potato Time."

WARNING: Your ears may bleed.

OMG. This happened.

I gotta give props to Debbie for being so supportive of other artists and friends. She was a world-class star and frontwoman who took backup singing positions for others. Shecollaborated with a lot of people.

New gay pride collab:

Bowie was naked on film--no evidence he was huge.

Harry seems to have dated down, she was far more attractive than the guys.

I still want to know about Debbie's dalliances with women. It always struck me that she sung "After all, another fella took ya, but I still can't over look ya," rather than altering the lyric. That wasn't all that common back then, it's still not today, really.

No mention of bisexuality in her memoir. Though she admitted to being raped by a man and having a fling with Harry Dean Stanton and dating Penn Gillette steadily, which is really embarrassing.

Being raped is really embarrassing...?