Blondie (Band)

Blondie is a new-wave band that was founded in 1974 by Deborah Harry and Chris Stein in New York. Harry was previously the singer of the folk band Wind in the Willows, guitarist Chris Stein of stilettos.

• 2.1 albums
• 2.2 Singles

Band History

1974-1982: Formation and great achievements

The band was formed as an Angel and the Snake, before they renamed themselves Blondie in. Their first single X - Offender was released mid-1976 and remained fairly unsuccessful. The breakthrough for the band in the spring of 1978 with the song Denis, a cover version of the song Denise by Randy & The Rainbows, which reached number 2 in the UK.

In the spring of 1979, also followed the international breakthrough. Released in late summer 1978 album Parallel Lines, produced by Mike Chapman, rose in many countries in the charts, as well as the coupled Singles Picture This, One Way Or Another and Sunday Girl. The song Heart of Glass was a number 1 hit in the U.S., UK and Germany.

The band has also produced one of the first rock bands music videos. With the launch of the music channel MTV in August 1981 Blondie was quickly known to a mass audience. Debbie Harry's bleach-blonde hair as well as their often supercooled, impassive voice acting were quickly copied the trademark of the band and often. Although Debbie Harry did with their wild and excessive appearances its best to maintain the image of a punk band, but also because of their activities as a model the band with her could be attributed to a figurehead no longer the anarchic punk scene. Blondie and in particular its flagship Debbie Harry became idols of the New Wave era instead.

The song Call Me, produced by Giorgio Moroder for the film American Gigolo, was in the spring of 1980, an international hit, as are brought out in the autumn of the same year reggae number The Tide Is High, a cover version of the hit song of the Paragons. The song Rapture was the beginning of 1981 one of the first sung by white hip- hop songs and was the first song of this genre ever No. 1 on the U.S. charts.

In the following years it was quiet around the band. Harry started parallel to its commitment to Blondie on a solo career, but produced her by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards LP KooKoo (1981 ) flopped and the Blondie LP The Hunter (1982 ) fell short of expectations. In November 1982 Blondie was finally resolved.

After Harry's life partner Chris Stein became seriously ill, she devoted herself to his care over the years.

Since 1997: reformation, and comeback

After it had repeatedly, largely unnoticed, possibly in the 1990s, efforts to resuscitate Blondie, no one seriously expected a revival of the group, especially Harry, meanwhile, had also made a name as an actress. Very surprisingly, however, the band in the spring of 1999 came with the album No Exit and the number 1 hit Maria also commercially successful comeback.

Of the critics, the album was recorded, however, less positive. Only with The Curse of Blondie and the resulting out-coupled single Good Boys Blondie could also artistic able to return to the standard of earlier times in the fall of 2003.

In 2006 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Discography

Albums

Publications in chronological order and their highest chart positions.

Singles

Publications in chronological order and their highest chart positions.