preview MUSIC
Harry, laud her
A quarter of a century after they formed originally, BLONDIE are set to go atomic.
'7 the feiephooe: Dan Welle
It can only be a matter of time before the ‘)()s revival is upon us but. picture this. meanwhile Debbie. or rather Deborah. is set to do Glasgow in the latest eagerly anticipated pop reunion. Born of the Warholian Manhattan art scene. the fact that Blondie and Ms llarry have even recorded a new album of
original songs is made all the more remarkable by the '
fact that founding metnber (‘hris Stein almost died from a rare disease in WRZ.
The four original hand members — Debbie. Chris. (‘lcm Burke and .limmy Destri — buried the hatchet to record the studio album No livil. possibly the final. final chapter for the band who have. so far. sold 40 million albums.
l‘ew thought Blondie would ever resurface. Internal wrangles and drug addiction split the band in 1982 btit it was the near—fatal illness of founding member ('hris Stein that threatened to keep them apart forever. ('hris was admitted to hospital suffering from a rare disease. called pemphigus. He was told he would die. but tnade a recovery alter a three year bedside \ igil by Debbie. who had become a jazz. singer following the band’s break up.
"l‘he press wanted to know if I was dying of AIDS and we had tried to keep my illness secret.‘ says (‘hris ‘l was covered from head to foot in sores. My skirt looked like the surface of Mars and I had lost a lot of weight.‘
Former l’layboy bunny Deborah. now 53. met
‘Debbie was Blondie. Deborah was new territory.’ Deborah Harry
Deborah Harry: you’ll be touched by her presence
Stein in October 1973. She became lead singer of his glitter rock outfit called The Stilletos before they formed Angel And The Snakes. By then she had dyed her hair platinum-blonde in homage to Marilyn Monroe. The band. which started out in the New York underground punk scene in I974. honed their act by performing at the legendary CBGB‘s club — where a group of bikers would yell out ‘Hey Blondie‘ thus giving her the idea for a new name for the band.
‘Denis‘. a pop-punk remake of a 1963 bubblegum pop original. made it to Number Two in the British charts in l978. The same year. the band‘s third album. the classic Parallel Lines became a million— seller. Other hits followed including singles such as ‘Heart Of Glass‘. ‘Call Me‘ and ‘Rapture‘. But there was more to Blondie than three minute punk tunes. ‘l-leart Of Glass‘ was disco and ‘lsland Of Lost Souls‘ — yes. they were losing it at this point — was reggae.
Deborah‘s comeback in 1986. as a solo artist. gave her a minor hit three years later with ‘French Kissin’ In The USA‘. Clem was active too. playing drums with Bob Dylan and The Eurythmics. But. despite acting stints in films such as Union City. Vt'tlmtlmmc and Hairspray: as well as collaboration with the Talking Heads group and time spent as singer with The Jazz Passengers. nothing could compare to their heady days with Blondie.
‘l was just trying to make a change after I went solo. and it was good not to sound so much like a teenager.‘ Deborah says now. ‘Debbie was Blondie. Deborah was new territory.
‘lt will be interesting to see how people react to the new album. because the music will be similar but the message and the emotional impact will be very different. liverybody's really psyched tip for it. which is great. We‘ve certainly had our problems in the past and it’s really terrific to bring all these people back together in the same room and get together for creative reasons.’
Blondie play Glasgow Barrowlands on Thu 19 Nov. No Exit is released on RCA early next year.
Bigmouth
They’re mad, you know . . .
’Our problem is gonna be in ten years time when all our audience start dying off.’
Paul Heaton of the Beautiful South tells of the similar dangers faced by both
his band and the Conservative party.
‘I guess people in Middle America get upset that their kids spend more time listening to me than having incest with their siblings.’
The ever quote-worthy Marilyn Manson does his bit to ensure that he is never invited to chair another Parent Teacher Association meeting.
'One of my latest haircuts was the weirdest - this strange shaved bit in the side of my head. I thought it was cool like a lobotomy, but a lot of people said it looked like I was receding.’
Tim Wheeler of Ash reveals his worst haircut disaster The phrase ’cool like a lobotomy’ jars a little.
'They've always been a volatile band. We'll roll with the punches.’
A Creation spokesman with a master/y sense of both understatement and irony comments on the latest Jesus And Mary Chain bust-up.
'One time, in Take That. when we were staying at the Loews Hotel in Monte Carlo, I was thrown out of the casino for being sick on the roulette table. The next thing, I'm up on my balcony, naked. ZOOft up trying to get to this girl’s room.’
Just another day in the life of Robbie Williams. James Bond eat your heart out.
‘People tell me I'm establishment now, but when I get into a lift with a bunch of businessmen, their rectums definitely quiver.’
Boy George demonstrates that the passing years haven’t softened his ability to Spit out a parent-baiting quote and that it will be a parky day in Hell before he trades his dresses for a
grey two-piece.
5-19 Nov 1998 MUST“