Blondie
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Blondie was the greatest pop band of the New Wave Punk era. The band initially enjoyed most of their success overseas, especially in the UK and in Australia. Overall the band was able to sell over 40 million records and the newest inductees into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their biggest hit album released was, Parallel Lines.
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Members
Chris Stein
Deborah Harry
Clem Burke
Leigh Foxx
Paul Carbonara
Kevin Patrick
Jimmy Destri
Former Members
Nigel Harrison
Frank Infante
Gary Valentine
About
Blondie was formed in 1974 at New York when "Deborah Harry" on vocals, "Chris Stein", on guitar, "Fred Smith" on bass and "Bill O' Connor" on drums abandoned the revivalist Stilettos for an independent musical direction. They were joined by "Jimmy Destri" on keyboard, "Clem Burke" on drum and "Gary Valentine" on bass.
The band became a regular at Club 51 in New York as well as the famed club CBGB. The band soon was able to sign a record deal with Private Stock Records from which they released their self titled debut album in 1976 and features the single, "In The Flesh". In July 1977, Gary was replaced by Frank Infante. In the summer of 1977, they released their second album, Plastic Letters, which features the hit single, "Denis" which chartered #2 on the UK Charts. The album peaked at #10 on the UK Albums Chart.
Their third album Parallel Lines which was released in 1978, finally gave the band their first US hit. Their song "Heart of Glass" chartered #1 in the US Dance Chart, UK Singles Chart, and was a worldwide success that sold for a million copies and enjoyed major airplay on rock radio stations. The other singles, "Sunday Girl" from the album also chartered #1 on the US Dance Chart, "Picture This" landed #12 on the UK Chart and "Hanging on The Telephone" chartered at #5. The album sold over 20 millions copies worldwide.
Their fourth album, Eat to the Beat was released in 1979 By February 1980, their singles, "Atomic" landed #1 U.K. and "Union City Blue" was another top 20 hit. Before the end of the year, the album was certified platinum. Their next album, Autoamerican, was released in November 1980. Its first single, "The Tide is High" went number on in the U.S. and U.K. Chart. The second single was the rap-oriented "Rapture," which topped the U.S. pop charts and went Top Ten in the U.K.
After their success in the late 70's leading to the early 80's, the band took a brief break in 1981 with Debbie Harry and some of the members went on to do solo projects. The band reunited in 1982 and released their last album together The Hunter. The album generally received lukewarm-to-negative reviews and failed to hit the top 20 in the U.S. It features the single, "War Child".
By this time tensions have grown serious among the band members, mainly because of Debbie Harry's rise in celebrity that became the focus rather than the band. Tensions reached a breaking point when Chris Stein was diagnosed with a life threatening ailment that led to the band's break up in 1982. Chris and Debbie stayed together, and retreated from the public spotlight for a few years. When Chris was cured, Harry resumed her solo career in 1985, with active participation from Chris in all her recordings. Other members had their own solo careers.
In June 1997, Debbie, Chris, Clem and Jimmy re-formed Blondie to record new material and tour. A new album, No Exit, was released in February 1999. It chartered at #3 on the UK Charts. The band was able to produce a hit single, "Maria" which went to #1 in 14 countries. The album sold more than two million units worldwide.
In 2004 Jimmy Destri retired from touring, leaving only Debbie, Chris and Clem from the original lineup appearing at live shows. Blondie's Live By Request CD and DVD came out on Sept. 14, 2004, while the band recently released their Greatest Hits: Sight and Sound CD/DVD in the U.K. The band still continues to be active doing live performances and record. In March 2006, Blondie, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Awards & Certifications
Certifications
| Year | Album | RIAA Certification |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Parallel Lines | Certified Platinum |
| 1979 | Eat To The Beat | Certified Platinum |
| 1980 | Autoamerican | Certified Platinum |
| 1981 | The Best of Blondie | Certified 2x Platinum |
Chart Toppers
| Year | Title | U.S. Chart | UK Chart | U.S. Dance | AUS Chart | GER Chart | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | In The Flesh | - | - | - | 2 | - | Blondie |
| 1977 | Denis | - | 2 | - | 12 | 9 | Plastic Letters |
| 1978 | Heart of Glass | 1 | 1 | 58 | 1 | 1 | Parallel Lines |
| 1978 | Sunday Girl | - | 1 | - | 1 | 6 | Parallel Lines |
| 1980 | Atomic | 39 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 20 | Eat To The Beat |
| 1980 | The Tide Is High | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 15 | Autoamerican |
| 1981 | Rapture | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 40 | Autoamerican |
News
Tours & Concerts
There are no current tour and concert schedules for Blondie.
Announcements
There are no announcements as of this time
Discography
Albums
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Singles
| Date | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Denis | Chrysalis |
| 1977 | Picture This | Chrysalis |
| 1978 | Hanging on The Telephones | Chrysalis |
| 1978 | Sunday Girl | Chrysalis |
| 1979 | Union City Blue | Chrysalis |
| 1980 | Atomic | Chrysalis |
| 1980 | The Tide is High | Chrysalis |
| 1981 | Rapture | Chrysalis |
| 1982 | War Child | Chrysalis |
Compilations & Live Releases
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Other artists
Similar artists
Contemporaries
Influences
Trivia
- Debbie appeared on TV's The Muppet Show.
- In March 2006, Blondie, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
