Hello, kittens and dawgs! In Last Thursday BoTB, I featured Blondie’s Call Me cover between two rival bands got the gears spinning in my head. I took on the persona as internet detective to see what I could learn about, What ever happened to Blondie?
I always thought Blondie was around throughout the 80s and 90s, but I discovered after the band gained mainstream success in the late 70s that they took a break in 1981.
During the group’s music pause, the band members kept busy with their solo careers. Debbie Harry released her album KooKoo with Stein’s help and she even did a little acting. Jimmy Destri (with Burke’s help) released the album, Heart on a Wall. Both had little success as solo artists. Burke went to Europe to play drums on Eurythmics début album. At the end of 1981 Blondie gathered to produce a new album, The Hunter, which released in 1982. It didn’t get the kind of success as their earlier work. Again, Harry continued to work her moderately successful solo career in the mid-80s through the 90s with Stein active contribution. Burke became much-in-demand session drummer. Destri kept his career active as a producer and session musician.
The 80s and 90s spawn new interest with a newer generation of listeners. They reunited at the end of 1996 and the following year they gave their first performance. In 1998, they did an international tour. No Exit released in 1999, hitting the US charts #18 and #3 in the UK. From this album, song track Maria became a #1 hit single in the UK.
In 2003, they released The Curse of Blondie, (chart positions US at 160 and UK at 36) ) which proved rather dismal on the music charts. However, song track Good Boys managed to rank at #12 on the UK charts.
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of their album Parallel Lines, Blondie began a world tour in June 2008. Inspired by the attendance received on the world tour the band began working on another album. Panic of Girls released in May 2011 to the UK as a limited edition “fan pack” offer. The lead single offered as a free download from this album beforehand put Mother at #30.
2012 Blondie continued to tour doing a concert in NYC which streamed live on YouTube. Blondie 4(0) Ever is a 2-disc remix of old hits and new songs from their album Ghost of Downloads released in 2014; spawning three new singles from Blondie’s 10th album.
Supposedly Blondie was working on an album for 2015 and taped a special for PBS to air this year featuring two new songs but I don’t know if this episode aired and I can’t find an upcoming schedule.
I’ll leave you with a factoid I found interesting. Commissioned to write a song bearing the same name as 1981 James Blond Flick, For Your Eyes Only, but the producer rejected Blondie going with another.
Have a tunetastic day and I’ll be seeing all my peeps back tomorrow for not-so Wordless Wednesday!
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Love Blondie!! I remember she was in a movie with Norman Reedus.. can’t remember the name. It was quite uncomfortable at times – they played mother and son and well…… anyway though, they both did a great job, but Awkward!! LOL They are good friends to this day and she pops up on his Instagram now and then. Loved to here her new music!
Les, the only movie I recall seeing Debbie Harry in is Hairspray. We didn’t watch it all, but what little I saw I can tell she’s a natural at acting.
What’s funny is the question of where they are never crossed my mind, until you posed it, then I was all like “Yeah, whatever happened to Blondie?!” 🙂 I’m glad they sort of kept going – isn’t it funny how when bands break up to do solo careers, they never seem to get traction? Whether it’s from ego clashes or whatnot, there are some duos to groups who always work better *as* a group vs. the individuals. Like Brooks and Dunn – they’ve fizzled since they split up, I’m not a fan of their solo albums or tracks, so it’s probably good that Reba got them back together, even if just for her Vegas show. 😉
Thanks so much for joining in the random, Cathy! You are an awesome friend! 🙂
Stacy, not only is it usually a double catastrophe when a band splits. Like you said, the single artists don’t often do well on their own and it’s a major disappointment for the fans. I say, stay together as a band while pursuing individual careers. That’s a win-win situation for everyone, if you ask me. 🙂
I’ve always liked Blondie and Debbie Harry. She often turns up in specials on artists and in lists of “the best.” Thanks for providing more information about their work.
Love,
Janie
Janie, glad you enjoyed learning about what became of Blondie and Debbie Harry. I liked their earlier stuff a lot. It would be awesome to see them crank out another mega top hit like in the old days.
You know what’s crazy? We were at the Kroger on Senior Discount Day, and they were playing “One Way Or Another” over the intercom.
John, hearing these oldies you don’t think “senior citizens”, but the original band members definitely fall into this class. Now, if only we could still move the way the music makes us feel, right? Lol
I couldn’t move very well when I was younger, either. Seriously: Mary and I took dance lessons from a friend of ours at the parish. After two lessons, she gave us our money back. You’d think someone who had been a musician most of his life would have a better sense of rhythm, but nooooo….
John, some people aren’t designed to move with music. lol DH is a musician with excellent rhythm, but he has trouble in the dance department, too. The best he does is slow dancing and that’s okay by me. 🙂 I loved dancing as a teenager and even to this day I will boogie around the house in private. I don’t have the moves like I use to, though. I’m totally out of practice!
Thanks for the update, Cathy! I loved reading the ‘Where are they now’. I’m not sure that I like her newer material as much as her classics, but it’s good to know that she hasn’t stopped working.
Mary
Jingle Jangle Jungle
I never disliked the music of Blondie, but it didn’t thrill me enough to buy any of it either. Never kept up with the band’s career, but thanks for filling us in on their history.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Lee, we have a Blondie CD. I can’t remember which one, but it has most of their greatest hits. It’s a good album. I didn’t realize until now how few songs by them I really loved and everything else just listenable. It’s hard to understand how a group can crank out a handful of pop chart poppers and then the rest falls far, far away. At least I now know what became of Blondie.
Hi, Cathy!
Thanks for updating us on the whereabouts and recent achievements of Debbie Harry and other members of Blondie. Debbie has the same challenges faced by Madonna, Stevie Nicks and other aging icons – how to stay in the game and remain fresh and relevant to new audiences w/o relying too heavily on remixing the catalog. Of the songs you posted here I like “Mother” the most.
Blondie’s hit “The Tide Is High” is in the soundtrack of one of my favorite movies, the highly recommended The Last Days of Disco. I remember and like Debbie’s solo singles “Backfired” and “French Kissin’ (in the U.S.A.).” Debbie has an extensive list of acting credits. I enjoyed watching her in John Waters’ Hairspray.
Thanks again, dear friend Cathy, and enjoy the rest of your week!
Tom, Debbie Harry still has a good singing voice. I think the key to iconic artists is keeping up their vocal strength. I think when they stopping singing is when their voices dwindle. The good thing with Blondie is they have written & recorded new titles over the years and not relied on their old stuff to keep food on the table, but I’m sure that’s been a huge help. I wish I could’ve found out when or if they plan to release a brand new album this year. You mentioned Hairspray. We started watching that on Netflix and I was surprised to see Debbie Harry in it. I didn’t know she acted before then and she did a good job.