Femme ROCK POP 82

Number 7

WELCOME BACK

Blondie are back. But, isn’t it funny what a difference an absence of a year or so can make? Briefly, Blondie were the group who were everywhere. Or at least lead singer Debbie ‘Blondie’ Harry was everywhere only a couple of years back. In the late 70’s Blondie could do no wrong. They had a string of hit records like ‘Heart of Glass’ in Britain before their native Americans discovered their sizzling sound. Then Blondie headed for the big profits Stateside and their sound changed to more disco and sophistication and less of the street noise they first became famous for.
In many ways Kim Wilde has walked away with the crown for the kind of sound that Blondie fans like best. But Blondie couldn’t keep making albums exactly like their much loved ‘Parallel Lines’ collection. If they hadn’t progressed, they would have gotten just as much criticism as they have for changing their sound.
‘Island of Lost Souls’ reintroduces Blondie after a year when most of the group opted for solo projects. Debbie Harry’s once windswept hair now looks like she’s auditioning as a blonde member of Bardot. Her brief attempt to be a natural brunette didn’t do her much good. She’s also written a biography of Blondie called ‘Making Tracks’.
In the book Debbie traces her origins from being adopted at the age of three months and raised as a typical American girl to all the wild encounters she had on the way to being one of the world’s most recognized faces. Debbie isn’t thrilled that she came into rock and roll at such a late age, but explains that unlike so many of today’s new young stars she wasted a lot of her early years being confused and stupidly using drugs. ‘Drugs are never the right way to go’ she says now. And what’s been the key to their success? – ‘I always try and be different’ she says.
Welcome back Blondie!