STYLIST

ISSUE 212

12th March 2014

Pages 61 & 62

I’M NOT AN ICON

We get to differ. Stylist speaks to the iconic (sorry, she is) Debbie Harry

WORDS: DEBBIE MCQUOID
PHOTOGRAPHY: TRENT MCGINN

Fame-wise, there aren’t many of us out there, so meeting my namesake – Debbie Harry – means my first question is a killer. Deborah or Debbie? (I prefer the former but am always called the latter). “Deborah is prettier but I’ve always been a Debbie, you just grow up with it,” she tells me in her laid-back Florida drawl.
As the sun is streaming into the suite of London’s Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge where we meet, the shades she’s wearing indoors can be forgiven. But then Harry can pretty much do/wear anything and get away with it. The 40 million record sales with Blondie, five albums as a solo artist, role as muse for countless fashion designers, actress of merit (Hairspray, Copland), and some ridiculously cool imagery from Andy Warhol’s screen prints and polaroids to 1978’s Parallel Lines album cover, have all earned the 68 year old icon status – even if she isn’t comfortable with the handle.
From the off, Debbie gives off a vibe, a feeling of ‘I’ve seen things, man’, that helps promote the enigmatic ‘Blondie’ character further and is more than a little intimidating, even though she’s friendly and open. Nor is she one for details, maybe because she’s answered these questions and told the stories that accompany them so many times.
After all – playing Glastonbury in June – Blondie are about to release their 10th album, Ghosts Of Download, a collection of greatest hits alongside brand new material. As she rifles through a gift bag from one of her legion of loyal fans – “I’ve going to have to ship stuff home” – I realise retirement is the furthest thing from this rocker’s mind.

With such a rich back catalogue of music, which song are you most proud of?
It’s a toss-up between Rapture and Heart Of Glass. They were crossover songs. Nowadays it’s common to do that but it was unheard of in the Eighties so I’m very proud of them. We wanted to have songs that we enjoyed and that were entertainment.

Is there a song you wish you’d written?
There are so many. Bulletproof [by La Roux]. It’s clever. And we played a real rock version of Ellie Goulding’s Lights for our first two tours [after reforming]. I like that song very much.

What about music you grew up with? Is there a song that takes you back to your youth?
There isn’t one song, but a sound. Doo wop and R’n’B. It reminds me of being a teenager. My parents didn’t really like music, so it wasn’t their influence. I listened to everything with friends on the radio. I guess it’s because I’m getting older but recently I’ve started to have flashbacks on certain times in my life and experience a real visceral feeling from those times. There were these fraternity dances, they were like real passion pits, y’know? A lot of bumping and grinding…

Did you go to many of them?
[Laughs] I went to all of them. There was a time when slow dancing was very, very popular and it was very passionate. There was a lot of body contact. It was very hot, very glandular and sexy.

On the flip side, is there a song that moves you to tears?
Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U. It’s so beautiful. She’s a force. The last time I heard it, we were at a benefit at the Chateau Marmont [AmfAR in 2011] and she and I both sang our little hits. She was wonderful.

You’ve lived in London at different times over the years. What drew you to the city?
I see London as a second home really. I think a lot of Americans like living here. I recently ran into Suzi Quatro who I know through [record producer] Mike Chapman. She lives here permanently. I saw Pam Hogg last night, and I ran into an old friend [actor] Michael Wincott. I wanted to see Wilko Johnson but haven’t had the time, he has been such an influence on Blondie.

New York is still home for you now. Do you think you’d ever relocate back here again?
New York is a mecca for me. It’s a great communications centre and I have so many friends there. I sometimes think I might like to live in Italy for a whole and could easily live here in London again. It’s very vibrant here. I have another friend Alannah Currie who lives here, too.

Which of your famous friends do you turn to for a good old fashioned gossip?
Oh there are a lot of those. [Laughs]. I will keep that quiet…

The word icon always comes up when your name is mentioned. How does that feel?
Odd. At first I thought it was idiotic, but in today’s language, the definition of ‘icon’ has changed.

Who do you think is an icon in your language?
The most obvious ones are film stars. Initially the Blondie ‘character’ was taken from film. Blondes on film have this quality; they seemed to have dangerous lives that were very seductive. Like Marilyn Monroe, Diana Dors… Blonde girls had more fun.

There have been a lot of famous blondes’ biopics recently. Would you like to see a Blondie biopic?
It’s difficult. You can only really skim the surface. If it’s good entertainment, honest and well-acted and directed? Maybe. I think many people could be informed and have a finer appreciation of the person or era.

Is there anyone who could, or should, play you?
Oh, any asshole could do it!

Do you have plenty of diaries to hand over to help with a script?
Unfortunately not. I wish that I had. My impressions will simply be that, impressions. It’s funny; someone will say something and then a memory will come flashing back of some big event. But I’m noteless. I guess I’m lazy.

I don’t think you can be accused of that…
Well, I’m not so much a person who deals with fact so much as feelings. Doing interviews, getting the award last night [NME’s Godlike Genius Award], forces you to deal with your history, so to speak – it might give me some kind of way of dealing with the present. But I like moving ahead, I like change, I like new things. It’s good to escape. I have an adventurous spirit.

You’re on the line-up for Glastonbury along with Dolly Parton. Do you know her?
Dolly is the perfect name for her. I met her one time – I think we got to sit and talk in [Eighties New York club] Nell’s. She was so warm and talented. Her song Jolene is just, ‘Wow’.

Blondie’s Ghosts Of Download is due out in May