Blondie’s Debbie Harry was left broke as she admits ‘I’d have made more if I was a hooker’
Blondie lead vocalist Debbie Harry has admitted that she would have been more financially successful as a "hooker" after being swindled and frauded by her agency over the years.
express.co.uk
By JIJI AHN – 25th June 2023
Debbie Harry has shared that she would have made more money as a “hooker” after she was left penniless by the music industry.
The 74-year-old Blondie singer detailed that despite selling millions of records and achieving worldwide fame, they were “ripped off” by management.
The Hanging on the Telephone hitmaker revealed to the Daily Mail that the group “weren’t the first band to be ripped off and we won’t be the last”.
The Florida-born star pondered the question about finances stating: “I would have definitely made a lot more money if I’d been a hooker, not a singer.”
“Musicians make easy pickings because no one wants to know the financials or the numbers, they just want to go out there and perform.”
She added that the experience was “pretty heartbreaking” after working seven years straight with no holidays.
Debbie continued that she was “left with nothing” which was not helped by Chris Stein, 73, her “soulmate, my partner, the guy I set the band up with” falling ill.
“They were dark times,” she added.
She revealed that the group signed a series of bad deals and paid no tax.
Debbie and Chris had also purchased a five-storey house in New York but had the home, paintings and studio equipment amongst other furniture taken away to pay the Internal Revenue Service.
The band, which debuted in 1974, went through several member changes with the current roster comprising of Chris, Clem Burke, Leigh Foxx, Matt Katz-Bohen, Tommy Kessler, Glen Matlock and Andee Blacksugar.
They saw success four years later with the release of their third album, Parallel Lines, when Debbie was 33.
The group later had numerous hits including Heart of Glass, One Way or Another, The Tide is High and Picture This.
Eventually, the group disbanded in 1982 following arguments and after Chris was diagnosed with the life-threatening illness Pemphigus.
Debbie looked after the guitarist as he battled the autoimmune disease which sees the immune system mistakenly attack cells in the top layer of the skin and the mucous membranes.
Whilst the group reunited with some of the members in 1997, Debbie carried on performing, releasing solo albums and venturing into acting including the 1988 musical film Hairspray.
She is also set to play Glastonbury this Sunday having played at the festival in 1999 and 2014.
She told The Times: “We’re still playing music and being creative and that’s the essence of it all, isn’t it?”
After a few more gigs in June and July, the group will perform at several festivals and concerts in the States later in the year.
https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/1783881/Blondie-Debbie-Harry-Broke-Hooker
