Wondrous Blondie’s zinger of a set at Plymouth Summer Sessions

plymouthherald.co.uk

By William Telford – Business Editor – 17th June 2024

They didn’t play Sunday Girl but Blondie and Debbie Harry certainly brightened everyone’s sabbath when they performed at Plymouth Summer Sessions. Ostensibly supporting ex-Police frontman Sting, this was more like a double header with thousands of Blondie fans in the 10,000-strong audience on the Hoe.

And the New Yorkers didn’t disappoint with a barnstorming 70-minute set that grabbed the audience by the throat from the first chord and didn’t let go. Opening with a fulminating One Way or Another and then the garage-punk classic Hanging on the Telephone, the temperature on an already sunny day was suddenly raised to near melting point.

And the pace didn’t relent as Call Me even had one woman waving her original seven-inch single around in the fourth row. What a fan.

As Blondie founder and singer Debbie Harry launched into Living in the Real World you had to pinch yourself to think that this woman is just a couple of weeks short of her 79th birthday. Yes, you heard right, 79.

And here she is fronting a lean, mean rock machine and leading a sing-a-along Atomic and a punky X Offender. “We were going to call it sex offender,” she said. “But the record company said it was too dirty.” She sounded like she was disappointed by the decision, and probably was.

Harry comes across like your cool but slightly batty aunt. At one point I’m sure she called everyone in the audience “hos”, or maybe she was making a pun, it was hard to tell, but, anyway, no one minded, she had a brilliant, if somewhat kooky, rapport with the crowd.

Suddenly she was having a conversation with someone about 10 rows in, and another time she was waving at individuals in the audience. It might even have been me, I waved back anyway, I mean, who wouldn’t?

Harry also discussed the weather, Sting’s skin tone – “He’s very tanned,” she half whispered – and even gave out lifestyle advice, urging people to plan well and not to give up on their dreams. Sound, but the sort of thing you might expect from a therapist rather than the leader of one of rock’s greatest bands.

And they are – their place in musical history is assured, thanks to all those hit albums and singles and the ground-breaking melding of punk with disco and rap. But the current line-up rocks like a pedalo in a force eight storm.

Co-founder Chris Stein was sadly absent, but original drummer Clem Burke is still a one-man powerhouse. He even chucked his sticks in the air and caught them just like in the old days. He’s 69 but has energy to burn and looks half that.

Working alongside him was bass guitarist Glen Matlock. Yes, THE Glen Matlock, the guy from the Sex Pistols and writer of Pretty Vacant and God Save the Queen. The epitome of cool.

Double guitarists Andee Blacksugar and Tommy Kessler were terrific too and partly responsible for the megaton sound the band produced. A barely credible Rapture, for instance, with an earth-shaking solo from Kessler, one of several throughout the set.

He played six guitars. Six. OK, not all at once. But, six guitars, and made each one sing. He threw shapes too and chucked plectrums into the crowd with abandon – and to great cheers. Top guy.

Matt Katz-Bohen on keys deserves a mention, and Rob Roth, who made the band’s brilliant backing videos and got a major shout-out from Harry. The costume designer should get a clap too, each member in a dark suit that had strange brown stains, like they had been left in the sun too long. It was a bit odd, but meant the group had a look – and I do love a group with a look.

So, In the Flesh, The Tide is High, Long Time, and a resurgent Maria, followed, before Heart of Glass had everyone singing along. More great choppy guitar from Kessler.

Dog Star Girl, a bulldozing Harry solo effort, and then closing with Dreaming. “Keep on dreaming everybody,” Harry advised. “You are my dream.” Well, it was a dream performance from Blondie.

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/whats-on/reviews/wondrous-blondies-zinger-set-plymouth-9349005