Record Collector
August 2017
1977: DON’T DICKTATE
A month by month guide to punk’s pivotal year.
By Kris Needs
May
While The Heartbreakers blow the roof off the Music Machine in Camden, Blondie make their UK live debut supporting Television. At Hammersmith Odeon and Bristol’s Colston Hall, they present a sexy, contagious antidote to Television’s sombre indulgence, despite the support band indignities. An irresistible blend of icicle cool and playful sex kitten, Debbie is an obvious star in waiting. “We’re a little disappointed that the press is misinterpreting us,” she says. “We get encores every show and the press puts us down. It’s really unbelievable.” Her parting words are, “Yeah, we’re coming back. We’ll be flying over with bombs!”
November
Debbie’s boasts from earlier in the year prove prescient when Blondie return with the lineup that will rise to fame in 1978; Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke are now joined by guitarist Frank Infante and bassist Nigel Harrison. After a slightly disappointing Rainbow show, Blondie make their debut headlining appearance at Friars before a packed-out hall, showing how much they’ve improved in just six months as they surge through songs from their first album, follow-up Plastic Letters (to be released February the following year) and The Runaways’ I Love Playin’ With Fire. Soon this most disparaged band by press and fellow CBGB outfits will become a global phenomenon and Debbie would number among the most recognisable faces on the planet.
