Blondie

Deborah Ann Harry was born Angela Trimble on July 1, 1945, in Miami, Florida. At the age of three months, she was adopted by Catherine (née Peters) and Richard Harry, gift shop proprietors in Hawthorne, New Jersey, and renamed Deborah Ann Harry. Harry learned of her adoption at four years old. At first, she decided against locating her birth parents, but in the late 1980s, located her birth mother, a concert pianist, who chose not to establish a relationship with Harry.

Before beginning her singing career, she moved to New York City in the late 1960s, and worked as a secretary at BBC Radio’s office for one year.

Deborah Ann Harry has worked as a waitress at the nightclub and restaurant Max’s Kansas City in New York City, a go-go dancer in a discothèque in Union City, New Jersey, and a Playboy Bunny.

In the late 1960s, Harry began her musical career as a backing singer for the folk-rock group The Wind in the Willows, which released an eponymous album in 1968 on Capitol Records.

In 1973, Harry joined The Stilettos with Elda Gentile and Amanda Jones. Shortly thereafter, the band added guitarist Chris Stein, who became her boyfriend.

In 1974 Harry and Stein left the Stilettos (along with the band’s bassist and drummer) and formed Angel and the Snake with Tish Bellomo and Snooky Bellomo

On 12th October 1974 Blondie appeared at CBGB’s in New York City, under the name ‘Blondie’ for the first time. The name is derived from comments made by truck drivers who catcalled “Hey, Blondie” to Harry as they drove by.

Blondie released their debut single “X Offender” on 17th June 1976. Written by Gary Valentine and Debbie Harry, the title of the song was originally “Sex Offender”, written about an 18-year-old boy being arrested for having sex with his younger girlfriend. Debbie Harry changed the lyrics so that the song was about a prostitute being attracted to the police officer who had arrested her. Private Stock, the band’s label insisted that the single be changed to “X Offender” because they were nervous about the original title.

Blondie opened for David Bowie and Iggy Pop on the latter’s US tour in early 1977 supporting The Idiot. Blondie was invited by Bowie and Pop after the pair had heard their debut

Blondie released the single “Hanging on the Telephone”, on 30th October 1978 as the second single off Parallel Lines. Written by Jack Lee from US West Coast power pop trio The Nerves. The song gave Blondie their first UK Top 10 hit.

Blondie had the first of five UK No.1 singles, with “Heart Of Glass”, taken from the band’s third studio album, Parallel Lines. “Heart of Glass” was originally recorded in 1975 under the name “Once I Had a Love.”

Blondie scored their first UK No.1 album on 17th February 1979 when Parallel Lines started a four-week run at the top of the charts. Their third studio album also became the band’s commercial breakthrough in the United States, where it reached number 6 in April 1979. The album has now sold over 20 million copies worldwide.

On 1st February 1980 Blondie released “Call Me”, the main theme song of the 1980 film American Gigolo. It peaked at No.1 for six consecutive weeks and became the top-selling single of the year in the United States in 1980.

In the summer of 1980, the band appeared in a bit part in the film Roadie starring Meat Loaf. Blondie performed the Johnny Cash song “Ring of Fire”, and the live recording was featured on the film soundtrack and on a later CD reissue of the Eat to the Beat album.

Harry was immortalized by Andy Warhol in 1980, who produced several artworks of her image from a single photoshoot at the Factory.

In 1981, Harry issued a press release to clarify that her name was not “Debbie Blondie” or “Debbie Harry” but rather Deborah Harry.

Harry began appearing in art films for Amos Poe, like The Foreigner, before having her first leading role in the neo-noir film Union City (1980). She next starred opposite James Woods in David Cronenberg’s body horror film Videodrome (1983) and had a supporting role in Forever, Lulu (1987). She garnered further notice for her role as Velma Von Tussle in John Waters’s satirical dance film Hairspray (1988).

Blondie’s fourth US No.1 hit “Rapture”, was the first No. 1 song in the US to feature rap and its lyrics were especially notable for name-checking hip-hop pioneers Fab Five Freddy and Grandmaster Flash.

In 1999 Blondie went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with “Maria”, giving the group their 6th UK No.1 single, 20 years after their first. At the age of 54, lead singer Debbie Harry became the oldest female to make No.1 on the UK.

Blondie has sold over 40 million records worldwide.