小简介
Blondie成立于1974年，以复古、仿效60年代女子乐团为出发点，不仅成为纽约朋克最早的发迹者之一，后来并引爆了美国新浪潮朋克最灿烂的一页，而这一切皆归功于女主唱Deborah Harry的成功形象与精湛的演出。Blondie的音乐呈现出极具旋律感的新浪潮，以及音乐节拍鲜明的朋克风等双重特色，再加上女主唱令人回忆起性感女神玛丽莲梦露般娇艳、性感的形象与歌声，成功地把音乐与个人魅力发挥到淋漓尽致，始得他们成为70年末、80年初纽约最具影响力的乐队之一，更是New York Punk Rock的代表。
1976年发表的首张同名专辑，与流行、舞曲等有着巧妙的联系，立刻就有了一个好的开始，之后所发行的 “Parallel Lines”、“Eat To The Beat”、“Auto American” 等一连串专辑唱片，不仅有优秀的排行榜成绩，销售量也都获得破百万张的白金唱片荣耀。成功的过程一直到1981年Deborah Harry发表首张个人作品，她也开始加入电影的拍摄工作。后来因吉他手丈夫亦是团中与Deborah Harry共担创作灵魂人物的Chris Stein生病，使得乐队无法持续，Blondie的辉煌岁月终于告一段落。在乐坛消失了许多年后，直到1998年原始团员再度复合。至1982年年底宣布解散为止，Blondie一共推出过6张录音室作品，创造了6首冠军曲，2张Top 10的专辑，深刻地影响后来女子朋克／新浪潮舞曲艺人团体的争相模仿。
Blondie was the most commercially successful band to emerge from the much-vaunted punk/new wave movement of the late '70s. The group was formed in New York City in August 1974 by singer Deborah Harry (b. July 1, 1945, Miami), formerly of Wind in the Willows, and guitarist Chris Stein (b. January 5, 1950, Brooklyn) out of the remnants of Harry's previous group, the Stilettos. The lineup fluctuated over the next year. Drummer Clement Burke (b. November 24, 1955, New York) joined in May 1975. Bassist Gary Valentine joined in August. In October, keyboard player James Destri (b. April 13, 1954) joined, to complete the initial permanent lineup. They released their first album, Blondie, on Private Stock Records in December 1976. In July 1977, Valentine was replaced by Frank Infante.
In August, Chrysalis Records bought their contract from Private Stock and in October reissued Blondie and released the second album, Plastic Letters. Blondie expanded to a sextet in November with the addition of bassist Nigel Harrison (born in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, England), as Infante switched to guitar. Blondie broke commercially in the U.K. in March 1978, when their cover of Randy and the Rainbows' 1963 hit "Denise," renamed "Denis," became a Top Ten hit, as did Plastic Letters, followed by a second U.K. Top Ten, "(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear." Blondie turned to U.K. producer/songwriter Mike Chapman for their third album, Parallel Lines, which was released in September 1978 and eventually broke them worldwide. "Picture This" became a U.K. Top 40 hit, and "Hanging on the Telephone" made the U.K. Top Ten, but it was the album's third single, the disco-influenced "Heart of Glass," that took Blondie to number one in both the U.K. and the U.S. "Sunday Girl" hit number one in the U.K. in May, and "One Way or Another" hit the U.S. Top 40 in August. Blondie followed with their fourth album, Eat to the Beat, in October. Its first single, "Dreaming," went Top Ten in the U.K., Top 40 in the U.S. The second U.K. single, "Union City Blue," went Top 40. In March 1980, the third U.K. single from Eat to the Beat, "Atomic," became the group's third British number one. (It later made the U.S. Top 40.)
Meanwhile, Harry was collaborating with German disco producer Giorgio Moroder on "Call Me," the theme from the movie American Gigolo. It became Blondie's second transatlantic chart-topper. Blondie's fifth album, Autoamerican, was released in November 1980, and its first single was the reggae-ish tune "The Tide Is High," which went to number one in the U.S. and U.K. The second single was the rap-oriented "Rapture," which topped the U.S. pop charts and went Top Ten in the U.K. But the band's eclectic style reflected a diminished participation by its members -- Infante sued, charging that he wasn't being used on the records, though he settled and stayed in the lineup. But in 1981, the members of Blondie worked on individual projects, notably Harry's gold-selling solo album, KooKoo. The Best of Blondie was released in the fall of the year. The Hunter, Blondie's sixth album, was released in May 1982, preceded by the single "Island of Lost Souls," a Top 40 hit in the U.S. and U.K. "War Child" also became a Top 40 hit in the U.K., but The Hunter was a commercial disappointment.
At the same time, Stein became seriously ill with the genetic disease pemphigus. As a result, Blondie broke up in October 1982, with Deborah Harry launching a part-time solo career while caring for Stein, who eventually recovered. In 1998, the original lineup of Harry, Stein, Destri, and Burke reunited to tour Europe, their first series of dates in 16 years; a new LP, No Exit, followed early the next year. After more touring, this was followed by another studio set, The Curse of Blondie, in 2003, and a DVD of the Live by Request program from A&E was released in 2004. In 2006, Blondie celebrated their 30th anniversary with induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the release of Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision, a best-of collection that contained all their classic videos as well.
