On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Blondie is an American rock band co-founded by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the American new wave scene of the mid-blondie recipe in New York. Blondie disbanded after the release of its sixth studio album, The Hunter, in 1982.
Debbie Harry continued to pursue a solo career with varied results after taking a few years off to care for partner Chris Stein, who was diagnosed with pemphigus, a rare autoimmune disease of the skin. The group toured and performed throughout the world during the following years, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Inspired by the burgeoning new music scene at the Mercer Arts Center in Manhattan, Chris Stein sought to join a similar band. By the spring of 1975, O’Conner had left the music business and Smith replaced Richard Hell in Television, while Kral eventually joined the Patti Smith Group.
Blondie became regular performers at Max’s Kansas City and CBGB. In June 1975, the band’s first recording came in the way of a demo produced by Alan Betrock. In September 1977, the band bought back its contract with Private Stock and signed with British label Chrysalis Records. The first album was re-released on the new label in October 1977.
The band’s first commercial success occurred in Australia in 1977, when the music television program Countdown mistakenly played their video “In the Flesh”, which was the B-side of the single “X-Offender”. The single reached number 2 in Australia, while the album reached the Australian top twenty in November 1977, and a subsequent double-A release of “X-Offender” and “Rip Her to Shreds” reached number 81. The album was recorded as a four-piece during the summer of 1977, with Stein responsible for both bass and guitars. Blondie completed the recording of their third album, Parallel Lines during the summer of 1978 together with Australian producer Mike Chapman. It was released in September of that year and reached No. Heart of Glass” was released in early 1979 and the disco-infused track topped the UK charts in February 1979 and the US charts in April 1979.
UK, an alternate single choice, “Sunday Girl”, became a No. Blondie’s next single, the Grammy-nominated “Call Me”, was the result of Debbie Harry’s collaboration with the Italian songwriter and producer Giorgio Moroder, who had been responsible for Donna Summer’s biggest hits. 80, Blondie took a brief break in 1981, while Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri both released solo albums. In June 1982 Harry contributed backing vocals to The Gun Club’s second album Miami, being credited as ‘D. Hunter album, guitarist Frank Infante was replaced with session musician Eddie Martinez. Douglas Harris, Joseph Kohanski, and Arthur Pugh.
With tensions within the band on the rise due to the act’s commercial decline and the attendant financial pressures that brought, as well as the constant press focus on Harry to the exclusion of the other band members, events reached a breaking point when Stein was diagnosed with the life-threatening illness pemphigus. As a result of Stein’s illness, coupled with drug use by members of the band, financial mismanagement, and slow concert ticket sales, Blondie canceled their European tour plans early in August 1982. The band’s breakup was announced publicly in November 1982. Stein and Harry, still a couple at the time, stayed together and retreated from the public spotlight for a while. A remix album entitled Once More into the Bleach was released in 1988, and featured remixes of classic Blondie tracks and material from Harry’s solo career. During the 1980s and 1990s, Blondie’s past work began to be recognized again by a new generation of fans and artists including Garbage and No Doubt.
Harry continued her moderately successful solo career after the band broke up, releasing albums in 1989 and 1993 which helped keep the band in the public eye. In 1990, she reunited with Stein and Burke for a summer tour of mid-sized venues as part of an “Escape from New York” package with Jerry Harrison, the Tom Tom Club and the Ramones. In 1996, Stein and Harry began the process of reuniting Blondie and contacted original members Burke, Destri, and Valentine. In 1997, the original five-piece band re-formed, including Valentine on bass, and did three live performances, all at outdoor festivals sponsored by local radio stations. Their first reunion performance occurred on May 31, 1997, when they played the HFStival at R. The band was now officially a four-piece, consisting of Harry, Stein, Burke and Destri. In 2004, Jimmy Destri left the group in order to deal with drug addiction, leaving Harry, Stein and Burke as the only members of the original line-up still with the band.