More about: Blondie

Last night Blondie played at the O2 Arena in London. Debbie Harry was wearing a bright neon pink suit jacket with David Bowie-esque red platform boots and was looking as gorgeous as ev-

I’m joking, I’m joking.

Every article mentions what Harry was wearing, as if it were the most important part of Blondie. As if without knowing what colour her dress was I couldn’t imagine the experience of seeing Blondie live. As if I could not go on without an in-depth analysis of the condition of Debbie’s hair. Tell me, did she wear a hat?!

Between acts, the lady in front of me turns around and notes how young I am to be a fan of Blondie. This lady leans forward and says that the first time she saw “her” live, “way back in 1978”, “she” was wearing a man’s t-shirt and nothing else! I look at her hesitantly before succumbing with an incredulous “no way, you’re joking!”... and an hour later Debbie Harry is centre stage, belting “Do you love me now? Do you love me now?”.

So let me state a fact: Blondie is a band. 

Let me reiterate: Blondie is a band, and last night I learnt that they are a band that you need to see live to truly understand, because that is where their music truly comes alive. It’s the combination of aesthetic design and emotional tension in delivery that give context to Blondie’s music, forming a multi dimensional world that contains so much more meaning. The mania in Debbie Harry’s performance, held down by the assured drumming of Clem Burke, transformed Hanging on the Telephone from simply boisterous to demanding and invigorating, expanding the song into its own world. So, perhaps I somewhat understand when people urgently want to describe Debbie Harry’s appearance- Blondie is a package experience of both music and performance, and this difference in seeing them live is hard to translate.

After entering the gig with trepidation, worried that their well-curated legacy could be tarnished by living up to tracks that are almost 50 years old, the dimming of the lights and the Blonde Redhead’s track ‘For The Damaged Coda placed the room into a tense anticipatory hold, reminding me that Blondie’s years of experience will truly never be to their detriment. Debbie Harry was a concentrated ball of energy, with her punk bite closely controlled but unexpectedly unleashed in punctuating a song, and yes, she still hit the notes, even if sometimes lyric order became secondary. Similarly, Clem Burke made some pretty intensive drumming look like second nature, cheekily flaunting his talent in drum solos that ended with a flashy drum stick flip.

Songs like ‘The Tide Is High’, which can come across as a little cheesy, were reimagined with rip roaring guitar solos and instrumental breakdowns that remind you that Blondie absolutely has bite. Songs were given creative instrumental freedom without becoming self indulgent, giving Debbie time to catch her breath, other members a moment to shine, and the audience time to appreciate the artistically intricate guitars wielded by the touring members. When I say that Blondie is a live act, it’s in this dynamic presentation where their songs truly come alive.

However, something wasn’t quite right. It took a few songs for me to realise it was completely unrelated to the bands performance, but was still unfortunately entirely to their detriment.

The crowd largely consisted of the kind of complacent fans that filmed the performance with flash whilst refusing to stand up and dance until Blondie supplied a number 1 single to their taste. When introducing the band Debbie provides: “this is Glen Matlock!” and is met with blank stares- the audience completely unaware that they are faced with was the bassist of the Sex Pistols. An integral part of a performance is the energy being fed between act and audience, and Blondie must have been starving due to the lack of reciprocation. At one point Harry was driven to command the crowd to “show up” in her forthright New Yorkish manner, and considering the band were playing iconic tracks in quick succession, the audience really should have.

Songs like ‘Long Time' off of their excellent 2017 release Pollinator were not given the respect they deserved, with Debbie Harry’s original exciting punk anger gradually morphing into palpable frustration. A cultish, feverish rendition of ‘No Exit’ was met with a demeanour that implied “where is One Way Or Another?”. An impressive blaze of guitar solos were met with a speckling of headbanging in the crowd, and many just sitting down. It left me thinking: What was everyone’s problem? I wish I could have gone into the crowd, gripped each person by the shoulders and yelled “do you know what you’re witnessing right now? Do you have any idea?”

I turned to my friend in desperation, she had only attended classical music concerts before but nevertheless seemed to be having a much better time than any of the older megafans present, and felt a brief moment of relief. She was seeing what I was and she understood: Blondie knows how to put on one hell of a show.

Maybe the solution is to play smaller venues, where energy can be packed into a tighter space and whip the crowd into the frenzy that Blondie deserves? Maybe the Blondie live experience truly is best suited for a tight mass of bodies writhing and yelling, their arms reaching out as Debbie Harry aloofly surveys the audience and Clem Burke executes his comfortably confident drumming with exciting vitality?

See, even in 2022 Blondie are still exciting performers with a bevy of iconic songs under their belt. So with Blondie still at the top of their game, it’s time for the audience to step up.

See photos of the night by Stuart Garneys below:

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More about: Blondie