Band lore states that their name came from both a flippant reference to Adolf Hitler's dog Blondie as well as vocalist Harry's bright blond hair. Previously having been a Playboy Bunny, Harry fronted the early version of the band. initially known as "Angel and the Snakes". They built up underground fame in NYC. Blondie released their first album, 'Blondie', in 1976. The album was mildly successful and spawned the Australian hit single "In The Flesh". Gary Valentine left the band later that year, and they continued briefly as a foursome, recording 'Plastic Letters' and gaining more airplay with their track "Denis". Still in touch with their punk roots, having played in clubs such as CBGBs and hung out with rock artists such as the Ramones, the band broke out into other, more diverse influences such as older dance and pop music, particularly interested in Phil Spector's 'wall of sound' technique.
Valentine was replaced by Los Angeles-based musician Frank Infante (guitar, bass guitar) in 1977. Infante had already played guitar on one track on 'Plastic Letters'. The band went out playing live with Infante and Stein swopping between playing guitar and bass guitar throughout each concert. The band also added British born but LA-based Nigel Harrison (bass guitar), making Blondie a six piece group for the first time. Harrison was a former member of the glam rock band Silverhead.
In 1978, they released the album that would make them international stars, titled 'Parallel Lines'. The album spawned several hit singles, including the number one hit "Heart Of Glass", "Sunday Girl", "Hanging On The Telephone" (a cover of the famous power pop track by The Nerves), and "One Way Or Another". The success of the heavily disco influenced "Heart of Glass", a song sometimes censored for its use of strong language for the time and considered by the band as tongue-in-cheek, proved controversial among many fans of the band's punk background, but it managed to break them through at a massive level.
They released three more albums (1979's Eat To The Beat, 1980's Autoamerican (containing the number one singles "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture") and 1982's The Hunter) as well as a number one single "Call Me", from the score of the 1980 film "American Gigolo".
In 1980, Harrison contributed several unused Blondie songs to ex-Silverhead singer Michael Des Barres solo album I'm Only Human. In 1981, Harry released a solo album Koo Koo, Destri released a solo album Heart On A Wall. Burke recorded and played live with the Eurythmics, and Stein started a record label named Animal Records.
In 1982, health problems for Stein, declining sales and inter-band tension caused the band to split. Harry kept a low profile for a few years while she nursed (now former) boyfriend Stein through a serious illness, but then continued a solo career as an actress/singer.
Reformation plans begun in 1997 with a line-up that included Harry, Stein, Destri, Burke, Valentine, and Harrison. Infante was not invited to the reunion. Valentine and Harrison were eventually (and unceremoniously, they claim) replaced by Paul Carbonara (guitar) and Leigh Foxx (bass).
The band released No Exit in 1998, which did quite well in both US and UK charts and contained the number one hit single "Maria".
The album did not include any song contributions from Valentine or Harrison, despite them recording early sessions for the album and Valentine being assured by Stein that they would use his already recorded song "Amor Fati". Harrison and Infante later filed an unsuccessful lawsuit claiming breach of contract for not including them in the reunion.
The Curse Of Blondie was released in 2003 and, while not matching its predecessor in sales, was critically acclaimed and spawned the global dance hit "Good Boys".
Destri retired from touring in 2004. Kevin Patrick (keyboards), Destri's former keyboard tech and assistant, replaced him soon followed by Matt Katz-Bohen in 2008.
The band's 2006 induction ceremony into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was the scene of an awkward moment between Infante and Harry, during which he asked that the former members be allowed to play along with fellow inductees Harry, Stein and Burke during the band's set, since it was the original band that was being inducted. Harry replied "Can't you see my band is up there?" prompting Infante to counter "I thought it was Blondie that was being inducted."
In 2006, the band toured as the opening act for The New Cars on the "Road Rage Tour." Although Harry was more than 60 years old, the band still managed incendiary versions of their old hits, while playing with enough fire to remind the audience of their punk roots.
In 2007, the band embarked on a tour of Europe, to coincide with the DVD release of the first ever music video album "Eat To The Beat".
Harry has since resumed her solo career, releasing 2007's Necessary Evil.
On June 5, 2008, Blondie commenced a world tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Parallel Lines with a concert at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland. The tour covered some Eastern and Midwestern US cities throughout the month of June. In July, the tour took the band overseas to Israel, the UK, Russia, Europe and Scandinavia, wrapping up on August 2, 2008 at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway.
Clem Burke and Paul Carbonara both recently told interviewers that the band is working on another record, which would be their first new album since the release of The Curse of Blondie in 2003. Carbonara described it as "a real Blondie record.
Blondie undertook a North American tour of mid-sized venues with Pat Benatar and The Donnas in the summer of 2009. Following the tour, in October, the band began recording sessions for their ninth studio album with producer Jeff Saltzman in Woodstock, New York. In December 2009, the band released the song "We Three Kings" to coincide with the Christmas holiday.
The new album, to be titled Panic of Girls, which was being mixed at the time, was said to follow in 2010. Chris Stein stated that Dutch artist Chris Berens will provide the cover art. In April 2010, it was announced that guitarist Paul Carbonara had amicably left Blondie to pursue other projects and was replaced by Tommy Kessler. Panic of Girls is tentatively set to be released in 2010/2011.
In June 2010, Blondie began the first leg of a world tour named "Endangered Species Tour", which covered the United Kingdom and Ireland, supported by UK band Little Fish. The set lists featured both classics and new material from the forthcoming Panic of Girls. After a break in July the tour will resume in August and cover the United States and Canada over a course of six weeks. Blondie is then set to take the "Endangered Species Tour" to Australia and New Zealand in November and December. It was revealed that the bands album will be released on the Australian Sony label in November 2010, and elsewhere in January 2011.
Songfacts reports that Mother, the first single from Panic of Girls received its global premiere on BBC Radio on March 17th, 2011 and was made available for purchase on May 23, 2011.
In May 2017 a new album was released named Pollinator with the single "Long Time" which saw the daylight in March.
In 2021, the band released a short film along with a soundtrack EP titled Vivir en la Habana. They also released an alternate version of their song Rapture titled “Yuletide Throwdown” which featured Fab 5 Freddy.
In 2022, Blondie released a Sunday Girl EP consisting of an unreleased demo and live version
of the song as well as the previously released french version of the track in honor of Record Store Day. The band went on a UK tour with support from Johnny Marr followed by a US tour with support from The Damned titled “Against The Odds Tour”, which Chris Stein did not attend due to health problems. They also announced the release of their first archival project and box set, titled Against The Odds: 1974 - 1982, which took six years to compile, began recording their twelfth studio album and remastered their music videos in HD.
Backroom
Blondie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hope you don't mind if I get something off my chest
Between you and me I only go out at night
Sunlight in my eyes just makes me uptight
In the backroom we be drinking all night
We be living in a vacuum
We be looking for a fight
We be running out of headroom
We be looking for a fight
Crowd was thinning out
And he came through the door
I look right at him
He looks at the floor
Awkward glances catch the thread long ago
I'm seeing red
Does your sister dress you up
Does the devil know you're dead
I don't know if Gabriel keeps a place for me
I still want to go to heaven & see what I can see
I don't want to have St Peter close the gate on me
I still want to get to heaven & be what I can be
We had moved to the place
I heard them say 'Last Call'
I stepped over all of them
And walked on down the hall
The man says not to wait for judgment
It comes everyday
Absolution at a price
And we all have to pay
In the backroom we be drinking all night
We be living in a vacuum
We be looking for a fight
In the backroom we be drinking all night
We be running out of headroom
We be looking for a fight
I don't know if Gabriel keeps a place for me
I still want to go to heaven & see what I can see
I don't want to have St Peter close the gate on me
I still want to get to heaven & be what I can be
Shoo sha doo
Shoo sha doo
Shoo sha doo
Shoo sha doo
Shoo sha doo
Shoo sha doo
Shoo sha doo
Shoo
(We be drinking all night)
In the backroom we be drinking all night
We be living in a vacuum
We be looking for a fight
In the backroom we be drinking all night
We be running out of headroom
We be looking for a fight
Blondie's song "Backroom" is a reflection of one's inner self and desire to escape reality. The singer is evidently troubled and seeks solace in a secretive night out as a form of escape from the harsh reality of the outside world. The first verse portrays an image of the singer as self-obsessed, according to their friends, but still yearning for their presence. The next verse switches to a more somber tone, where the singer makes note of their craving for darkness and discomfort with sunlight. The chorus then indicates a sense of recklessness and desperation with drinking all night and looking for fights to make it through the night.
The third verse describes an uncomfortable confrontation with a person at the bar who seems to have a hidden agenda. The singer feels threatened and hostile towards them, thinking that they may not be what they initially appear to be. The fourth verse reveals the singer's concern about their fate in the afterlife, indicating a sense of desperation and the desire to live life to the fullest. The final chorus concludes the song with an echo of the earlier sentiments of drinking all night and seeking fights while also repeating the concern of the singer worrying about her soul.
Line by Line Meaning
Some of my old friends say I'm self possessed
My friends think that I have too much confidence in myself
I hope you don't mind if I get something off my chest
I hope you don't mind if I talk about something that has been bothering or troubling me
Between you and me I only go out at night
I only go out during the night and not during the day
Sunlight in my eyes just makes me uptight
Sunlight in my eyes makes me feel anxious or nervous
In the backroom we be drinking all night
We go to the backroom where we drink alcohol throughout the night
We be living in a vacuum
We feel like we are living in a space or time that is disconnected from the outside world
We be looking for a fight
We are searching for a conflict or altercation
Crowd was thinning out and he came through the door
The number of people in the crowd was decreasing and then he entered the room
I look right at him, he looks at the floor
I made eye contact with him and he responded by looking at the ground
Awkward glances catch the thread long ago
We exchanged uncomfortable looks that remind us of a previous conversation or incident that was similarly tense
I'm seeing red
I'm becoming extremely angry or irritated
Does your sister dress you up, does the devil know you're dead
Are you being controlled by someone else, and are you aware of your own death?
I don't know if Gabriel keeps a place for me
I'm not sure if I will be welcomed into heaven by the angel Gabriel
I still want to go to heaven & see what I can see
I still want to go to heaven and experience it for myself
I don't want to have St Peter close the gate on me
I don't want to be denied entry into heaven by St. Peter
I still want to get to heaven & be what I can be
I still want to make the most of my time in heaven and be the best version of myself
We had moved to the place, I heard them say 'Last Call'
We had relocated to a different location and I heard the announcement that it was the last call for alcohol
I stepped over all of them and walked on down the hall
I walked past everyone who was in my way and moved towards a different location
The man says not to wait for judgment, it comes everyday
The man suggests that we shouldn't wait for judgment since we are judged every day by our actions
Absolution at a price, and we all have to pay
Forgiveness comes at a cost, and we must all pay that cost
Shoo sha doo
This is a nonsensical phrase that has no particular meaning
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHRISTOPHER STEIN, DEBORAH HARRY, JEFF SALTZMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kc
on Accidents Never Happen
Judging from the cultural framework at the time i read it as lies being exposed for the middle income layers of the society who ere led to believe that if they follow certain codes they will be happy and prosperous but so many fail so accidents nver happen is a mockery