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.
Forgive and Forget
Blondie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The light was alive with the essence of power.
And from that power were born beings who lived on the edge of eternity.
And they spread their wings and soared through the ancient air.
And the beating of their wings made the winds.
And from the winds came the seas.
And from the sea came the life of the earth.
Waters deep uncover me.
A scheme of sleep as lovers three.
If you'll forgive me my ferocity, I won't forget your sweetness.
Pull down the night, lay it before me.
Gratify my head with curses.
Night recalls tranquility.
A curtain falls and sets it free.
Darkness calls eternity.
Down silent halls the shadows flee.
If you'll forgive me my ferocity, I won't forget your sweetness.
Pull down the night, lay it before me.
Satisfy my head with curses.
Forgive and forget.
Forgive and forget.
Forgive and forget.
Fates are cast upon the sea.
The winds of past of promise be.
Waters deep uncover me.
A scheme of sleep as lovers three.
Forgive and forget.
Forgive and forget.
Blondie’s song "Forgive and Forget" takes the listener through a journey that explores mythological and spiritual elements, highlighted in the opening lines that speak of a pre-existing space where power and eternity exist. Ancient beings, born from this source of energy, took form and lived in harmony with the elements, producing the winds that lead to the creation of the oceans and ultimately resulted in the flourishing of life on Earth.
The rest of the song touches on themes such as forgiveness, ferocity, and sweetness. The lines "If you'll forgive me my ferocity, I won't forget your sweetness" highlight the idea of balance in relationships, where people offer forgiveness for moments of fierceness (anger or aggression) in exchange for the sweetness (love, kindness) that their partner shows them. The song’s title, "Forgive and Forget," directly links with this message of being willing to let go of anger and hurt to continue to build strong and healthy relationships.
In summary, the song speaks to the power of forgiveness and the importance of balance in relationships, drawing upon spiritual elements and the natural world to reinforce its message of harmony.
Line by Line Meaning
In the beginning, in the days before time
A time before the beginning of time
The light was alive with the essence of power.
The light had the power of life in it
And from that power were born beings who lived on the edge of eternity.
Beings were created from that life-giving power, and they lived on the border between life and death.
And they spread their wings and soared through the ancient air.
They spread their wings and flew through the ancient atmosphere.
And the beating of their wings made the winds.
The flapping of their wings created the winds.
And from the winds came the seas.
The winds gave birth to the seas.
And from the sea came the life of the earth.
Life on earth came from the sea.
Nature's cast upon the sea the winds of past, of promise be.
The forces of nature have thrown the winds of the past onto the sea, with the promise of what is to come.
Waters deep uncover me.
The deep waters reveal a hidden self in me.
A scheme of sleep as lovers three.
A dream scheme where three lovers are together in sleep.
If you'll forgive me my ferocity, I won't forget your sweetness.
If you can forgive my violent anger, I will not forget your kindness.
Pull down the night, lay it before me.
Bring the night down so I can see it clearly.
Gratify my head with curses.
Satisfy my mind with curses.
Night recalls tranquility.
Night makes me remember peace and calmness.
A curtain falls and sets it free.
A curtain falls and releases something free.
Darkness calls eternity.
Darkness represents the infinite and eternal.
Down silent halls the shadows flee.
Shadows run away down quiet corridors.
If you'll forgive me my ferocity, I won't forget your sweetness.
If you can forgive my violent anger, I will not forget your kindness.
Pull down the night, lay it before me.
Bring the night down so I can see it clearly.
Satisfy my head with curses.
Satisfy my mind with curses.
Forgive and forget.
Let go of grudges and move on.
Forgive and forget.
Let go of grudges and move on.
Forgive and forget.
Let go of grudges and move on.
Fates are cast upon the sea.
The destiny is decided by the forces of nature.
The winds of past of promise be.
The winds of the past are full of promise.
Waters deep uncover me.
Deep waters reveal a hidden self in me.
A scheme of sleep as lovers three.
A dream scheme where three lovers are together in sleep.
Forgive and forget.
Let go of grudges and move on.
Forgive and forget.
Let go of grudges and move on.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: STEIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@andrewturvill7145
2021. Still loving this album
@johnnylock2162
2021 anyone?
@jerryneyk1
"If you forgive me my ferocity, I won't forget your sweetness". Doesn't this apply to all our relationships? One of the most celestial songs ever...
@jonathantrimble1659
2018 and still love this ❤️
@jackascharni
2019 anyone?
@6843450
Jacka Scharni July 5 2019. Love this song and cd
@cristianguzmantorrez3776
2021 redescubriendo Blondie! Saludos desde Argentina
@shaidyn8278
This song made the whole "No Exit" CD.
@syniekos
Heard this for the first time in over 20 years, loved it then still love it now.......it seems to have a bit of a New Order vibe about it.
@tickedoffnow
BEAUTIFUL SONG.