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.
Heart Of Glass
Blondie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Soon turned out had a heart of glass
Seemed like the real thing, only to find
Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind
Once I had a love and it was divine
Soon found out I was losing my mind
It seemed like the real thing but I was so blind
In between
What I find is pleasing and I'm feeling fine
Love is so confusing there's no peace of mind
If I fear I'm losing you it's just no good
You teasing like you do
Once I had a love and it was a gas
Soon turned out had a heart of glass
Seemed like the real thing, only to find
Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind
Lost inside
Adorable illusion and I cannot hide
I'm the one you're using, please don't push me aside
We coulda made it cruising, yeah
La, da, da, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, da, da, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, da, da, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
Yeah, riding high on love's true bluish light
Ooh, oh, ooh, oh
Ooh, oh, ooh, oh
Once I had a love and it was a gas
Soon turned out to be a pain in the ass
Seemed like the real thing, only to find
Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind
Ooh, oh, ooh, oh
Ooh, oh, ooh, oh
"Heart of Glass" by Blondie is a song about a failed love affair, where the singer has been deceived into thinking that their love was real by someone who ultimately had a fickle, fragile heart. There are two distinct parts to the song which reflects the two phases of the relationship. The first phase had the singer thinking their love was "divine" and "the real thing." But they soon realized that it was all an illusion when they discovered their partner was untrustworthy and had a "heart of glass." In the second phase of the relationship, the singer is lost in the illusion of love, even though they know the truth about their partner. They are afraid of losing their partner, but also realize that the relationship has already failed.
The song speaks to the idea of the many illusions we create for ourselves in relationships, whether intentionally or unintentionally. The titular image of the "heart of glass" speaks to the fragility and transparence of love, something that can easily be broken and seen through.
Line by Line Meaning
Once I had a love and it was a gas
I once had a love that was exciting and invigorating
Soon turned out had a heart of glass
But it turned out that the love was fragile and easily broken
Seemed like the real thing, only to find
Despite appearing genuine, it was not as it seemed
Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind
Doubt and skepticism crept in and the love faded away
Once I had a love and it was divine
I once had a love that felt perfect and heavenly
Soon found out I was losing my mind
But I gradually realized that it was driving me crazy
It seemed like the real thing but I was so blind
It appeared genuine to me, but I was unaware of the truth
In between
In the midst of these experiences
What I find is pleasing and I'm feeling fine
I am enjoying what I have now and feeling content
Love is so confusing there's no peace of mind
Love is perplexing and doesn't bring any sense of tranquility
If I fear I'm losing you it's just no good
If I suspect that I am losing your love, it's a terrible feeling
You teasing like you do
You're toying with my emotions and playing games
Lost inside
Feeling trapped and confused
Adorable illusion and I cannot hide
I am captivated by a charming but false appearance
I'm the one you're using, please don't push me aside
I feel like a pawn in your game, don't discard me like that
We coulda made it cruising, yeah
We could have had a smooth and easy ride, but things went wrong
La, da, da, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
Nonsense syllables in place of lyrics
Yeah, riding high on love's true bluish light
Once upon a time, I was enjoying the bliss of true love
Once I had a love and it was a gas
I once had a love that was exciting and invigorating
Soon turned out to be a pain in the ass
But soon after, it became a source of frustration and discomfort
Ooh, oh, ooh, oh
Nonsense syllables in place of lyrics
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Chris Stein, Deborah Harry
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