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.
Rip Her To Shreds
Blondie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, you know her, would you look at that hair
Yeah, you know her, check out those shoes
She looks like she stepped out of the middle of somebody's blues
She looks like the Sunday comics
She thinks she's Brenda Starr
Her nose job is real atomic
Yeah, she's so dull, come on rip her to shreds
She's so dull, come on rip her to shreds
Oh, you know her, "Miss Groupie Supreme"
Yeah, you know her, "Vera Vogue" on parade
Red eye shadow! Green mascara!
Yuck! She's too much
She looks like she don't know better
A case of partial extreme
Dressed in a Robert Hall sweater
Acting like a soap opera queen
Yeah, she's so dull, come on rip her to shreds
She's so dull, come on rip her to shreds
She got the nerve to tell me she's not on it
But her expression is too serene
Yeah, she looks like she washes with Comet
Always looking to create a scene
Yeah, she's so dull, come on rip her to shreds
She's so dull, come on rip her to shreds
She's so dull, rip her to shreds
Oh, you know her, "Miss Groupie Supreme"
Yeah, you know her, "Vera Vogue" on parade
Yeah, you know her, with the fish-eating grin
She's so dull
Yeah, she got the nerve to tell me!
Huh, she's so dull
Yeah, there she goes now
She making out with King Kong
She take her boat to Hong Kong
Well, bye bye sugar
And not a minute too soon
The lyrics to Blondie's song "Rip Her to Shreds" seem to be a critique of a woman who is deemed uninteresting and unoriginal by the singer. The opening lines set the tone for the rest of the song: the singer is pointing out a specific woman as she approaches, noting her distinctive features like her hair and shoes, but still finds her boring. The reference to "somebody's blues" suggests that the woman might be seen as kind of a cliché, perhaps playing into some stereotype of what a certain kind of woman is supposed to look like or act like.
The next verse continues in this vein, suggesting that the woman is stuck in some kind of outdated fantasyland ("Sunday comics," "Brenda Starr") and engaging in outdated fashions, like green mascara and red eyeshadow. The line "all she needs is an old knife scar" is particularly caustic—it suggests that the woman is trying too hard to be interesting or tough, but hasn't really earned it in any real way.
In the subsequent verse, the singer accuses the woman of being a "Miss Groupie Supreme" and presenting herself in a way that's overly dramatic and soap-opera-ish. The repeated refrain of "she's so dull, come on rip her to shreds" reinforces the sense that the singer is attempting to deconstruct and critique the woman's entire persona.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey! Psst Psst! Here she comes now
Here comes the woman we love to hate
Oh, you know her, would you look at that hair
We are familiar with her, and we despise her striking hairdo
Yeah, you know her, check out those shoes
We recognize her and mock her choice in footwear
She looks like she stepped out of the middle of somebody's blues
Her appearance makes it seem like she walked out of a depressing music genre
She looks like the Sunday comics
Her look is cartoonish and ridiculous
She thinks she's Brenda Starr
She has fantasies of being a famous fictional character
Her nose job is real atomic
Her plastic surgery was done to an extreme degree
All she needs is an old knife scar
She would look better with an added injury on her face
Yeah, she's so dull, come on rip her to shreds
She is boring and we want to criticize her harshly
Oh, you know her, 'Miss Groupie Supreme'
She is known as the biggest fan of popular musicians
Yeah, you know her, 'Vera Vogue' on parade
Her nickname is 'Vera Vogue' as she likes to show off in public
Red eye shadow! Green mascara!
The colors she wears on her face are gaudy and unappealing
Yuck! She's too much
She is overwhelming and intolerable
She looks like she don't know better
Her attire and behavior suggest a lack of taste and intelligence
A case of partial extreme
She is somewhat extreme in her behavior
Dressed in a Robert Hall sweater
She is wearing an unfashionable, low-priced sweater
Acting like a soap opera queen
Her actions mimic a dramatic TV show character
She got the nerve to tell me she's not on it
She claims she is not interested in something, but her expression says otherwise
But her expression is too serene
Her calm expression contradicts her words
Yeah, she looks like she washes with Comet
Her appearance is not desirable and she seems to use a harsh cleaning product on herself
Always looking to create a scene
She tries to draw attention to herself
Oh, you know her, with the fish-eating grin
We recognize her fake smile
She's so dull
Once again, she is very boring
Yeah, she got the nerve to tell me!
She has the audacity to talk to me in that manner
Huh, she's so dull
She is boring, and we can't stand her
Yeah, there she goes now
We observe her leaving
She making out with King Kong
She exaggerates her romantic encounters
She take her boat to Hong Kong
She tells false stories to impress others
Well, bye bye sugar
We bid farewell to her, sarcastically using a term of endearment
And not a minute too soon
We are happy to see her go
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER 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