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.
Union City Blue
Blondie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Union, Union, Union City blue
Tunnel to the other side
It becomes daylight
I say he's mine
Oh power, passion plays a double hand
Union, Union Union City man
To the orange side
Rearrange my mind
In turquoise Union, Union, Union City blue
Skyline, passion, Union City blue
Power, passion plays a double hand
Union, Union, Union City man
I say he's mine
I have a plan
I say he's my Union City man
Oh, oh, what are we gonna do?
Union, Union, Union City blue
Oh, oh, what are we gonna do?
Union, Union, Union City blue
Oh, oh, what are we gonna do?
The song "Union City Blue" by Blondie begins with the singer questioning what she and her lover are going to do while mentioning the Union City blue. Union City is a city in New Jersey that the band grew up near, and the frequent repetition of the name of the city throughout the song suggests a certain fascination or obsession with it. The next line, "Tunnel to the other side, it becomes daylight," could be interpreted as a metaphor for the singer's relationship with her lover - it may have been dark and difficult at first, but now things have become brighter and clearer.
The chorus is made up of various permutations of the words "Union City" and "blue," with mentions of passion, power, and climbing up four flights to the "orange side." The singer asserts that her lover is hers, indicating a possessiveness and perhaps even an insecurity in the relationship. The line "rearrange my mind" suggests that the relationship has had a transformative effect on the singer, and the unexpected mention of turquoise adds a surreal, dreamlike quality to the lyrics.
Overall, the song seems to be about passion, obsession, and the transformative power of love, with Union City serving as a symbol for the intensity and energy of the relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, oh, what are we gonna do?
The singer is expressing anxiety and confusion about the situation.
Union, Union, Union City blue
The singer is referring to the city they are in and its color as a way to set the tone of the song.
Tunnel to the other side
The singer is talking about a way to escape or move on from the current situation.
It becomes daylight
The singer is hopeful that things will get better after going through the tunnel metaphorically speaking.
I say he's mine
The singer is referring to a romantic interest and claiming possession of them.
Oh power, passion plays a double hand
The singer is acknowledging the role of both power and passion in their situation.
Union, Union Union City man
This line is similar to the previous instances of 'Union City.' It sets the scene while adding a gender-specific description.
Arrive, climb up four flights
The singer is describing a specific location and the act of arriving there.
To the orange side
The singer is describing the color of the location, 'orange' being a descriptive term.
Rearrange my mind
The singer is using 'mind' metaphorically to describe a change in their perspective or a resolution to their situation.
In turquoise Union, Union, Union City blue
The singer is describing the cityscape as they see it, using colors as descriptors.
Skyline, passion, Union City blue
The singer is describing the environment as a way to add to the mood.
I have a plan
The singer is indicating that they have a solution or idea for their current situation.
I say he's my Union City man
The singer is again claiming possession of their romantic interest using the name of the city.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DEBORAH HARRY, NIGEL HARRISON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rodneycooperLMSCoach
In 2024 when the world is going increasingly insane songs like this are a refuge of joy and sanity.
@joegibson6041
Ahhhh, another stinky and cold morning in New Jersey. My dad was in a union and was a welder in Union, NJ. He was one tough bastard, a war battle survivor. He would buy me any record I wanted and never questioned the content. Looking back, I believe he was watching me enjoy my complete 1970s freedom for which he believed he fought. Thanks, Dad.❤
@geraldobrien7323
That whole area has been renovated with new apartments, restaurants and luxury docks. It's actually pretty nice now. Things change. This video is almost 50 years old.
@joegibson6041
@@geraldobrien7323 Yeah, I've heard that about a lot of places in NJ on the river. How about that.
@bartrondas7651
very sweet words for your dad, cool!!! I get your point.
@romy4858
Your Dad was a great man
@ziggyzagg561
love is this
@paulpender4806
What a song. What a band. What a woman. What a drummer!
@damianmorris5170
Nailed it!
@dixonpinfold2582
She came across like she had a healthy personality and wasn't the least bit ashamed of it.
Her counterparts of today would never live down the disgrace of such a thing.