BlondieHannah-Louise Batt

Punk & New Wave

BlondieBlondie is a New York rock band, founded

by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist

Chris Stein in the 1970's. The band were

pioneers of the New Wave scene during

the decade, in which social progressive

values that began in the 1960s (examples

include increasing political awareness,

increased public opposition to war and

the Feminist movement) continued to

grow. Although successful in the UK and

Australia, Blondie was regarded as an

underground band in the US until the

release of their album Parallel Lines in

1978. Over the next three years, the band

achieved hit singles and became noted

for its mix of musical styles incorporating

elements of disco, pop, early rap and

reggae, while retaining a basic style as a

New Wave band.

The band takes the girl group style of

the early and mid-'60s and adds a '70s

archness, reconfiguring and

recontextualizing simple pop/rock

forms of the '50s and '60s in new,

ironic, and aggressive ways. Here is

the 1976 song X Offender, about a

prostitute being attracted to the police

officer that had arrested her. (Album:

Blondie, 1976)In February 1978, Blondie released

their second album, Plastic Letters.

British chart success, along with a

successful 1978 UK tour, including a

gig at London's Roundhouse, made

Blondie one of the first American New

Wave bands to achieve mainstream

success in Britain. The album's first

single, Denis, was a cover version of

Randy and the Rainbows' 1963 hit.

(Album: Plastic Letters, 1978)

September 1978's Parallel Lines became

the group's most successful album,

selling 20 million copies worldwide. A

more traditional punk rock sound, the

first single from the album to gain

success was the almost aggressive

One Way Or Another.The second single Heart Of Glass

reached number 1 in the UK, US,

Australia, Canada, Germany and New

Zealand in 1979, and was certified

platinum in the UK. A reworking of an

earlier song, "Heart Of Glass" was

updated with strong elements of disco

music. Drummer Clem Burke later said

the revamped version was inspired

partly by Kraftwerk and by the Bee Gees'

"Stayin' Alive", whose drum beat Burke

tried to emulate.

“Heart Of Glass” showcased

Harry's hard-edged persona,

and she began to attain a

celebrity status that set her

apart from the other band

members, who were largely

ignored by the media.

Debbie Harry was hailed as

the definitive female rock-

and-role model of the '80s,

and influenced artists such

as Madonna, Gwen Stefani

and Courtney Love.

Blondie released a fourth album

in October the same year, Eat To

The Beat, which was well-

recieved by critics as a follow-up

to Parallel Lines. In 1980, Debbie

Harry's collaboration with the

Italian songwriter and producer

Giorgio Moroder, produced

Call Me, a single not released as

part of any album, but instead

becoming the title theme for the

Richard Gere film American

Gigolo. The track brought the

genre of euro-disco to an

American audience, and spent

six weeks at #1 in the States.

In November 1980, Blondie's fifth studio

album, Autoamerican, was released and

contained two more US #1’s: the

reggae-styled The Tide Is High, a cover

of a song by The Paragons, and Rapture,

one of the earliest songs containing

elements of rap to reach number one in

America. The album was a departure from

previous Blondie records, featuring less

New Wave and rock in favor of stylistic

experiments, including acoustic jazz:

"Faces", and from Broadway show

"Camelot" came "Follow Me".

In 2006 Blondie were induced into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band are

still writing and touring today, but with

some changes to the original lineup.

The Ramones

Hannah-Louise Batt

Punk & New Wave

The Ramones were also a band

formed in New York in 1974, and

are often cited as the first punk

rock band. Despite not achieving

much commercial success, the

band were hugely influential on

the punk movements in both the

US and UK. The band toured

virtually non-stop for 22 years

before disbanding in 1996. Eight

months later all three founding

members- Joey, Johnny and Dee

Dee Ramone- had died. The band

were induced into to Rock and Roll

Hall of Fame in 2002, and received

a Grammy Lifetime Achievement

Award last year.

The Ramones played before an audience

for the first time on March 30, 1974. The

songs they played were very fast and

very short; most clocked in at under two

minutes. By the following year the

Ramones were recognized as leaders of

the new scene that was increasingly

being referred to as "punk”.

The group's unusual frontman had a lot

to do with their impact. As Dee Dee

explained, "All the other singers [in New

York] were copying David Johansen [of

The New York Dolls], who was copying

Mick Jagger.... But Joey was unique,

totally unique.“The Ramones recorded their debut

album, Ramones, in February 1976. It

was greeted by critics with glowing

reviews.