All language subtitles for blondie.glass.heart.2024.1080p.web

■ There's a girl in my room with
no clothes on ■

■ She could be cooler ■

- [Jennifer] Debbie Harry is an
absolute icon

in every single way.

A trailblazer, a goddess, a
queen.

There's really nothing about her
that in my opinion,

she's ever done wrong.

- [Narrator] Deborah Harry,
icon, actress, fashionista,

sex symbol, revolutionary, all
words that can be used

to describe the lead singer of
Blondie.

- In terms of crossing from
underground

to mainstream culture.

Being an older woman in the
music business

and showing how elegant and
strong

and fantastic you can be,

everything about her is
perfection.

There was never one like her
before

and the mold was broken after
her.

- [Narrator] Debbie and her
impact

on the industry is unparalleled.

Blondie was a groundbreaking
band launching her into stardom

and laid the groundwork for many
rock, pop,

and punk bands in the future.

Though in the current year,

they have fallen out of the
spotlight.

With over 40 million albums sold

and having influenced many
artists working today,

it's hard to deny that Blondie
has fully entrenched itself

into pop culture with some of
their biggest hits

still getting radio play to this
day.

This is the story of how Debbie
Harry

went from zero to hero in the
world.

She started from nothing

and ended up becoming a star

big enough to be compared to
Marilyn Monroe.

(upbeat music)

(upbeat music continues)

Debbie Harry was born as Angela
Trimble

on July 1st, 1945 in Miami,
Florida.

- Debbie Harry was actually
adopted

when she was three months old

by her parents Richard and
Catherine.

And when she was four, she found
out that she was adopted.

So as a child though, she
recalled being a tomboy

and hanging out in the woods

and kind of having this quite
healthy sounding childhood.

She didn't meet her birth mother
though until the 1980s,

and when she did,

she found out her birth mother
was a concert pianist,

which is interesting considering
the trajectory

that Harry's career went on.

However, her mom did not want
anything to do with her.

- [Narrator] A lot of her
childhood was shaped

by the fact that she was
adopted.

She later wrote, "I guess
somewhere in my subconscious

a scene was playing on a loop of
a parent

leaving me somewhere and never
coming back."

This went on to give her a deep
passion

for finding her place in the
world

and looking to make a mark on
it.

She explains in her memoir,
"Face It."

"I was still trying to discover
who I was,

but I knew in high school that I
wanted to be

some kind of artist or
Bohemian."

At an early age,

she already incorporated herself
into music,

singing in her local church
choir while growing up

in Hawthorne, New Jersey.

- And you have to kind of think
in the 60s being a tomboy,

hanging out with other kids that
are not girls

and doing things that are not
necessarily feminine.

That's going to probably make
her a little bit,

not an outcast,

but definitely on the perimeters

of other kids her age that are
female especially.

It also would most likely set
her up to be comfortable

hanging out with all boys, all
males,

and understanding how guys work
from a very, very young age.

- [Narrator] She later graduated

with an associate of arts degree

moving to New York City in the
mid 60s.

She had odd jobs, including a
waitress and a secretary.

- So before Debbie got into the
music career,

she was actually a Playboy
bunny,

and she did this from 1968 to
1973.

And if you see pictures of her
from that era,

she does not have her trademark
chopped off blonde bob.

She actually has long Brown,
almost dare I say,

kind of a hippie vibe, wholesome
looking hair.

And I think it's very easy to
think of Playboy bunnies

as being put down by men, it's
very misogynist

and it's something that's
demeaning to women,

but of her time being a Playboy
bunny

at the Playboy Bunny clubs,

she said it was very, very
empowering.

She said women ran the Playboy
Bunny clubs.

And if you think about it, it's
really true.

Women are getting money out of
the men that are coming,

women are entertaining,

women are having to use their
brains

to engage with these clients,

but they're also obviously using
their looks as well.

So it's kind of like the
ultimate double dip,

power play for females in that
environment,

and that's really what she took
away from it.

- [Narrator] Debbie performed
briefly in 1968

in the obscure psych folk band,
The Wind in The Willows

who only ever released one
album.

She provided backup vocals.

While not being a massive act,

this was an important stepping
stone

in igniting her love for
creating music.

- So the first band that Debbie
Harry was a part of,

she was actually a backup singer
in a band called

Wind in the Willows, which
really could be nothing

but a folk band with that title.

This actually parlayed into her
being

into a group called The
Stilettos with Chris Stein.

And that's how they actually
first met

was being in that together.

And I think it just was not
really the right vibe for them,

and they both ended up leaving
in 1974.

- [Narrator] Despite the short
tenure

of The Wind in the Willow,

her passion for music was firmly
cemented

as she began her journey to
become lead singer in a band.

In 1973, she joined The
Stilettos,

a stripped back punk band,

a massive departure from her
previous folk roots.

The group broke up after less
than a year.

However, this did lead her to
meet Chris Stein,

who became romantically involved
with her.

- Debbie Harry first met Chris
Stein

when he joined The Stilettos,

and this is after she had left
Wind in the Willows.

And Stein joined the band as a
guitar player.

The two of them, I think, really
saw in each other

a great collaboration
creatively,

but also they became
romantically involved.

And that was a relationship that
lasted

for more than two decades

through the huge worldwide
success of Blondie,

through both of them having drug
problems,

through Stein getting an
autoimmune disease,

which badly affected his skin,

the different financial problems
the band had.

And I think something that
people

don't necessarily talk about,

but you can see it in their
record covers,

is also Blondie was for people.

It was not Debbie Harry. Debbie
Harry was not Blondie.

And that could have really been
an element

that I think ultimately broke
them up in the first place.

But that must have put a lot of
pressure

on their relationship because
the two of them

were the nucleus, not just
Debbie Harry.

So they weathered all those
storms together

for many, many years as Blondie.

- [Narrator] Chris Stein was
born on January 5th, 1950

to Jewish parents in Brooklyn,
New York.

He wanted to be an archeologist
or historian growing up.

However, that all changed when
his parents bought him

his first guitar, leading him on
his journey as a musician,

leading to tumultuous teenage
years,

and ultimately pushing him
further into the world of music.

(upbeat music)

During this time period of her
life,

she experienced some incredibly
traumatizing things.

Before meeting Chris, Deborah
dated a man

who went on to threaten at
gunpoint to rape her,

accusing her of cheating.

When living with Chris Stein,

the two habited a cheap and
seedy apartment in New York

due to their lack of money.

Speaking on the apartment, Chris
said,

"Debbie and I lived on the
Bowery.

We had a few cockroaches and a
Poltergeist.

There was knocking in the walls
and pictures would fall."

One day, the apartment was
burgled,

the attacker holding them at
knife point.

He tied them up before
ransacking the place.

The man then proceeded to rape
Debbie

while Kris was still tied up.

Debbie has also claimed to have
narrowly

avoided being killed during this
time.

She said that one night she was
trying

to get a taxi home in the east
side part of New York

when a man pulled up in a white
car

offering her a ride home.

She eventually decided to take
the man up on his offer.

However, he didn't talk to her
at all in the car,

and she noticed there was no
door handle or window crank.

The inside of the car had been
totally stripped down.

She got very nervous as the man
began to drive faster,

swerving the car around the
corner

as she was launched out of the
door and into the

street as the man sped away.

She never reported this to the
police

and moved on with her life.

However, 15 years later,

she saw the man's face on a
magazine cover.

He had been arrested.

It was the infamous serial
killer Ted Bundy.

(suspenseful music)

However, some people have
criticized this story

as at the time Bundy was said to
be active in Florida.

Debbie, however, has always
maintained

that it is a true story.

- I think regardless if it's
true or not,

it's a great story.

So I don't really care if it's
true or not.

- [Narrator] After The Stilettos
split up,

Chris and Debbie decided to form
their own band

with the drummer and bassist,

Clem Burke and Gary Valentine,
respectively.

Originally they were going to be
called Angel and the Snake.

However, they changed it a few
months later

to the name we all know today,
Blondie.

- So when Chris Stein and Debbie
Harry

decided to start a band,

they originally were billed as
Angel and the Snake.

And this only lasted for about
two shows.

The name they felt didn't a
hundred percent suit them,

and they also were going through

different bass players and
drummers.

And they actually finally
settled on the name Blondie.

And this was after repeatedly
Debbie Harry

had been called out on the
street by passing cars,

"Hey, Blondie," out the window.

So by that time she'd cut the
hair

and that had become part of the
whole persona

of her stage look and stage look
and definitely

I would even say the kind of icy
part

of their performance style.

The final Blondie lineup though

got cemented when Clem Burke
joined the band on drums

and Gary Lachman joined the band
on bass.

- [Narrator] The name came from
the cat calling

she would get from men on the
streets,

with Debbie recognizing it as
easy to remember, simple,

and most importantly, taking a
degrading name and owning it.

(upbeat music)

Blondie began their burgeoning
career

playing in clubs in New York.

They had a gritty streetwise
appeal

that made them popular among the
punk scene of the day.

They enjoyed a modest success
quickly.

However, the band had added and
changed

a few members already with the
drummer and bassist,

Clem Burke and Gary Valentine
respectively joining the band

with Valentine, replacing Fred
Smith,

who later went on to join the
band Television.

By the end of 1975, Jimmy Destri
was added on keyboards.

The band established themselves

at the clubs Max's Kansas City
and the renowned CBGB,

which together were the heart of
New York's

progressive arts community and
frequented

by the likes of Andy Warhol's
factory contingent.

Like many of the artists in
these venues,

Blondie felt unconstrained by
convention

and were exploring new
approaches to rock music,

stripping it down to a bear raw
and urgent form.

Blondie aesthetically took
inspiration

from the 1960s fashion and pop
style

further setting them apart from
their contemporaries.

Debbie Harry was a femme fatal,
sexy, smart, and dangerous,

and a rare female lead in the
punk clubs.

After sounding innocent and
sweet

during a song like "In the
Flesh,"

she could come back at you with
a vicious snarl

in "Rip Her to Shreds."

The fact that she was drop dead
gorgeous

was an enhancing element to the
band's musical package,

though a constant challenge to
their identity.

Eventually, Harry and the band
got noticed

when in June of 1975, Alan
Bedrock,

a regular at the renowned CGBG
Club,

well known for its punk
atmosphere

and helping to push breakout
artists into the mainstream

hear Blondie play, and decided
to help them produce a demo.

Blondie had their chance to
record for the first time,

their first single was "X
Offender."

■ I had to know, so I asked ■

■ You just had to laugh ■

■ We sat in the night with my
hands cuffed at my side ■

■ I look at your life and your
style ■

- Blondie made their debut
self-titled album,

"Blondie" in 1977 for the
independent label Private Stock.

And they were not pleased really

with the way that the record
performed.

The first track was a song
called "Dennis,"

which if you see the video for
it,

"You're like, oh yeah, I know
that song."

But it didn't really have the
breakthrough

and appeal and impact I think
that the band was hoping for.

So they ended up buying back the
rights

to that self-titled debut

and selling to Chrysalis later
that year.

- [Narrator] In June, 1976,

Blondie released their first
self-titled album.

The band was a pioneer in the
early American new wave

and punk scenes of the mid to
late 1970s.

Its first two albums contained

strong elements of both genres.

And although successful in the
United Kingdom

and Australia, Blondie was
regarded

as an underground band in the
United States

until the release of "Parallel
Lines" in 1978.

They enjoyed modest success for
a time releasing two albums

as Harry continued to hone her
performing style

with each release.

She knew how to utilize her
beauty and sexuality

with a compelling combination of
humor and ironic detachment

as she delivered songs that were
often written

by her male band mates from
their testosterone perspective,

making them favorites of the
LGBTQ community

from their earliest days.

They represented a kind of
gender fluidity and acceptance

rare for that era.

- It's easy now to look back and
go, "Oh," you know.

Like Debbie Harry was super
beautiful.

That's why she was who she is.

But the thing is, it has never
been easy for women

to break into the music scene

maybe as a straight up pop star

that's a little bit
manufactured,

but rock and roll, punk rock,
even hip hop,

these genres are male dominated.

Males work at the record labels,
they work at the the press.

They're the ones,

I mean, how many women even
today are said,

you know what?

You can go play an instrument or
you can do something,

like, it's very, very difficult.

And you can kind of count on
your fingers,

I've tried to do it before.

Who are kind of iconic women
from, you know, before 2000?

And you really kind of come up

with maybe five or six at a
push.

And I think the thing is, is
that it was just hard

because it was such a man's
world

and like women were always on
the outside of that.

They were always the groupies,
they were in the audience.

They would come with their
boyfriends to the show.

And I don't really know 100% why
that is.

I think part of it is culturally
women never saw themselves

in those places or playing
instruments or fronting a band.

And so therefore if you don't
see it,

you don't even think it's a
possibility.

And that is I think one huge
reason

that there weren't many women
around then,

and there are more women around
now

if we look at it like that.

Debbie Harry herself really
walked this line of pretty much

nobody else I know of being
gritty and dirty and tomboyish

in the way she dressed and
looked, but still being sexy.

Like she never has the boobs
out.

She never is like overtly like
overly sexualized,

but that is what makes her so
appealing.

So as a woman, it's that
quintessential, I wanna be her.

I mean, even now I want to be
Debbie Harry desperately.

Any era, I'll take it.

And as a man, you wanna be with
a woman like that.

You want to be with a woman that
can wear jeans

that can hang out with the guys,
but still be cool and sexy.

And again, I think this is one
of the things

that has been universally
appealing about her.

But why she has maintained a fan
base

is 'cause there's not many
people period that can do that,

and she does it so perfectly.

As a woman that works in the
music industry,

you look at her and go,

here's someone that is
obviously,

the first thing people say about
Debbie Harry

always is how beautiful she is.

But they don't talk about her
songwriting

and they don't talk about her
living a very public life

in terms of her relationship, in
terms of creativity

and the judgment that must go
into that,

go into being that figure.

And I think as a young artist
looking at her,

you can be like, "I can be
something like that.

I can lead a band of men, I can
be a songwriter,

I can be a fashion icon without
it all being about

the way I look or the fact that
I have a vagina."

She really carved away for that.

And I think the reason she's
still such an icon

is because she's still is
someone we look up to.

There's not many people now

that are doing that in that same
way.

And especially I would say since
the internet started,

there's not gonna be people that
have

that same kind of staying power.

We're living in a very
disposable culture moment.

So are there gonna be other
people that at 70,

like are there like is, you
know,

the girl that sings "Call Me
Maybe"

30 years now, 30 years from now,

are we going to be looking at at
her and go,

"Ooh, what an icon?"

No, we won't even remember these
people's name.

Debbie Harry is part of a
culture

and a moment that happened,

but it has created the culture
that exists now.

So that's one reason she's still
so relevant.

It's easy to to say,

"Oh well, Debbie Harry, Blondie,
Chris Stein,

that whole sound was new wave
post-punk, punk."

But that's way too simplistic.

I think the crucial thing about
this band

is that Debbie Harry and Chris
Stein in particular

really moved around the New York
culture

that they were living in.

They weren't above, or I should
say,

closed off from experiencing
different sounds,

different cultures, different
people

than those they'd grown up in

or grew up around.

And that really comes to
fruition

in the first instance in
"Parallel Lines"

because you can hear the rap,
you can hear the reggae,

you can hear the disco that
Studio 54,

but then you still have that
very icy, edgy, gritty almost

even though the production value
is so high quality

of punk rock coming into it.

So it isn't like they're hearing

these other elements and saying,
we're gonna copy that.

It literally is like they're
taking a bit of this

and a bit of that and making
something totally new.

And I think few, if any other
bands

have been able to do that

as successfully as Blondie since
then.

They really kind of created a
genre less genre.

And I think that's one of the
reasons

that so many people love them
because they have,

there's something there for
everybody.

If your way in is through "Heart
of Glass,"

which is so disco,

if your way in is through
"Dreaming," whatever it is,

a song like "Dreaming" is very
much a message song.

It is a lyric driven song,

but something like "Heart of
Glass" is very much just like,

you know, dun, dun, dun, dun,
dun, dun.

So you may not think you would
like anything

that's as punky as "Dreaming,"

but your entryway drug, if you
would,

would be "Heart of Glass."

- [Narrator] Blondie enjoyed
bending genres

and melding them together, which
is why it's difficult

to strictly tie the band down to
one music genre.

However, it wasn't until 1978
that they began

to ascend from popular
underground act into mainstream
stars

with the release of their 1978
album "Parallel Lines,"

which became and still remains a
definitive

and seminal piece of new wave
music.

The tracks, "One Way or
Another,"

and "Heart of Glass" has became

two of the band's signature
songs.

The latter ranking number 255 on
Rolling Stone's list

of the 500 greatest songs of all
time.

And with its 1.3 million sales
in UK only,

"Heart of Glass" made Blondie

one of the zeitgeist bands of
the 70s.

■ Once I had a love and it was a
gas ■

■ Soon turned out had a heart of
glass ■

- If I had to put Blondie into a
category,

I think I'd say they're punk
rock.

And here's why, because the idea

at the very base of punk rock is
that anything goes

and you can just literally throw
away anything

and everything that you thought
something was.

So punk rock is about an
attitude

that's the most founding part of
punk,

and that's exactly what Blondie
does

in terms of Debbie Harry as the
front person

in terms of the sound, the
fashion,

everything about them is it goes

by something totally different
than what came before.

- [Narrator] The song is one of
the UK's

greatest selling singles of all
time

and was inducted into the Grammy
Hall of Fame

for its historical significance
in 2015.

After the success of "Parallel
Line,"

the group blew up in popularity.

Their mainstream success
continued

with the group's next albums.
"Eat To the Beat" in 1979,

which included "Dreaming" and
"Atomic."

Another one of the group's most
well-known songs.

(upbeat rock music)

(upbeat rock music continues)

Although the band's popularity
skyrocketed

after they adopted a more
polished sound,

many accused them of selling out

by embracing trendy dance music.

"But that was exactly the point.

For me, it was about dancing. I
loved going to clubs."

Harry told the New York Times in
August, 2022.

Interestingly, it was Blondie

that produced the first rap song
to hit radio airwaves

with their love of mixing genres

taking center stage yet again,
their single "Rapture."

"Autoamerican" was released in
1980,

the Band's Fifth Studio album,

which featured two more number
one hits,

the reggae mariachi influenced,
"The Tide is High,"

and the aforementioned
"Rapture."

The band had also landed another
number one

later in the year with their
rock single, "Call Me"

a collaboration with producer
songwriter Giorgio Moroder

that was featured on the
soundtrack for "American
Gigolo."

Debbie became well-known for her
fashion.

Like a true fashionista,

she wore whatever she really
felt like

not caring what anyone else
thought,

and she never tried to fit in or
look like anyone else.

Her clothing sense, along with
her beauty

and uncaring attitude led to
many eyes being on her.

During this time, Debbie became
friends

with one of the most famous
artists of all time,

Andy Warhol.

The two became good friends,

and Debbie has even been
immortalized by Warhol

with the artist creating a small
series

of four canvas portraits of the
star in different colors

as well as Polaroids and a small
number

of rare silver gelatine prints

from the shoot taken in Warhol's
famous factory.

- New York in the seventies was
downtrodden, dirty,

lots of graffiti everywhere.

You had had white flight.

So like a lot of white people
lived in the suburbs,

a lot of African Americans and
Latinos

had moved into the downtown
area.

It was a lot cheaper.

It was so cheap that artists
could actually

afford to live there.

And that itself is like a
shocking idea

because New York, I think it has
that reputation

of being somewhere where
creative ideas

and people that are on the
perimeters

and outsiders can blossom and
bloom

but that really comes from this
specific moment in time.

And a huge, huge instigator of
that

were really kind of two places.

You have CBGBs, which is this
little tiny punk club,

and you have Andy Warhol's
factory.

Now both of these entities have
grown to be bigger

and more important in as time
has passed.

And we've seen what's come out
of them

that maybe they actually were at
that moment.

But the reason that's so
fascinating

is because as the time was, they
were just automatically

and authentically, I should say,
attracting people

that wanted to engage with the
avant garde,

that wanted to think
differently,

that wanted to be around ideas

and creators that challenged
them.

And Andy Warhol's factory,

it was a place for outsiders to
suddenly be insiders.

And that was something that
Debbie Harry

and Chris Stein were very, very
drawn to.

And I think in Andy Warhol,

Debbie Harry saw a mentor in
some ways.

But I also know that Andy Warhol
saw a muse in Harry.

Around this whole time,

you have Warhol starting to have
other collaborations

and creative inspiration.

One is a partnership that he
forges

with a young black guy named,
Jean-Michel Basquiat.

And Basquiat was a graffiti
artist in New York.

He'd become infamous for the
tag, SAMO.

And he started doing large
paintings.

He actually approached Warhol at
one point

and the two of them started
doing work together.

And this again, Blondie, Debbie
Harry, Chris Stein,

they're not immune to this.

They see this in it's osmosis.
They're taking this on.

They're starting to engage with
this.

Through Warhol, I think in a lot
of ways,

is the conduit for some of the
sounds

that they start experimenting
with.

And you really, this comes to
real full fruition

on "Autoamerican," the record
that comes out in 1979.

And you have to see like

how quick these albums are
coming out.

So you have to think about the
changing music circles

and genres and creativity

that's going on in New York at
that moment.

And the way that film, music and
fashion

are all kind of creating this
huge wave of culture

and vary in speed of what that's
happening at.

And so, they actually take this
emerging hip hop sound

and culture and put it into
their song "Rapture,"

which goes on to be the first
number one hip hop song

with the rap in the middle that
Debbie Harry does.

And she's calling out hip hop
culture in the song.

She's talking about Fab 5
Freddy,

who was a famous graffiti
artist.

Jean-Michel Basquiat actually

is in the video doing graffiti.

So you have these elements of, I
would say, Black culture

even further underground than
punk culture that are emerging

and put on display in this
Blondie video.

And what that does, it not only
brings hip hop and rap

and that underground culture to
the mainstream,

it also positions Blondie as the
pioneers,

or if you would, being in touch

with the newest, coolest thing.

So it does two things at one
time.

- [Narrator] Harry said of her
relationship with Warhol,

"I think the best thing Andy
Warhol taught me

was always to be open to new
things, new music, new style,

new bands, new technology, and
just go with it.

Never get mired in the past

and always accept new things
whatever age you are."

(upbeat music)

Blondie, now five albums

into their four year recording
history

were straining at the seams

despite being at their peak
success,

now with three consecutive hit
albums

and four number one songs.

Disputes over musical direction

and the media attention on
Debbie

were leading to strained
relationships.

- So the band took a short
hiatus in 1981.

Debbie Harry had put out her
first solo record "KooKoo."

So she wanted to focus a little
bit on that.

I think they were a little bit
burned out

from just literally pumping out
these records

one after another in pretty
quick succession.

And drugs had plagued the band
members,

different stages of addiction
throughout the their career.

So I think by the time 1981
rolled around,

they just needed a break from
each other.

And from that kind of scrutiny
in the paparazzi spotlight.

- [Narrator] The band, at this
time,

were also heavy drug users,

which was another big factor

in their relationship straining.

In her memoir, "Face It," she
revealed she used heroin to,

"Blank out parts of my life,"

or when she was dealing with
some depression.

The band were also offered a
chance to make the theme song

for the next James Bond movie,
"For Your Eyes Only."

However, it was rejected in
favor of a song by Bill Conti.

Their version of the song did

however appear in their next
album "The Hunter."

- Blondie was going to be
contributing a song

to the James Bond soundtrack,
"For Your Eyes Only."

And again, this is a kind of a
tension field time,

'cause Harry had gone solo

and things were not totally
copacetic with the band.

And to make matters worse,
Sheena Easton came

and stole the song out from
under them.

And the the movies people
decided

to go Sheena Easton instead of
Blondie for the title track.

So that was a big blow to them.

And I think that kind of really
was the hammer

that really sealed the coffin on
the downward trajectory

that they were heading on at
that moment.

And this wasn't helped

by their sixth studio album,
"The Hunter."

Everything about that record is
like, huh?

Like the, the cover itself,

you have the boys standing
behind Debbie Harry

and she has her hair ratted out
like a lion.

And just, you pick it up and
it's confusion right there.

What is this that's going on?

And the sounds from it were, you
know,

it didn't have that same mix of
genres

as past Blondie records had.

It was much more convoluted

and it just sounded like a band

that didn't really care anymore.

So after that, the band actually
broke up

and it was stated there was
financial problems.

You could see that there were
issues

with that record connecting with
audiences

because a tour that they had
booked not selling very well.

And I think the ban also was
really irritated at this point

with all the attention going to
Debbie Harry,

that Blondie was a band, not one
person.

So that all ultimately ended in
them breaking up.

Around the same time, the drug
addiction problems

with Chris Stein really
escalated

and he found out that he had an
autoimmune disease.

So it kind of was good timing to
take a break

in terms of Debbie Harry was
able

to really help nurse him back to
health

and the two of them had the
chance to reconnect as a couple,

but also in a healthy way.

So I think just the strain of
being on the road

and the constant attention for
almost a decade

had just finally taken its toll
on both of them.

- [Narrator] "The Hunter,"

while possibly better in
retrospect,

lacked anything close to
cohesion and the album flopped

while they continued to
experiment in music.

This album proved to be rough.

This combined with drug issues,

tension with the band, bad live
performances on TV and more

led to the band becoming more
and more strained.

Ultimately, Blondie broke up

after the release of "The
Hunter."

Coincidentally, around this
time,

Stein was diagnosed with
pemphigus,

an autoimmune disease that
affects the skin

and could be fatal if not
treated.

This development combined

with the general unhappiness in
the band

led to them calling it quits,

announcing their breakup in
November of 1982.

Harry took time out from her
career to look after him.

He recovered.

And although their relationship
didn't survive

as the two broke up in 1989,

the two have remained good
friends.

Harry later revealed that she
has also been

romantically involved with women
confirming her bisexuality

though her longer term
relationships were with men.

The singer has proudly spoken
about desire

and intimacy throughout her
life,

via interviews and her work.

The breakup of Blondie led to
Debbie leading a solo career,

not just in music, but in acting
too,

with her biggest role as being
her starring one

in the David Cronenberg body
horror flick "Videodrome"

as well as in John Water's
"Hairspray."

Musically, Debbie had already
dipped her toes

in a solo career made in 1981
during the small break

that Blondie took before "The
Hunter."

The album was a moderate success
showcasing fusions of funk,

rock and dance music.

However, after a long break of
looking after Chris Stein,

Debbie returned with "Rock Bird"
in 1986,

a rock centric solo outing,

which also came as a moderate
success,

but showed her willingness to
continue to evolve

and grow musically.

In 1989, Harry released her
third solo studio album,

"Deaf, Dumb, and Blonde."

The album was not a commercial
success.

However, musically it was
reminiscent of Blondie,

purposely so, hinting at
potential reunion

leading to her 1993 album,
"Deprivation,"

which received middling review
from critics.

- Debbie Harry continued to
pursue a solo career.

She went by Deborah Harry.

So this record was different.

It was called "Rock Bird." It
came out in 1985.

She went into almost like a
torch song,

lounge kind of vibe with things.

So again, you could say a
complete departure from punk
rock,

or you could say it is just
another evolution of punk rock.

I think it's very, very
difficult to be an artist

because people love you and
become a fan of yours

for one specific sound

or maybe a moment in time or a
record.

And then they want you to both
put out stuff

that sounds like that, what you
like,

but they also want to be
different enough

so it's not exactly the same.

So in some ways I think Blondie

really got chastised for that,

for going so far away from where
they were in the beginning.

But at the same time,

I think that they need to be
celebrated for being brave.

They could have just kept
putting

out "Parallel Lines" over and
over again.

That just wasn't who they were
as artists or creatives.

So you know, you look at some of
the best artists,

they change over time and that's
I think, really important

to appreciate about a group like
Blondie.

I always hoped that Blondie
would make a comeback

because as like a young adult,

they weren't an entity that was
touring around.

I actually saw their first,

their comeback tour.

And I remember what was really
kind of strange about it is

we have that image of Debbie
Harry

as the "Parallel Lines" Debbie
Harry.

So is this so grooved into my
brain?

I remember I was surprised when
she came up on the stage

and she had like sweatpants and
a butt bag.

And she, when she came up on to
the, you know, to the mic,

she had had a mouthful of rose
petals, which she spit out.

And I was like, "Whoa, what's
happening with that?"

I was kind of taken aback,

but now that I've had time to
kind of process

and think about it, I'm like,
she's Debbie Harry.

She can wear whatever she wants.

And I think it was a kind of two
fingers up

to the whole pinup, sex symbol
image that she'd had.

She was like, "This is who I am
and this is it."

And that again, references back
to that original

punk rock ethos of just being
yourself

and ripping up the rule book.

(heavy rock music)

- [Narrator] In the 1990s,

Blondie began receiving more
praise again

from a whole new generation of
fans,

including fellow bands like
Garbage and No Doubt.

As Debbie continued her
moderately successful solo
career,

she reunited with Stein and
Burke for a summer tour

as part of a package with other
bands in 1990.

This reignited the band for a
possible reformation,

but it didn't happen just yet.

In 1996, Stein and Harry began
the process

of reuniting Blondie and
contacted original members

Burke, Destri and Valentine.

Valentine had, by this time,
moved to London

and become a full-time writer

under his real name, Gary
Lachman.

Former members Nigel Harrison,
and Infante

did not participate in the
reunion

and they unsuccessfully sued

to prevent the reunion under the
name Blondie.

In 1997, the original five piece
band reformed,

including Valentine on bass,

and did three live performances

all at outdoor festivals
sponsored by local radio
stations.

Their first reunion performance
occurred on May 31st, 1997,

when they played the HFStival

at R.F.K Stadium in Washington
DC.

An international tour followed
in late 1998 and early 1999.

During this period and without
Valentine,

they released a cover of Iggy
Pop's song,

"Ordinary Bummer" on the tribute
album,

"We Will Fall: The Iggy Pop
Tribute 1997,"

under the pseudonym "Adolfs
Dog."

- Blondie brings in Jimmy Destri
as a keyboard player

and that changes the sound

and the direction of their music

in a lot of ways after their
reformation.

And I think it's one of those
things again,

that they kind of can't win

if they start going in a totally
different direction

than what people know 'cause by
this time people

had had that greatest hits
record,

they've been listening to those
songs over and over again.

Those songs are two decades old
at this point.

So I think whatever they did
there was,

they would be both universally
embraced

and universally panned.

So I don't think,

I think it's impossible

to recreate a hit like "Parallel
Lines"

because it was so of its time.

I think this, the fact that
they're trying

to change and evolve and keep
their minds open

over all these years shows
something

that's both very brave and
definitely

positions them forever as
innovators.

- [Narrator] In February of
1999,

the band finally released a new
studio album,

"No Exit," Blondie's first album
in 17 years.

- I think they had, you
definitely could hear

a different sound with the
reformed Blondie.

When you say new wave, when I
think new wave,

I think synthesizers and
electronic sounds.

and that was definitely
incorporated

into the record and into "No
Exit."

And I think it's the title
Track,

"No Exit," it almost sounds,

it doesn't sound like a weird
thing to say,

it sounds like they're going
through a tunnel.

There's a lot more effects on it

than Past Blondie Records had.

And the track "Maria," which
went on to be a huge, huge hit

that I think sounded almost like
an amalgamation of,

in some ways I think "Dreaming,"

that poppiness of "Dreaming,"
the immediacy of "Dreaming."

But it also had kind of that "In
The Flesh,"

the kind of like the chimes that
are in the background.

You could definitely hear the
definite,

and definitely not homage to
past Blondie songs in that hit.

And I think that's one of the
reasons

that it struck a nerve with so
many people.

Of course, something that's
hugely groundbreaking

about the success of Maria is
the fact that

exactly 20 years it comes after

their first chart topper "Heart
of Glass,"

And outside of Michael Jackson,

they're the only other artist to
ever of number ones

in the 70s, the 80s, and the
90s.

So it's absolutely incredible.

- [Narrator] The album was a
success

despite middling reviews from
critics

reaching number three in the UK
album's chart

and being certified Gold.

Fusing alt rock, pop, reggae
country, and more,

it was truly Blondie at their
most experimental.

Their single "Maria" became
Blondie's sixth number one.

This gave the band the
distinction

of being one of only two
American acts

to reach number one in the UK
singles charts

in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

The band later released "The
Curse of Blondie" in 2003,

their eighth studio album,

unabashedly embracing dance
music.

The fans, however, did not
embrace this change.

Unfortunately, the album's title
proved true

and the move to a pure dance
sound

cursed them to mixed results

with fans not embracing the new
direction.

The "Curse of Blondie" was the
lowest charting album

since their debut LP and
relegated the band

out of the spotlight within
current music.

Perhaps "No Exit" had succeeded

due to the novelty of the
reunion,

but now it appeared Blondie was
yesterday's news,

left to touring casinos and
other smaller venues

that catered to artists of
yesteryear

even though not many older
artists

were still producing new good
music as regularly as Blondie.

- The progression style over the
years,

definitely you can see

the thing that's the same is
they're a band of their time.

So if we look back at that very,
very early 70s

when Harry joins Wind in the
Willows,

the name, the sound, the look
with the brown hair,

everything about it was of that
moment.

And then if we look at that time

when they're starting to really
be involved with the factory

and the different scenes that
are happening

in New York that captures that
moment.

And again, when "Maria" comes
out as a single off "No Exit,"

even the title of that record,
"No Exit,"

there is no exit from being
Blondie, is there,

that in and of itself, it's of a
moment.

And that record of course,

comes out right before the
internet

and streaming and the kind of
music framework.

And the sound may have changed,

but who they are at the core has
stayed the same

in terms of reflecting like a
mirror of the culture

of what's going on around them.

- [Narrator] In 2011, the band
released a new album,

their first new material in
eight years

since "The Curse of Blondie."

And just three years later,

a double album called "Blondie 4
0 Ever" was released.

Both albums did relatively well,

both commercially and in
reviews,

proving the band still had life
in them.

In 2017, Blondie would release
their 11th studio album,

"Pollinator," an alternative
electronic rock outing,

which was a great success in the
UK,

peaking at number four in the
charts,

their highest UK chart peak in
18 years.

In 2019, Blondie were invited to
perform in Havana, Cuba

as part of a cultural exchange

through the Cuban Ministry of
Culture.

This experience was documented

by director Rob Roth in the
short film,

"Blondie: Vivir en La Habana,"

which featured 16 millimeter,
eight millimeter film

and digital footage from the
shows

and the band members around
Havana and interviews.

Guitarist Chris Stein couldn't
travel

but is present in footage shot
in New York.

The film is divided into three
segments,

water, fire, and air,

which present a meditation on
the experience

as well as highlights from the
two night live

musical performances with
special guests,

Alan Perez, David Torrens,

and Afro-Cuban Rock Band,
Sintesis at Havana's Teatro
Mella.

The film made several
appearances in film festivals

receiving good responses from
critics and audiences.

- I don't think it's fair to
compare sales

or the way that a single
performs now

to something even 10 years ago

because so much now of what is
pushing pop music,

when I say pop music, hip hop,
rock, whatever it is,

it's not just the streams, it's
not just the record sale,

it's also the merchandise, the
sponsorship,

the what is your social media
following,

there's all these other things.

Before when Blondie were coming
up,

it was about like your music was
the wheel,

and anything that came off of
that, that was just extra.

Now the wheel is Blondie and the
different spokes,

it could be video, streaming,
touring,

merchandise, live streaming,

now that we're in this strange
new world,

it could be perfume.

So music is just one component.

So you can't really compare the
sales story.

I think a better way to compare
it is,

can you go into Primark or H and
M and buy a Blondie shirt?

If they're that mainstream,

then they've crossed over into
something

that's much bigger than
themselves.

- [Narrator] Throughout her
career,

Debbie has pushed the boundaries
of music,

experimenting both in her solo
career and in Blondie.

Blondie has firmly cemented
itself in the hall of fame

of musicians with over 40
million records sold worldwide

and an esteemed legacy penning
some of the greatest

and most well-known songs of all
time

and inspiring countless
musicians today.

While their time in the
limelight may have came and
gone,

Debbie now in her mid 70s is
still performing,

thrilling audiences while
remaining just as witty

and perpetually relevant as
ever.

An impressive triumph for a
small town girl

with big city dreams.

From downtrodden and poor to
worldwide superstar,

Debbie Harry has come a long way
in her journey.

And with the band still alive
and well,

who knows what's next.

- The legacy of Blondie will
definitely be

of what a woman can be.

I think it's, even if the band
doesn't like it,

I can understand why they don't.

You see that a lot with
situations like that

where there's one very prominent
person,

especially if it's a woman.

But I think the biggest legacy
will just show

what a woman can be.

A woman can be sexy, and a
tomboy and an innovator

and the ruler of a band and
boys, all those things

and not have to depend on their
sexuality to be that.

I think Debbie Harry as an icon

is really the biggest legacy.

One thing the whole band will be
remembered for though,

is to show how a rock and roll
group

and songwriters can definitely
put a mirror up

to what's happening in society
at any time

and give it back to them.

And I think that's something
that popular music

is missing a lot now.

(upbeat rock music)

(upbeat rock music continues)

(upbeat rock music continues)