For those of you who don't know me, I'm Brian's (Kalamazoo's) 'other alf and in case you are wondering why I've dedicated this to him is because he won't be around Ciao. He wanted to leave but has decided to leave his account 'dormant' and he didn't want to 'broadcast' his problems as you will I'm sure fully appreciate. He even joked it off by saying he hated being orange and wanted to be red again, the blushing red Brian! So please remember him as thus.

As you know he loves his eighties music so Ive hammered out this last review especially from me...

Deborah Harry or known more familiarly as ‘Blondie’ captured the music world in the seventies and even today, over thirty years later continues to enthral with classics like Heart Of Glass, French Kissin’ In The USA and Atomic to name just a few. Few people can honestly deny that their cd collection doesn’t contain one of her albums. Debbie was born in 1945 in Florida, and her original group ‘Blondie’ was formed back in 1974.

The band consisted of Debbie Harry (Vocalist), Chris Stein (Guitarist), Clem Burke (Drummer) and Jimmy Destri (Keyboard player) who joined in 1975.

Their first number one US hit was ‘Heart Of Glass’ which sold over a million copies in the UK. And she continued to storm up the charts well into the eighties. She was quite a sensation and added to the fact she was glamorous, blonde and a bonnie lass she captured the hearts of the male population, posters adorned teenage bedroom walls as she radiated popularity and success. With a clean-cut image she knew how to sock it to the music industry and became a permanent fixture over two decades in the charts.

The Complete Picture: The Best Of Deborah Harry and Blondie has always been a well played CD from my over-flowing collection of the eighties. Held in high regard as groups like Fleetwood Mac, Eurythmics, Pet Shop Boys, The Pretenders and off course Abba. With 20 hits ranging from Heart Of Glass to lesser known hits like Rip Her To Shreds and Sweet And Low.

Heart Of Glass

This hit was so popular, and is the first to roll off people’s lips when you mention Blondie and has been re-released. Thankfully by Blondie, sadly a lot of seventies and eighties hits are re-released by today’s ‘manufactured’ groups and are totally messed around with and totally re-vamped sometimes turning the original song into a banal chant or repetitive rap song. Looking at the video to this song, Debbie is certainly a ‘dish’ and I’m sure would send most men into raptures, whether her beauty or her vocals got her where she was in the charts at the time, she was undeniably a success in the music world

I Want That Man

‘I want a piece of heaven ‘fore I die’ This was one of her later hits, and probably not one that would spring to mind when mentioning Blondie. But this is one of his more favoured tracks on the CD.

Call Me

Could this song have been in the charts way back in 1980, hard to believe isn’t it. Some people can remember where they were or what they doing at the time a particular record comes on. Whether it related to a sad time or a happy time in their past.
‘Cover me with kisses baby, cover me with love’

Sunday Girl

‘I know a girl from a lonely street, Cold as ice-cream, but still as sweet, Dry your eyes, Sunday Girl’ From 1981. Another well known song ‘Hurry up Hurry up and wait, I got the blues, Please come see what you do to me I got the blues’

French Kissin’ In The USA

A great one for the old Karaoke machine, and a great one for learning the lyrics to. A great catchy song. ‘Lips are in motion, Paris is falling, we’re falling, we’re falling, Oooh oh oh…’

Denis

Actually pronounced (Denny) was a hit back in 1978, not a well known hit ‘Oh Denis (Bee-doo) I’m in love with you, Denis. Containing French lyrics not to disimiliar to French Kissin’ in the song

Rapture

Some weird lyrics in this one again containing a line of lyrics in French. ‘And out comes the man from Mars and you try to run but he’s got a gun, and he shoots you dead and he eats your head’ not sure what that’s all about, must be a meaning in there somewhere, if at all and if you’re good at reading between the lines, or lyrics. But it seems to work well, a song from 1980.

Brite Side

This song came at the end, in 1989, although the hits fizzled out by 1990. This was a ballad and considered a ‘weepy’ ‘Whenever I collapse, whenever I fold in your arms, whenever I know I’m holding you, holding you within my grasp’ Reading between the lines this song relates to knowing that you’re not alone, there is someone there to protect you, a lover for instance that is your anchor in life to protect you and keep you safe from the horrors and evils of the world

(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear

‘Was it destiny, I don’t know yet, was it just by chance, could this be Kismet? Something in my consciousness told me you’d appear Now I’m always touched by your presence dear’ a pretty non-descript song and more like a ‘B’ side track. A song from 1978

Well, Did You Evah!

Another weird and wonderful song with ‘interesting’ lyrics. ‘Have you heard – it’s in the stars next July we collide with Mars’ a duet with Iggy Pop. Listen carefully to the lyrics to this one you’ll know what I mean. Certainly unusual, as Blondie’s flame died down in 1980 as these songs took the slow-lane, whilst their more well known tracks continued to flow on.

The Tide Is High

Certainly a classic alongside Heart of Glass, ‘The tide is high, but I’m holdin’ on, I’m gonna be your number one. Number one…’ Back in 1980 this stormed in at the charts. Everyone has heard of this one

In Love With Love

‘We love through the flirting of every day life of glass that gets broken and cuts like a knife I wonder – and I wonder – why..’ A catchy song, albeit not so well known, a hit in 1986. Most of the well known songs of Blondie were from the late seventies rather than the late eighties, with the exception of French Kissin’

Hanging On The Telephone

The song starts off with the phone ringing and then quickly runs into the song ‘I’m in the phone booth, it’s the one across the hall, if you don’t answer I’ll just ring it off the wall, I know he’s there but I just tried to call’ Remember when you wanted to speak to your boy/girl friend and they had just dropped you, and they refused to speak to you ever again? They won’t listen to anything you have to say? Well this song says it all! Bitter experience? Experienced but not embittered. We’ve all been through that I’m sure

Island Of Lost Souls

I love this song, it is so catchy, lively and great to sing along to it starts off with ‘In Babylon on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams my will power at the lowest ebb, what can I do?’ ‘Why did he run, run away from me?’ A hit back in 1982

Picture This

‘All I want is a room with a view, a sight worth seeing a vision of you, all I want is a room with a view oh whoa whoa…’ Meaningful lyrics but not the best of the hits on this album. A hit from 1978

Dreaming

Another slow ballad, again a song that takes the backseat. ‘When I met you in the restaurant, You could tell I was no debutante…’ A hit in 1979

Sweet And Low

‘Sweet and low, sweet chariot, baby won’t you carry me home’ Definitely a catchy song and a hit in 1989 ‘Well hit the road Ciao-bello!’

Union City Blue

Probably taken from the film Union City back in 1979, a film Debbie actually appeared in at the time. ‘Oh oh oh oh what are we gon’na do, Union, union union city blue…’ Not a bad track, easy lyrics to follow.

Atomic

Ballistic! One of the best off course, everyone has heard of this beauty, 1979 another for the Karaoke machine perhaps, or another to remember the past and what you were doing when this was played. ‘Ah your hair is beautiful, ah to-night Atomic…’

Rip Her To Shreds

Claws at the ready for this one! ‘She’s so dull (come on) rip her to shreds. A slow song and the lyrics tell it all! No reading between the lines on this one, a hit in 1977 handbags at ten paces girls!

For Debbie Harry fans out there, you may like to know that as well as appearing in Union City, she also had parts in: Videodrome (1983), Hairspray (1986), Drop Dead Rock (1995) and Heavy (1995) Although I confess neither of us have seen any of these films.

And she even appeared on the Muppet Show in 1980 Probably her greatest claim to fame after all it’s not every singer that can say they’ve had the pleasure of Kermit and Miss Piggy’s company

Brian would also like me to thank Mel (cheekychicken) Dean (Deano76), Jane (plainjane), Julie (Junkboxjules) Karen (Karenuk) and Rachels_ratty (Rachel) who have been thoroughly supportive towards him...

Thanks for reading

Mike