Debbie Harry - Born 1945
American Singer, Songwriter and Actress
I am one of a generation that cannot remember life before Blondie.
The sounds of the new wave band, Blondie, fronted by Debbie Harry really shaped my formative years. Heart of Glass is really the song that I remember being played constantly by various members of my family as a child. Somewhere there is grainy cine-camera footage of me singing and dancing to One Way or Another, where I can be no more than six years old. Over the years, my parents and I have suffered intense musical differences, Blondie has always been a group that we have agreed on the greatness of.
The group formed in 1976, before I was even born. Two years later, I came screaming into the world and they released their album Parallel Lines, which included the global hit, Heart of Glass. By the time I was learning to walk and talk, Eat the Beat was released and achieved platinum disc success. When my little sister was born, Autoamerican was released, featuring the singles Call Me, Rapture, and Follow Me. During my time at primary school, Debbie enjoyed a successful solo career. And while I was at high school, Blondie introduced me to the concept of remixes with the album Remixed Remade Remodeled (as a club goer, a club promoter and a DJ, remixes have been fairly important since). As I reached adulthood, Blondie reformed and recorded a couple of singles, No Exit and Maria.
This has been the music that formed the soundtrack to much of my life.
The influences of punk, reggae, hip hop and, in particular, disco sit well with my tastes in music to this day. I can as happily enjoy any of the Blondie albums now as I could in earlier years.
I have also been a huge fan of Debbie's style and image. I have had the white blonde hair on a number of occasions, as well as trying to emulate the nonchalant expression. She is beautiful and stylish but the image is more about the attitude than anything else and I love that about her.
When I was younger, I wasted ten years wanting to be Debbie Harry
Kirsty Young, Another Wonderful Woman
In addition to her many musical success Debbie has enjoyed an acting career, including appearing in more than 30 film
roles and many television appearances. Most memorable, for me, was her appearance as the calculating mother in the 1988 version of Hairspray, she was fabulously over the top, comical and entertaining. Debbie is also a dedicated charity worker, in particular, raising funds for HIV and AIDS awareness.
Debbie continues to be a woman I feel influenced by and to me she is truly, truly wonderful.
No comments:
Post a Comment