Blondie (band)

Blondie started out in New York City in 1974, formed by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. They came up through the CBGB scene and are seen as pioneers of new wave, mixing punk, disco, pop, reggae, funk, and early hip hop.

Their first two albums, Blondie (1976) and Plastic Letters (1978), did well in the UK and Australia, but in the US they were still an underground act. That changed with their third album, Parallel Lines (1978), which got strong reviews. Over the next two years, they put out a string of hits: “Heart of Glass” (US No. 1), “One Way or Another,” “Dreaming,” “Call Me” (US No. 1), “Atomic” (UK No. 1), “The Tide Is High” (US No. 1), and “Rapture” (US No. 1).

After their sixth album, The Hunter (1982), the band split up. Harry took a few years off to care for Stein, who had been diagnosed with pemphigus, a rare autoimmune skin disease, and then she launched a moderately successful solo career. Blondie got back together in 1997 and found renewed success with their seventh album, No Exit (1999). Its single “Maria” became their sixth UK number one in 1999, exactly twenty years after their first UK number one, “Heart of Glass.” The group toured worldwide in the years that followed and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

They have sold over 40 million records globally and still perform. Their eleventh studio album, Pollinator, came out in 2017 and reached number 4 in the UK. A new album, High Noon, is expected sometime in 2026.