“Love at first sight”: The band Debbie Harry described as clever and colourful
1970s New York City was a breeding ground for punk rock progenitors. The Ramones sprung out of Queens with a raw, punchy sound unlike anything that had preceded them. Synth-loving duo Suicide paired the influence of the punk scene that surrounded them with their penchant for electronic production. Patti Smith brought poetry, painting and punk together with unparalleled prowess. From the CBGB to the Chelsea Hotel, the city was brimming with DIY creativity – and somewhere amidst it all spawned Blondie.
Though they were born out of that punk scene, Blondie would hone a sound that extended far beyond stripped-back guitars and shouty vocals. Hesitant to commit to any one genre, they experimented with everything from rap to reggae. The result was a funky, silly addition to the New York and new wave scenes, a defining sound of the latter.
Bleach blonde frontwoman Debbie Harry was a driving force in the band’s penchant for genre experimentation. Her eclectic musical taste, which spans everything from classical to electroclash, bled into their creations in the best way. As she pulled from anything and everything she could get her hands on, they began to create a sound that was undeniably Blondie.
Still, Harry and her bandmates were firmly rooted in the experimental scene of New York, particularly in their early years. They were undoubtedly inspired by the community surrounding the Mercer Arts Center, with one band, in particular, having an instantaneous impact on the frontwoman.
As she recalled during an interview for Please Kill Me, The Uncensored History of Punk, Harry attended a gig at the venue by fellow Big Apple-dwellers the New York Dolls, who immediately won her over. Describing the experience as “instant love at first sight”, Harry went on to heap praise on the glammed-up rockers, though it wasn’t necessarily their music she had fallen for.
“They just stood there and were either just blind drunk or stoned,” Harry remembered, “or just without being stoned they were stoned, staggering around in those huge shoes and trying to play.” For most people, her description sounds like a disappointing night out, but the Blondie vocalist found the humour in their tipsy stage presence.
“It was very funny,” she declared, “The whole thing was funny but it was great and everything was clever about it and colourful”. It makes sense that Harry would admire their off-kilter stage presence, the intelligence in their faux intoxication and the colour in their originality. As a pioneer in the same scene, she could see the beauty in their innovation.
Harry’s own output was just as colourful and clever as her experience of the New York Dolls. As she pulled from that scene, from the punks and the glam rockers, she infused it with a newfound curiosity through her own experiences and sonic interests. The playfulness of the likes of the New York Dolls can certainly be found within her own work, but it’s never limited to one influence.
Just as she fell in love with the Dolls on her first encounter with them, Harry has had the same impact on countless other alternative enthusiasts with her commanding vocal style and her ever-unpredictable instrumentation.
