“Shut your lips, babe”: when John Lydon problematically tore into Debbie Harry
From his very earliest days in the punk scene of the 1970s, ex-Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon has taken virtually every opportunity to besmirch his contemporaries. Over the years, everybody from The Ramones to The Beatles has been criticised by the Public Image Limited songwriter, with his attacks becoming particularly vicious in more recent years. Perhaps one of the most undeserving people to come under fire from Lydon is the beloved Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry, who he was particularly critical of.
Of course, Debbie Harry is so certainly no stranger to criticism. During the infancy of Blondie, when the band were honing their craft within the punk rock ground zero of New York’s CBGB club, Harry found herself repeatedly targeted by harassment and hecklers. The frontwoman was one of only a few women to make up the CBGB scene, and she had to battle with an immense level of prejudice as a result. In fact, the band name ‘Blondie’ is said to have originally come from the many catcalls Debbie Harry received on the streets of New York.
Blondie were something of an anomaly within the New York punk scene, owing largely to their ability to adapt and progress their sound, allowing them to transcend the underground scene of punk. One of the first rock groups to embrace the revolutionary sounds of hip-hop and disco, Blondie were an uncompromisingly original group, which is perhaps why the band remains so popular and celebrated to this very day. Nevertheless, their success seems to be a bit of a sore subject for the Sex Pistols’ John Lydon.
During a 2006 interview with Sirius Radio, Lydon rallied against the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the Sex Pistols refusing their induction into the Hall of Fame that same year. Lydon lamented his punk contemporaries who accepted the accolades, including Blondie. However, his criticism of the band – who, let’s remember, is made up of multiple band members, including the likes of Clem Burke and Chris Stein – seemed to be limited entirely to the appearance of Debbie Harry.
The frontman disgustingly referred to Harry as “that Blondie fat bag” (the words ‘pot, kettle, black’ spring to mind) before descending into school playground-esque arguments that seem to stretch back to the 1970s. “She made some ridiculous rubbish comments, and she shouldn’t have,” he said, “She saucily implied that ‘Oh yes, well, the Sex Pistols, of course, well we expect them not to turn up because that’s part of our act.’ It’s her who’s got an act, not us. We ain’t acting.”
Lydon also seemed particularly upset at the idea that Blondie, who now performs with original Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, would try to perform covers of his material. “She brazenly suggested that she was going to try and play a few Sex Pistols numbers live,” he rambled, “Oh, good luck, you fat bag. Good luck. You try squeaking those songs out of that tonnage. No way, no way.” Lydon then concluded this ridiculously misogynistic rant by speaking directly to Debbie Harry, “Debbie, you know me better than that. You know, shut your lips, babe. You know? You’re talking out your ass again. It’s not pleasant to hear her do that.”
It is difficult to imagine someone having such a lack of self-awareness as John Lydon. The singer has essentially created a career off the back of a handful of hits created 40 years ago, and now he has the sheer audacity to discredit one of New York’s most enduring rock outfits. Mind you, if the worst thing Lydon can think to say about the 78-year-old singer is that she doesn’t look as good as she used to, then that leaves Lydon himself open to a wide range of deserved criticism.
