In the 1970s Watch:Blondie

Debbie Harry and Chris Stein founded the group Blondie in 1975, both group members were in an earlier group called The Stilettos, and that's where they first started their romantic involvement.


In Australia in 1976 on a TV show the wrong Blondie video was played out, but it became a hit and Blondie were on their way. The record played by mistake was "In The Flesh" from the album "Blondie". This made No2 in the Australian charts and was followed by "Rip Her To Shreds".

See the "In The Flesh " Lyrics here.

Moving into 1977 the group exploded with hits in the UK, both from the album "Plastic Letters", the two singles that were charted were "(I Am Always Touched By Your) Presence,Dear, this was never released in the States.

The track we are going to play is "Denis" which was based on the 1963 hit by Randy and the Rainbows, Blondie's version was released, but Harry had to insist the version played was the one with pigeon English, she won that battle.

Two more hits followed in 1978, the first being "Picture This" which charted very high in the UK, and produced by music mogul Mike Chapman, from the album  "Parrell Lines" .

Here are the full Lyrics to "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

I will give you my finest hour
The one I spent watching you shower
I will give you my finest hour, oh, yeah

All I want is a photo in my wallet
A small remembrance of something more solid
All I want is a picture of you

Picture this, a day in December
Picture this, freezing cold weather
You got clouds on your lids
And you'd be on the skids
If it weren't for your job at the garage
If you could only

Picture this, a sky full of thunder
Picture this, my telephone number
One and one is what I'm telling you, oh, yeah

All I want is 20/20 vision
A total portrait with no omissions
All I want is a vision of you, oh
If you can

Picture this, a day in December
Picture this, freezing cold weather
You got clouds on your lids
And you'd be on the skids
If it weren't for your job at the garage
If you could only

Picture this, a sky full of thunder
Picture this, my telephone number
One and one is what I'm telling you
Get a pocket computer
Try to do what ya used to do, yeah

The New Wave and Punk group were now more than a group, they were watched and written about, especially in the UK, with Debbie Harry being an absolute pin up. The hit that came next was another cover, this time originated from a group called The Nerves in 1973.

1979 saw them peak with several big chart hits  including "One Way Or Another", and "Dreaming" from the album "Eat To The Beat" which was written by Debbie and her lover and fellow band member Chris Stein. See the "Dreaming" video here.

Of course Sunday Girl was another No. 1 for the group. This was written by Chris Stiene but never released in the U.S.

My favourite that year was the amazing "Union City Blues", again never released in the US.