Debbie Harry is still going strong at 71 with a new video and a new album ‘Pollinator’ due out next month. (Photo: Getty)
Harry was the epitome of downtown hipster cool when she broke into music in the late 1960s.
Oddly, her first gig was singing backup for a folk-rock band the “Wind in the Willows.” It released one album before breaking up.
Harry went on to sing for a group called the Stilettos before forming her own band “Blondie” in the mid-70s. She helped usher in new wave and punk music.
The band’s classics included “Heart Of Glass,” “Call Me,” “Rapture,” “One Way Or Another” and “The Tide Is High.”
Since 1976, Blondie has released ten studio albums, four live albums, 14 compilation albums, three remix albums and 36 singles. In all, the band has sold an estimated 40 million albums.
Although Harry is most associated with the 1970s, she and her band have never really stopped working.
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The last two albums, Panic of Girls and Ghosts of Downloads were released in 2011 and 2014 respectively. The latter was part of a two-disc set that included an album of greatest hits.
She’s also released under her own name five solo studio albums, five compilations and 24 singles
In her latest video, Harry still has the moves–and blonde hair–that made her famous. The theme is out of this world with a space age edge.
Dikayl Rimmasch, who previously worked on Beyonce’s ground-breaking Lemonade video, directed.
Pollinator will be released on May 5.
Of note, it’s the last album recorded at New York City’s The Magic Shop studios. David Bowie’s last two albums were also recorded there.
The album features collaborations with Sia and Charli XCX, Johnny Marr, Dev Hynes, Dave Sitek and The Strokes’ Nick Valensi.
Joan Jett and Laurie Anderson provided vocals on “Doom Or Destiny,” and The Gregory Brothers collaborate on “When I Gave Up On You.”
Check out the video below.
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