Blondie came to the UK after Punk, but with a sufficient resemblance to the genre to lend an extra edge to their New Wave credentials and distract the purists from their decidedly pop aspirations.  They had, after all, shared stages with Iggy and the Dolls.

For their UK teenage audiences at least – that meant actually very little. What it did mean was that they were taken seriously by all, including the obnoxiously snobby UK music press.

Debbie Harry became an instant icon; a Monroe for the post-pistols generation. Expert musicianship and memorable  lyrical hooks gave them a string of hits over more than twenty years.

So with an NYC / CB-GB’s credibility and a stateside exoticism for a willing audience – one that was trapped in the monochromatic world of the UK of the time,  Blondie were a class act whose tunes have endured. Even though many are  firmly part of the time of release, they are truly timelessness. Well, maybe not all – but most. OK, some…

With five UK Number ones that spanned the 70s, 80s and 90s and eighteen chart hits in total, here is a personal appreciation of the singles in ascending order of greatness.

18, War Child  9 July 1982. Highest UK chart position  #39
From ‘The Hunter’ June 1982

Chart position is not always an indicator of relative merit, however in this case it is. The lowest placing single on the list begins with an insistent (annoying) arpeggiated synth and horn section intro that would fit seamlessly into the soundtrack of  of a low-budget UK gangster movie (a chase scene  around an abandoned dockyard involving  a Ford Granada or two)   and what follows doesn’t raise the standard. Although this is the low-water mark, happily, things improved…

17. Nothing is Real but the Girl  UK Release June 1999. Highest UK chart position #26
From ‘No Exit’ February 1999.

The follow up to 1999’s comeback, ‘Maria’, wasn’t able to sustain the momentum. While it’s predecessor felt like a solid Blondie classic single, this was, by comparison B-side / album filler material.  Maybe the intention was to get back to basics and right a straightforward rocker. Straightforward, it certainly is – particularly engaging it is not.

16. Island of Lost Souls UK Release April 1982 . Highest UK chart position #11
From ‘The Hunter’ June 1982

Accompanied by a delightfully weird video, kind ‘Wicker Man’ meets ‘Alice in Wonderland’ – the sort of thing inspired by a dream after eating too  much cheese close to bedtime – this is a jaunty, brass-infused romp. However, lush arrangements and weird visuals aside, manages to say precisely nothing. It’s proximity on the timeline to more solid hits possibly helped it to a creditable chart placing – but not one that is gong to fire too many nostalgic synapses.

15. Good Boys 6 October 2003 Highest UK chart position  #12
From ‘The Curse of Blondie’ October 2003

A quirky one that most will have forgotten and the last Blondie single to make the UK chart.  Production values, both musically and visually were high – the result is…well, quirky.

Certainly Not a classic, but interesting. Credit to the band that they continued to push ideas and certainly looked to entertain.  There are worse ways to sign-off that this one.

14. The Tide is High UK Release 7 Nov 1980. Highest UK chart position  #1   From ‘Autoamerican’ November 1980

Finding a new Blondie release for sale in Woolworths, and, unusually having sufficient cash at hand to purchase, I remember bringing this home and then feeling the crushing disappointment of reality against expectation on its first play. Where there should have been either a razor-sharp guitar riff or a rumble of drums was….whatever it was, it just wasn’t Blondie.

Great artists change directions, they look for new ways to express themselves; where fans may be lost, new ones are gained – and things evolve. Personally, evolution had gone about as far as it needed to. Blondie, for me at least were a Great White Shark; perfectly developed with no need to alter. Time has been kinder to the tune over the years – but first impressions do tend to last.

13. Union City Blue 1979 UK Release November 1979. Highest UK chart position #13
From ‘Eat to the Beat’ October 1979

Solid enough, but seemed lacked conviction around its content. It’s predecessors were about people and emotions, this didn’t seem to be about anything much at all. A video featuring the NYC cityscape seemed to imply that playing the Americana / Big Apple card was enough to satisfy.   To a degree, but in the long run; forgettable – a bit of a ‘pub-quiz answer’ track…

12. Rapture 23 January 1981 Highest UK chart position  #5
From ‘Autoamerican’ November 1980

When Queen tried to combine their pomp-rock stylings with disco with ‘Another One Bites the Dust they created a kind of primal classic.  Trying to repeat the trick by fusing white-boy pomp-rock with the nascent rap scene was always going to be a challenge.  An ethereal, warbling verse quite unlike the power-pop punch that fans had become used to was hard enough to take, but when the middle eight morphed into a rap involving a ‘man from Mars who goes out at night eating cars’, credibility was been stretched to the limit – ultimately resulting in rhymes that made ‘Ice Ice Baby’ sound like ‘Fight The Power’.

11. Maria  February 1 1999 Highest UK chart position #1
From ‘No Exit’ February 1999.

A surprising and welcome return to form that went to number one on musical strengths and a wave of good will.  Attempts at a comeback can be an excruciating business both musically and visually but the band turned in a performance that could have easily found its way into an eighties chart – and they still looked like it was all still about the music.

10. Dreaming UK Release, September 1979. Highest UK chart position #2
From ‘Eat to the Beat’ October 1979

In the mid- 90sNeil Tennant coined the term ‘Imperial Phase’  a time on which successful bands can do no wrong and can propel the mundane to lofty, underserved heights. ‘Unions City Blue’, ‘Rapture’ and ‘Dreaming’ all risk this assessment for this own reason, but ‘Dreaming’ is the best of the bunch.

A touch of echo on the self-referential vocal, some tumbling drums – and one of their best middle-eights contribute to a piece that seems to straddle the very best of times and the loss of edge.

9. Denis UK Release February 1978. Highest UK chart position #2
From ‘Plastic Letters’ February 1978

The ‘den-ee’ pronunciation of the lyrical object of affection caused all kinds of confusions here. Is it ‘Denis’ (as in ‘The Menace’)? Is is Denise (to rhyme with ‘fleas’)? The French connection added another level of sophistication and sensuality to Harry’s burgeoning sex-symbol status.

Another cover – this time originally recorded in 1963 by a doo-wop group, Randy and The Rainbows (no, me neither) the whole, slightly captivating mystery was created by not singing ‘Denise’ -as in fleas.  What Randy’s reaction was is unknown and it would seem an odd choice – but listen to his effort below and somehow, it all makes sense.

8.One Way or Another 1979 (not released in UK – Charted on downloads  after One Direction recorded a version mashed up with Teenage Kicks for Comic Relief. This went to the top of the UK singles chart in March 2013) Original from ‘Parallel Lines’ September 1978.

However….it’s  a chart anomaly / mystery. Records indicate that there was a 1979 UK release – yet only registering at #98. Whether this was withdrawn after a week for whatever reason is unknown.  Even on this evidence alone, it would be worthy of inclusion.  It’s a head-nodding, pulsating guitar tune. The vocals chop and press and dive and soar and show-off Harry’s range of tone and expression perfectly. One Direction knew a good thing when they heard one. 

And why not….?

7.Hanging on the telephone November 1978. Highest UK chart position # 5
From ‘Parallel Lines’ September 1978.

Intro’d with a dial tone and finished with a sweet series of diminishing chords and drum flourishes, it’s 2 minutes and 16 seconds of classic pop-rock describing anguished longing.  ‘Parallel Lines’ was such a mix in terms of style and moods, this one – originally recorded by US band The Nerves, also in 1978, represented a tougher, spikier side – and as it was only 136 seconds it ticked some punky/New Wave boxes too. Good things come in small packages – both of these packages are provided below…

6. (I’m Always Touched by your) Presence Dear UK Release April 1978 /Highest UK chart position #10.    From ‘Plastic Letters’ February 1978

Brackets in song titles… In this case, slightly enigmatic, the last two words not really forming a sentence (well, not at all) making it all seem a little exotic and other-worldly.
Another example of how the band crafted – really crafted – perfect songs in the sense that the verse/chorus had a life of their own, but cohabited perfectly and the bad wrapped their talents around the words in a perfect balance where all elements had an equal value.  Debbie might have gone a bit easier on the eye-shadow though…

5. Picture This Uk Release August 1978. Highest UK chart position #12
From ‘Parallel Lines’ September 1978.

Arguably the most touching of Chris Stein’ lyrics. While some of the sounds seemed to be painting pictures of life and love with a broad brush, this song seemed genuinely personal.  Little details make one believe that Stein actually wrote this for his partner (Harry) to sing about how much she loved him.  And the thing is, if that is true, it’s such a gentle and honest piece  – that is doesn’t feel weird. Until the last line…

4. Call Me 1980 / 1 (UK Release February 1980. Highest UK chart position #1, 1 Week February 1980)

Clem Burke’s drumming was always magnificent and on ‘Call Me’ he really shines. Listen to the opening seconds of and think about how many beats he packs into such a short intro – it’s virtuoso. This tends to get overshadowed by a searing synth solo that roots the track in its time maybe more than any other – and wasn’t really the Blondie sound. Hardly surprising, the track was a collaboration with Giorgio Morodor and the influence shows.  ‘Call Me’ was the theme to the movie ‘American Gigolo’ which somehow distanced it further from the group – and smelled slightly of, if not an artistic ‘sell-out’, certainly of creative compromise. It is, however a thumping classic of the age. And the drumming really is something else.

3. Sunday Girl 1979 (UK Release May 1979. Highest UK Chart position #1, 3 weeks, May 1979) From ‘Parallel Lines’ September 1978.

Blondie and the French language forged a great partnership for a time. ‘Denis’ started it off, and in the version below, ‘Sunday Girl’ took it a stage further, delicately intertwining two tongues in a way that was almost as good as, well…. intertwining two tongues.

Chiming chords, hand-claps and what could well be someone knocking two coconut halves together combine in a perfect mix of lyrical pop…’cold as ice cream, but still as sweet’. Oh yeah…

2. Atomic (UK Release, Feb 1980. Highest UK chart position #1, 2 weeks March 1980)
From ‘Eat to the Beat’ October 1979

1980 was an extraordinary year for Blondie and for the UK charts in general. The Number One spot changed hands 25 times; Blondie hit the top three times. ‘Atomic’ being the first.

1980’s number ones included ‘Another Brick in the Wall’, ‘Brass in Pocket’ and ‘Too Much Too Young’.  And it was only February.  Later on, there was ‘Going Underground’, ‘Start’, ‘Geno’ and ‘Ashes to Ashes’.

‘Atomic’ is in good company.  The opening guitar figure has all the resonance and memory of the way any of the tunes listed above. Close your eyes and imagine the opening notes of ‘Geno’, or ‘Going Underground’ – then ‘Atomic’. It’s a classic.

‘Don’t Stand So Close to Me’ was another one. The intro is….forgettable. Just doesn’t work.

With nuclear tensions high in the world at this time, ‘Atomic’ struck a morbidly fascinating chord. The apocalyptic imagery of the video was both frighteningly arresting as well as musically compelling.  Appearing in a bin-bag, Debbie Harry managed to convey a level of punk-ish styling cues that said enough  ‘rebel and danger’ without being accused of missing the moment.

1. Heart of Glass (January 1979, #1, 4 weeks February 1979) From ‘Parallel Lines’ September 1978.

The UK’s second biggest seller of the year, ‘ the fluid, bubbly disco-inspired groove, the electronic beats with rock guitars and drums gives the song a timeless subtlety that the synth  of ‘Call Me’ just doesn’t have.

It’s a beautiful mix. 8 seconds of teasing  latinate percussion and on 9 seconds, the magic begins, a gentle crash – each member of the band bringing joining the party – and then on 18 seconds the ice-cool, silk of the vocals are pure perfection.

Blondie were always a New York, rather than an American entity. The video gave a British audience a glimpse of an edgy, slightly scary, but exciting and glamorous ‘demi-monde‘ that seemed to offer so much more than anything the UK had to offer at the time.

A glorious, glorious piece of popular music that made Harry an icon, surely she never looked more beautiful –  and showcased the band at the top of their game. In the current pop climate where careers are formed around the same time of life as when you’re studying for A Levels, it’s noteworthy the Harry was approaching her 35th birthday at the time of release.  The dues had certainly been paid.

Disagree? Maybe this selection is more to your taste…