Anyone in any doubt about the precarious nature of the music industry might look no further than Debbie Harry. The frontwoman of Blondie is still singing for her supper at 77 – a reality you might put down to the bad record deals she says she struck with predatory management. “We weren’t the first band to be ripped off and we won’t be the last,” she said in 2019.
In truth, though, Harry (née Angela Trimble) is at Glastonbury for the sheer love of the game. It’s Blondie’s third outing, after a set in 2014 and one all the way back in 1999. Their 5pm start means that they come straight after Yusuf/Cat Stevens in the 3.15pm slot, making this year a de facto Legends double-header. Blondie were founded in New York by Harry and guitarist Chris Stein in 1974 – meaning that they have close to 50 years of bangers to choose from. Today their influence can be heard in artists from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs – whose contrast of abrasive guitars and melodic vocals is particularly reminiscent of Blondie – to Lady Gaga.
Opener “One Way Or Another”, from their 1978 breakthrough album Parallel Lines, launches the crowd into a frenzy and sets the tone for this best-of set. “Hanging on the Telephone” – a song originally written by obscure musician Jack Lee and re-recorded by Blondie – has aged incredibly well, its scratchy guitars and punchy vocals giving it a proto Karen O feel.
Harry’s voice is a little thin on the upper register but holds up remarkably well, as she takes to the stage in a black headband with mirrored wraparound shades and a black sequinned jumper studded with skulls and the initials CBGB – a reference to the famous New York club that served as a crucible for the city’s punk scene. There’s no let up as “Call Me” bursts into life, Giorgio Moroder’s pulsing production rippling through the crowd.
The blistering guitar riff of “Atomic” calls to mind “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac, and there isn’t a voice in the crowd who doesn’t sing along to this huge hit from 1979’s Eat to the Beat, as Harry’s vocals shift from svelte verse to the yelp of the chorus. The Zoomers in the crowd get a chance to bop along to “Rapture” – now a TikTok hit thanks to its kooky rap in the middle section. The song was the first US number one to feature rap vocals, and Harry’s nursery rhyme flow has a charming naivety to it for those raised on a diet of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. “The Tide Is High”, meanwhile, has been ruined for the millennial generation by girl group Atomic Kitten, but Harry is here to reclaim the rocksteady song originally performed by The Paragons in 1967.
The sun breaks through the clouds as “Maria”, their 1999 Cardigans-like pop smash, bursts out. It’s here that Harry’s vocal shortcomings are most palpable – she can no longer hit the higher octave on the chorus – but she gets a big helping hand from the crowd.
“Heart of Glass” rolls into view as the set draws to a close. The punk band’s breakthrough hit from Parallel Lines was controversial at the time for its disco stylings, and even the band’s drummer Clem Burke initially refused to play it. All was forgiven once it became apparent it was a worldwide smash. The band breaks the song down into a little of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”, as Harry coos over the rippling crowd. Then it’s down to set closer “Dreaming” to coax the crowd out into the ochre evening light. “My mother told me my problem is that I still think I’m 25,” she said in 2019. “But maybe my problem is that I don’t actually think that’s a problem.” At Glastonbury, where everyone behaves as if they’re in their twenties, she might have a point.
