HALL OF FAME FOCUS: BLONDIE (cont.)
Was playing CBGB a turning point for the band?
Burke: The turning point for us was when we went into the studio and recorded our first single, "X Offender." People realized we could actually make a good record.
Initially, when we were playing at CBGB, we may not have been the greatest live band, but we were experimenting with different ways of presenting ourselves.
Making the [first] record was the thing for us. We always wanted to have hit records. We didn't really want to be underground. We wanted success on our own terms.
Is there any one defining moment that stands out from the last 30 years?
Burke: Hearing our first single on the jukebox at CBGB. That was more important than hearing it on the radio. I remember walking into CBGB when it was crowded and the song came on. It was phenomenal that someone had actually paid to hear the song.
Harry: The fact that a lot of the things we did were controversial at the time. Today, they're seen as normal. It was very exciting to be controversial and to have people you were friendly with come up to you and say, "How could you do that? How could you do a disco song?" The word "crossover" didn't even exist then. There was ground that could be broken. Doing the first rap song that got into the top 40 meant something.
We were breaking ground on many fronts. It was a good time for that. Being an underdog, a dark horse -- with nobody really tooting our horn for us and saying how great we were -- worked in our favor. It gave us this great groundswell that was very natural and genuine. That excited the music industry.
Stein: "Heart of Glass" going to No. 1 in America is definitely one of those moments. The first time we played live in England stands out, too. Also, I'll never forget [ChrysalisRecords co-founder] Terry Ellis telling us that he didn't hear any No. 1s on "Autoamerican" and then having two singles from the album ["Rapture" and "The Tide Is High"] go No. 1.
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