Wednesday May 3rd
To celebrate the release of new album ‘Pollinator’
Plus: Blondie reveal new track: ‘My Monster’
Written by Johnny Marr
POLLINATOR
The New Album
May 5th
Available to preorder now https://blondie.lnk.to/PollinatorPR
Produced by: John Congleton
Songs by: Blondie, Johnny Marr, Sia, Dev Hynes, Charli XCX, Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio), Nick Valensi (The Strokes)
On May 3rd, the band will play a special show to celebrate the release two days later of ‘Pollinator’, their stunning new album.
Blondie last appeared at the Roundhouse for a rapturous Apple Music Festival performance in 2014 but their iconic 1978 concert there is remembered as a show that helped catapult the band into the music mainstream.
Today, Blondie also debut new track ‘My Monster’, the second cut taken from ‘Pollinator’ and a different animal to the celebratory first single ‘Fun’, released in January, which took Blondie back to their Studio 54 disco days.
Written for Blondie by legendary Smiths guitarist and songwriter Johnny Marr, ‘My Monster’ is a song about the beast in all of us with the band on vintage form, hitting that unique Blondie sweet spot between rock, pop and electronica that made classic hits like ‘Atomic’ such a blast.
It also highlights how Blondie and their famous ‘Pollinator’ collaborators have channeled the band’s past into a shimmering future.
“It was an honour to be asked to do something for Blondie,” says Johnny Marr, “I wrote My Monster especially for them. I think it’s turned out great.”
My Monster’ is now available as an instant grat, to stream or download and is also the b side of last month’s highly collectible 7” vinyl pressing of ‘Fun’ available from independentretailers.
Tickets:
Wednesday May 3rd– London Roundhouse
Artist pre sale Wednesday February 22nd – 10.00am
Tickets on general sale: Friday February 24th – 10:00am www.ticketmaster.co.uk / http://gigst.rs/BL
About Pollinator:
Blondie’s classic writing duo of Chris Stein and Debbie Harry are at the heart of Pollinator’s creation – with “Doom Or Destiny”and “Love Level”, while keyboardist Matt Katz–Bohen’s two tracks (“Already Naked” / “Too Much”) prove the band continues toevolve almost song by song. Blondie’s founding drummer Clem Burke provides the unmistakably thrilling propulsion throughout.
And Chris Stein’s fascination with modern culture sees him mine a song from Adam Johnston aka an Unkindness (“Fragments”),first heard as a sample on the Vancouver based indie artist’s YouTube movie reviews.
Producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, John Grant, War On Drugs, David Byrne) brought the band into the studio to record live, capturing the essence of one of the founders of punk rock, a genre that defined his life.
Pop’s uber writers and chart queens Sia (the shimmering synth led “Best Day Ever”) and Charli XCX (digital, bubble gum punk of“Gravity”) are fans invited by an admiring Blondie to contribute.
“Fun” co writer and TV On the Radio’s Dave Sitek, perhaps
more a descendent of Blondie’s New York post-punk legacy, returns them to a 21st Century Studio 54 with the new single. With Debbie Harry and the band sounding better than ever, Blondie’s euphoric new track plays like the best party ever thrown and captures that unique combination of their enviable cool and sheer melodic joy.
The Smiths’ Johnny Marr, an old friend and admirer writes “My Monster”, while Dev Hynes (Blood Orange, LightspeedChampion) cements an enduring partnership with Blondie
by channeling shards of “Heart Of Glass” into the irresistible “Long Time”.
Along the way, Joan Jett and Laurie Anderson make studio appearances (“Doom or Destiny”) along with The Gregory Brothers(“When I Gave Up On You”).
“Their material is part of us and we are part of them”, says frontwoman Debbie Harry of their co–writers, all of whom wereinfluenced by her band in the first place, “It’s a celebration of recycling!”
Sounding more vital and essential then ever, Pollinator is a Blondie record for 2017 that stands alongside any in their extraordinary career.
World–renowned artist Shepard Fairey has designed the Pollinator artwork which, as well as CD, digital and heavy weight vinyl, will be available as a limited edition 7” box set. Fans will also be able to order a limited red heavy weight vinyl album from theartist store and an exclusive white heavy weight vinyl from independent retailers.
Blondie have already announced April 2017 Australia and New Zealand dates, now followed by the concert dates in the US andCanada (summer 2017). The UK and Europe will follow.
Blondie are: Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke, Matt Katz– Bohen, Leigh Foxx and Tommy Kessler.
Pollinator Track List:
1. Doom or Destiny
2. Long Time
3. Already Naked
4. Fun
5. My Monster
6. Best Day Ever
7. Gravity
8. When I Gave Up On You
9. Love Level
10. Too Much
11. Fragments
Blondie:
Undeniably one of the most trailblazing and influential bands of our time, Blondie is pioneering frontwoman/songwriter Debbie Harry,guitarist/conceptual mastermind Chris Stein and powerhouse drummer Clem Burke, along with now long standing band mates bassistLeigh Foxx, guitarist Tommy Kessler and keyboardist Matt Katz–Bohen.
Among their hits is the groundbreaking rock–disco hybrid “Heart of Glass” the equally influential hip–hop fantasia “Rapture” the stalker–love song “One Way Or Another” and the lilting calypso “The Tide Is High.” It’s a thrilling journey back to when Blondie pushed punk onto the dance floor and introduced a wider audience to hip–hop sounds, all the while building a catalogue of enduring hits along the way.
For the last four decades, Blondie has become and still remains a true global icon; one whose influence both shaped and continues to inform the worlds of music, fashion and art. From an irreverent Lower East Side punk outfit to bona fide international ambassadors of New York cool, Blondie will forever be synonymous with that punk spirit that lives somewhere in all of us. Their chart– topping success, fearless spirit and rare longevity led to an induction into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 and more than 40 million albums sold worldwide to date. As we look back at the band’s storied career, it makes Blondie’s current vibrancy that much more stunning after 40 years ofentertaining all of us.
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