Deborah Harry starts in recounting her early years in New Jersey and how her adoption shaped her view of her world as evidenced by one of her more poignant reflections, '...everybody was trying to do the best they could for me. But I don't think I was ever truly comfortable. I felt different; I was always trying to fit in.' I enjoyed this a lot because I can answer yes to all of these questions. I was pretty young in the 1980s so I did not get into that scene during its heyday. But, in the 90s, my friends and I were all about late 70s and 80s alternative music. I listened to a lot of Blondie and many of the other acts she talks about in this book. I regret that I never got to see CBGBs or witness the late 70s music scene in New York – even though it sounds like it was not an “if” but a “when” I would have been mugged or beaten up! It is amazing how harrowing and interesting day to day life was for Harry as she spent her formative years in New Jersey and New York City – and she mentions several times that this was before they cleaned it all up. All of that said, Debbie Harry is an icon, and although I didn’t get much of a feel for who she is, deep down, I still love her music and was glad I had the chance to learn a bit more about her history.

Face It – HarperCollins Face It – HarperCollins

I expected something cool and fierce, instead this is dull and unengaging, told in a rambling monotone. Regardless of whether DH is talking about her house burning down, being stalked and raped Blondie splitting up or throwaway waitress jobs, there's no change of pace or tone and only the merest superficiality of detail. A few cameos of Bowie, Warhol and Basquiat add some brief interest but blink and they're over. You start to think about the value of beauty as you're growing older. It's double-edged for sure,” she lamented. Those who are very dedicated fans, or were much more involved in the punk scene, and are far more familiar with the atmosphere of that time and place, may not glean anything new from this memoir, but I’m sure the trip down memory lane will be worth your time. Excepting that one intensely personal and brave revelation, Debbie remained aloof for the most part. While I realize she plays up her sex appeal, and that is a big part of her stage persona, I was a bit surprised by her strong reliance on her outer appearance, and how, despite believing her music was cutting edge, and that she was standing up to men, and for herself, through her music, she placed a very heavy emphasis on her looks and sex kitten persona rather than on her talent. I was disappointed by that and wish she had relayed a stronger stance against the misogyny in the male dominated and controlled music business. In fact, she went out of her way to avoid that subject, explaining that she just put up with it and got on with what she needed to do- which is a cycle we are desperately trying to break.I hate coyness in memoirs so I appreciated Debbie letting loose with names along with her honest feelings and opinions of her talent, looks, friends, and past relationships. Not being familiar with the punk music scene of the 1970s (I couldn’t name a Ramones song to save my life), some of the name dropping went over my head but I was captivated by her stories that were heartbreaking (Chris Stein's illness), infuriating (bankruptcy due to ignorance), and hilarious (Penn Jillette’s hot tub invention due to Debbie's rant). Just a few months later, she reflected on having a facelift, and confessed she felt under pressure to cave into the pressure from today’s beauty standards. I am a love child,” she writes. Born Angela Tribble in 1945, Harry describes her birth parents as childhood sweethearts wrested apart by circumstance. They reconnected years later, but her mother didn’t learn her lover was married until she was pregnant, and three month-old infant Angela was adopted by a childless couple in New Jersey. It may be the case, as Harry notes, that some of the Early Era was a blur because the band was so busy. It may be the case, as Harry notes, that this would be a better memoir if she'd kept a journal over the years. But, that air of mystery leads me to another qualm about the book. A good memoir gives readers an intimate look at the person and is not just about naming names- which Debbie did a lot of – or an oral history of facts and events.

Debbie Harry The much anticipated autobiography by Debbie Harry

Furdyk, Brent (August 3, 2019). "Blondie Singer Debbie Harry Details Horrifying Sexual Assault In The 1970s". Etcanada.com.I suspect the revelations from the #MeToo movement can’t have come as any surprise – her book is full of incidences of being abused, stalked and generally mistreated by men – but she says incidences of harassment in her career were rare. “I was working as a team and in a relationship. I wouldn’t have felt comfortable being a solo artist and I’m sure that those girls have a lot more to say about that than I do. I never went into meetings trying to get a record deal by myself, so it’s a little bit different.” The most important part of the #MeToo movement, she says, “is that it makes men stop and think about their accepted behaviour”. Nevertheless, I was enchanted by her girlhood in New Jersey and somehow making the decision after high school to become an artist (of a genre to be determined) in New York in the 1960s--and, despite all odds, actually accomplishing it. I felt moved by her losses over the years and about her coming to terms with childhood trauma. I was entertained by her storytelling and (sorry, Debs!) her inherent nerdiness (comics and the space program, oh my), something you would never think possible in the life of an Icon of Cool like Debbie Harry. I felt pride in her inherent, unapologetic Americanness, a quality as post-modern Americans we dismiss too easily. If she was ever truly afraid, Harry hides it well. I read her memoir looking for traces of the poisoned apple and serpents in the garden but, for the most part, Harry seems to have been inoculated against the former and able to charm the latter. Readers hoping for dirt dished and axes honed or buried won’t find much here. Despite her insistence that “it’s hard for me to find the fun” in Blondie’s success, Debbie Harry comes across as one of those rare people who has found not just a happy ending but a happy beginning and middle, too. Or, as she admits, “Maybe it’s like the King of Comedy said, ‘you just take all the terribly serious and dreadful stories and make them funny’.”

Debbie Harry Is Staying Put The Tide Is High (Really), but Debbie Harry Is Staying Put

Harry also appeared in film during this time, with a supporting part in Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990). From 1989 to 1991, Harry toured extensively across the world with former Blondie guitarist Chris Stein, Underworld's Karl Hyde, and future Blondie bassist Leigh Foxx. In July 1991 she played Wembley Stadium, supporting INXS. In 1991, Chrysalis released a new "best of" compilation in Europe entitled The Complete Picture: The Very Best of Deborah Harry and Blondie, containing hits with Blondie as well as her solo hits. The collection reached No. 3 in the UK album chart [34] and earned a gold disc. The album also included her duet with Iggy Pop of the Cole Porter song " Well, Did You Evah!" from the 1990 Red Hot + Blue AIDS charity album. Gotthardt, Alexxa (November 21, 2017). "On His MTV Show, Andy Warhol Broke All the Rules". Artsy . Retrieved April 13, 2018. As of 2019, Harry lives in New York City and in Monmouth County, New Jersey with her four dogs. [55] Philanthropy [ edit ] Harry performing in 2018, displaying an environmentalist message It is only recently, she says, that she has thought she might have liked to have had children (she is godmother to Stein’s two daughters.) “I sort of thought: ‘Gee, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad to have kids.’ But I don’t know if I could have done it while I was working so much.” Because she would have had to give up some of her freedoms? “My natural inclination is to really throw myself into things. It wouldn’t be like I could hand over the baby. I would really want to be involved.” Debbie Harry talks about aging and her regret at not having children". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022 . Retrieved October 28, 2019.In her 2019 memoir, Face It: A Memoir, Harry describes having been raped at knifepoint during a burglary of the home she shared with Stein. [59] She also wrote that during the early 1970s, the serial killer Ted Bundy lured her into his car in New York City, but she escaped. Harry's description of the white vehicle stripped on the inside and missing the passenger door handle matched the 1968 VW Bundy was driving, but authorities believed him to be in Florida at the time. Ann Rule, an author of the Bundy biography The Stranger Beside Me, commented that erroneous claims of Bundy abductions are fairly common. [60] [61] [62]

Face It: A Memoir by Debbie Harry | Goodreads

Harry was immortalized by Andy Warhol in 1980, who produced a number of artworks of her image from a single photoshoot at the Factory. The artist created a small series of four acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas portraits of the star in different colors, as well as Polaroids and a small number of rare silver gelatin prints from the shoot. Stein was also present that day to capture Warhol photographing Harry in a series of his own photographs, exhibited in 2013 in London. During this time, both Harry and Stein befriended graffiti artist Fab Five Freddy, who introduced them to the emerging hip-hop scene in the Bronx. Freddy is mentioned in "Rapture". [27] Through Fab Five Freddy they were also able to connect with Grandmaster Flash [28] who is played by Jean-Michel Basquiat in the video. [27] "Rapture" became the first rap-oriented song to reach No. 1 in the US Billboard charts. [29] Grandmaster Flash said Harry "opened up so many doors for hip hop" by mentioning him in Rapture. [30]I got a job working at a health club and I started dating a guy who was a painting contractor. The normal life.” She was and is one of the most recognizable stars in the world and makes no apologies about taking advantage of her looks throughout her career. She also doesn’t spend a lot of time complaining about the “boy’s club” mentality of the music business, but her determination and drive show clearly throughout the book. She knew exactly what she wanted to do and she worked really hard to accomplish her goals. To me – that is the underlying secret of Debbie Harry and her success. There is certainly more that I want to know--more details about Parallel Lines and Eat to the Beat, Blondie's two best albums (in my opinion) from the Early Era; more details about the transition from Eat to the Beat to AutoAmerican, which seems drastic even now, although it was probably something completely normal in the evolution of the band; more of her thoughts on the reaction to KooKoo, which even now seems mixed, despite it being something of a quirky, musical milestone in pop history. More, perhaps, about what she likes to read and listen to and whether she still paints. And some pics of her dogs would not be amiss. In 1981, Harry issued a press release to clarify that her name was not "Debbie Blondie" or "Debbie Harry" but rather Deborah Harry, though Harry later described her character in the band as being named "Blondie", as in this quote from the No Exit tour book: Blondie was always a different type of band – their look and attitude screamed at you from every album cover. They were never as loud and fast as the Ramones or as influential as Patti Smith, but their music was irresistible. Early in the book, Debbie talks about the difficulties that Blondie had in getting a record deal. Seymour Stein from Sire Records had seen Blondie dozens of times, but didn’t consider them for Sire. In his memoir, he confesses that he didn’t think Blondie could write good songs. Of course, within a few years Blondie had become a veritable powerhouse of hit songs that topped the charts around the world.