Wednesday 1st July 2015 by Alexandra Pollard | Photos by WENN

Debbie Harry turns 70: 8 artists inspired by Blondie

Musicians, in their own words, on Blondie's brilliant legacy

Garbage's Shirley Manson: "If anyone had told me 15 years ago, when I was unemployed and desperately frustrated in Edinburgh, that I'd be up on a podium, in New York City, in preparation to induct Blondie into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I'd have peed myself laughing, and told them to fuck right off. But here I am, and it's thanks in no small part to Blondie themselves, who've played such an important role in the realization of my own dreams."

Madonna: "In the very, very beginning when I was just starting to write music and stuff, I was inspired by Debbie Harry. She seemed very in charge of what she was doing, and she also had a sort of wittiness about her and street smarts and I liked her. She was a role model."

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O: "I think the first Blondie song I heard was 'Rapture' and that freaked me out because she had boobs and she could rap. I lived in New Jersey where there were only two things to do. You could either go to the mall, or drive around in cars. So, it was winter and it was snowy and there was ice everywhere. And there was this amazing moment when me and my girlfriends were doing donuts and singing Blondie at the top of our lungs, and that's a really fun memory."

REM's Michael Stipe: "Blondie were exploring music that wasn't at all modern and twisted it into songs that were innovative and clever. Also, I felt like they were just being themselves, Deborah Harry particularly. And in my definition of punk rock, that's as punk rock as you get."

Elastica's Justine Frischmann: "She was the first girl I fell in love with, when I was 12. I had her posters everywhere. She was utterly beautiful. She had a real softness to her, even though she was hard. She managed to use her sexuality and not be criticised for it - but maybe that was the era."

Joan Jett: "I just loved seeing another woman in rock 'n' roll...with a strong attitude. She had an edginess, which I could relate to. There was anger, there was tenderness, happiness, all the same things that are in a lot of rock 'n' roll music, but I also saw frustration at not being taken seriously."

Talking Heads' David Byrne: "She took the role of being a glamorous rock 'n' roll singer, but it was always with a wink to let you know this was just a part she was playing. She was always letting you know musically and physically that this was all kind of a game to her."

Cyndi Lauper: "Debbie Harry. She was a pre-Madonna. Oh! Prima donna! Get it? I loved Blondie. She'd take a garbage bag and put tape on it and wear it like a dress. Of course, she was so beautiful too."

Tags: Blondie

1 July 2015: Today is Debbie Harry's 70th birthday - the woman so iconic that her own name and that of her band instantly became interchangeable, all other members of Blondie stepping quietly into her effervescent shadow.

Effortlessly cool, staggeringly beautiful and with a sense of musical assurance that carried her to the top with what appeared to be minimal effort, but was no doubt carefully, intelligently crafted, Harry was "the girl who invented the archetype by which all other stars who have followed in their footsteps have been measured."

Those are the words of Garbage's Shirley Manson, one of many musicians who've been influenced by Blondie over the years. Here, in the words of those musicians, is what makes Debbie Harry so special.

Have a good'un, Debbie.

Debbie Harry turns 70: 8 artists inspired by Blondie

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