Wow: @BlondieOfficial just played hit-packed set honouring Donna Summer and Sex Pistols – featuring former Pistol and fellow icon @GlenMatlock himself no less. Here’s what went down#glastonbury2023 #NMEGlasto https://t.co/ngqCDKe3yZ

— NME (@NME) June 25, 2023

Blondie are legendary veterans in this scene and this was never more apparent than during their Pyramid Stage set that saw the crowd served with hit after hit, in a career spanning performance that certainly pleased older members within Worthy Farm but in no doubt grabbed the attention of younger ones as well.

When looking at the setlist the band decided on for this party atmosphere on Glastonbury’s final day, it simply defies belief how many bona fide hits Blondie has- a testament to just how important they were to the 1970s and 80s new wave scene and beyond. As the opening notes of “One Way Or Another” rang out across the sun scorched grounds, the crowd were instantly whipped into an excited frenzy as “Hanging on the Telephone” and “Call Me” followed in quick succession.

The catalyst behind the exhilaration that Blondie brought to the stage was provided by front-woman Debbie Harry-a truly iconic hero of the ‘underground’ New York City scene. And what a triumphant statement for the 77 year old to make, literally lighting up the Pyramid Stage with her mere presence and charisma.

Wearing a CBGB t- shirt, lest anyone forget the punk roots of the band that soon would become by-words for funk and disco, Harry looked every bit the alternative pop-punk goddess that she has long been touted as. And very few would argue the point, as the singer worked the stage like she was rolling back the years-providing a glimpse of what the group must have been like to behold in their prime.

Blondie are a great band…..Debbie Harry is an icon…..and Rapture is a terrific song. They’ve still got it and she’s never lost it. #Blondie #Glastonbury2023 #Glastonbury pic.twitter.com/Wdq3Nshq2s — All about Steve (@1StevieKilner) June 25, 2023

Belting out hits like “Hanging on the Telephone” and “Atomic” while sharing the stage with original Sex Pistols member Glen Matlock, Blondie seemed to be closing the circle-Harry occasionally sidling over to the bassist while he provided backing vocals with a big smile on his face.

#Blondie at Glastonbury with hit after hit after hit. Debbie Harry unbelievable for 77 and with one of my favourite bass players @GlenMatlock. DO NOT DISTURB pic.twitter.com/A3cyODuuCk

— (C)hris Cooper (@ChrisCoopsSport) June 25, 2023

As Blondie neared the end of their set and the notes to “Heart of Glass” rang out across the stage, the crowd, already in the palm of Harry’s hand, was treated to a rousing tribute to Donna Summer as her hit song “I Feel Love” was woven into the disco inspired classic. The Sex Pistols were also saluted with “God Save the Queen” interposed into the song as well.

For many before Sunday, the idea that Blondie would play the Pyramid Stage would pass with a shrug-a golden oldie being granted their due but after witnessing the raw and magnetic performance of a band, seemingly on top of their game, more than a few will earmark Blondie as one of their very favourite live acts.

This marks the first time in nearly 9 years that Blondie last performed at Glastonbury, the first time ever was back in 1999. The band discussed with Foxy Radio their plans on the side of the road, as reported by Metro. They said, “We’re also doing Isle Of Wight Festival and some other festivals… I guess the full list of artists to be playing Glastonbury hasn’t really been announced yet… but we are going to be playing Glastonbury, so maybe you’ve got an exclusive there.” 

Blondie are also due to perform at The London Palladium for the Lytham Festival 2023 including a special guest slot at Crystal Palace Park, alongside Iggy Pop on Saturday 1 July. As well as Blondie’s appearance at Glastonbury 2023, other legendary US bands are also scheduled to perform as well. Guns N’ Roses bassist, Duff McKagan, accidentally revealed on Sirius XM that the band are headed towards the festival this year. He said, “Glastonbury is going to be iconic for us. We’re going to be announcing some shows, you guys, at some point, we’ll be announcing a bunch of stuff.” An interview about McKagan talking about Guns N’ Roses’ collaboration with Iggy Pop was shared in an audio waveform on Reddit, in which McKagan says “maybe some of those Iggy shows we’re going to do.”

pic.twitter.com/6QVcyKh4AZ

— Emily Eavis (@emilyeavis) December 2, 2022

Sir Elton John has confirmed that he will be the final act to perform on the last night of the festival. He expresses his gratitude by saying that he “couldn’t be more excited“ to be playing the set, after 52 years on the road, which will mark the last gig of his farewell tour.  Emily Eavis, the organiser of the world-famous event with her father Michael has promised that it will be “the mother of all send-offs.”

Blondie UK and Ireland Tour Dates:

06/15/2023 –  Isle Of Wight Festival –  Newport, Great Britain (from June 15-18)

06/16 –  Cardiff Castle –  Cardiff, Great Britain

06/16 –  Cardiff Castle –  Cardiff, Great Britain (Official Ticket and Hotel Packages)

06/18 –  Isle Of Wight Festival –  Newport, Great Britain (Sunday Ticket)

06/22 – Scarborough Open Air Theatre –  Scarborough, Great Britain

06/22 –  Scarborough Open Air Theatre –  Scarborough, Great Britain (Official Ticket and Hotel Packages)

06/28 – 07/01 – Lytham Green –  Lancashire, Great Britain (4-day Pass)

06/28 – 07/02 – Lytham Green –  Lancashire, Great Britain (5-day Pass)

Ireland Tour dates:

o6/28/2023 – Malahide Castle And Gardens – Dublin, Ireland  (Alongside Sting)

You can purchase your ticket for both UK and Ireland tours here.

Both acts have confirmed that Matlock will appear on Blondie’s new album while Foxx recuperates from their injury. Speaking to Classic Pop Magazine, cultural icon and Blondie guitarist Chris Stein gave the following details, “Glen has just been great. Unlike ‘Pollinator’, we’re mostly keeping this album in-house: it’s just the band and Glen playing on it. He’s fitted right in.”

Blondie’s last full release Pollinator dropped over five years ago and was their eleventh studio album. The album was released on 5th May 2017 via BMG Rights Management and sired four singles, the album’s lead single “Fun” was a huge success and peaked at number two within the UK official vinyl singles Chart. After several albums of somewhat experimental work, Pollinator is often regarded as a return to a more traditional format and sound for the band. The tracklist features a host of special guests and a-list collaborations, with many songs co-written by other artists, including Johnny Marr, The Strokes’ Nick Valensi, Charli XCX and Dev Hynes, aka Lightspeed champion.

The English musician Matlock recently made headlines for his comments during an interview to mark God Save The Queen’s 45th anniversary and the recently released Danny Boyle biopic of the band Pistol. Whilst appearing on the ITV programme Good Morning Britain, Matlock stated, “I think one of the things is that, you know, how worse off we would be if [Boris] Johnson was a president, that would be even worse. I’m really quite pleased to be out of England at the moment, the terrible, turgid Tories have just been getting on top of me.”

The 66-year-old musician continued, “So to be touring, as I have been, I got asked very last minute to play with Blondie, we’ve been touring over here (in the US) and I just not long got back from Mexico, it’s been really quite refreshing to do something different and step outside and see how other people see us.”

Blondie’s charismatic frontwoman Debbie Harry and Stein will be back in the UK this winter for a series of special shows; the singer and guitarist will conduct a lecture tour across the UK. Entitled ‘An Evening With Debbie Harry & Chris Stein in Conversation‘, the series of appearances were initially scheduled to begin this February; due to the covid-19 pandemic, the four shows were postponed until the end of this year.

‘An Evening With Debbie Harry & Chris Stein in Conversation‘ Dates

01/11/2022 – The Palladium – London
03/11 – Royal Concert Hall – Glasgow
06/11 – Town Hall – Birmingham
08/11 – Bridgewater Hall – Manchester

Click here to purchase tickets.

Pre-sale tickets will go on sale tomorrow, 21st October, at 10am GMT, with general sale beginning on Friday 23rd October at the same time. The full dates can be found at the end of this article, kicking off on 6th November 2021 in Liverpool.

Blondie’s Lead singer Debbie Harry wrote a personal note to fans on their social media accounts, which read: “Next year’s UK tour is more meaningful to us, perhaps than the very first time Blondie played there in the mid ’70s. The UK has always been a special place to us, and being able to come back to perform there after sitting out most of 2020 is very exciting. – Debbie”

View this post on Instagram

Next year’s UK tour is more meaningful to us, perhaps than the very first time Blondie played there in the mid ’70s. The UK has always been a special place to us, and being able to come back to perform there after sitting out most of 2020 is very exciting. – Debbie Set your alarms now, ticket pre-sale for the 2021 UK Against The Odds Tour begins 10am GMT on Oct. 21. Subscribe to our email list for first access. General on sale begins Friday, Oct. 23 at 10am GMT.

A post shared by Blondie (@blondieofficial) on Oct 20, 2020 at 2:02am PDT

The singer spoke to NME in an interview, in which she discussed the Covid-19 pandemic, the band’s upcoming album, and of course, the tour. Harry commented that she’s looking forward to performing with Garbage again, having toured with them in the past – “I adore them,” she said. She also revealed that Blondie’s new album is in the works, though in early stages, saying, “We’ve talked about it and there’s some stuff in demo form, but we haven’t nailed it down because we haven’t been able to go into the studio.”

06/11/2021 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
08/11 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
09/11 – AO Arena – Manchester
11/11 – Bonus Arena – Hull
12/11 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
14/11 – The Brighton Centre – Brighton
16/11 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
18/11 – The O2 Arena – London
20/11 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow
21/11– First Direct Arena – Leeds

The drummer astutely commented, “obviously there’s no Blondie without Debbie Harry” and cited her age, which is a surprising 11 years senior to her other band mates and once long-term-lover Chris Stein (founding guitarist), as a factor. Despite the imminent new release, a spokesperson for Debbie Harry ominously declared “They are in a hiatus at the moment. They will do some tour dates next year (a string of shows in North America). Nothing is confirmed yet.”

This announcement does however follow a particularly fertile year for the group, who recently returned from an extensive UK tour, which included a set at the Isle of White Festival. The band has had an overtly successful career, releasing 3 original LP’s in the last 10 years and 7 albums previously.

In the age of relentlessly performing veterans, it seems appropriate that such a highly regarded symbol of youth and sexual energy should retire before the affair becomes slightly absurd (The Rolling Stones ahem). Nothing has been finalised, so we could yet see an indefinite continuation. After all, nobody would really mind.