Adam KeysBLONDIE recently announced their eleventh studio album, POLLINATOR, scheduled for release by BMG on 5 May; an incredible new record and a modern take on the classic, vintage sound of one of the world’s most influential and legendary bands.
They also unveiled the first single from the album, FUN, universally embraced as an uplifting disco classic. Now the video for FUN is launched with the band going intergalactic, escaping the confines of an unsteady Earth for the party planet of Mars – where everyone is welcomed, accepted and celebrated. And BLONDIE are the house band.
As CHRIS STEIN puts it: “Quoting Emma Goldman, ‘If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution’. In these trying times we need some fun. We’re very serious about fun.”
DEBBIE HARRY adds: “This is music as it’s supposed to be; filled with spirit, fun and soul.”
Directed by DIKAYL RIMMASCH, the New York based photographer and director who most recently worked on BEYONCE’s Lemonade and her Formation World Tour, the film is as literal escape from the current tension and division gripping the USA and beyond. It uses imagery inspired by BLONDIE songwriter and guitarist Chris Stein’s remarkable photography that spans their experience of New York’s music and club culture from the 1970s onwards. Many of the extras are current New York club scene regulars and friends of BLONDIE guitarist MATT KATZ-BOHEN, including Project Runway favourite and make up artist RAJA.
Says DIKAYL RIMMASCH: “The band were really welcoming and open. Debbie is beautiful and beautifully enigmatic. It was amazing to be on the other side of the glass from her; when those ‘Debbie moments’ happened, it felt like I had stepped into a parallel dimension.
“Chris was great because he’s generated so much of the band’s strong iconography. Such a great photographer.
“Matt connected with us at Raja – the Queen of Mars – and others who showed up at the bar to film the party sequence. Raja embraced the whole thing, including getting onto a very large horse for the first time, and creating her own costume. It all felt like a family affair; the Blondie universe is a beautiful place. I’m very glad I could visit.”
FUN is available to stream and download now, with a highly collectible 7” vinyl pressing available only from independent retailers, and limited to 1000 copies.
BLONDIE have also announced their 2017 RAGE AND RAPTURE tour of the USA, a joint headliner with GARBAGE, running across the country in July and August. UK dates will be announced soon.
“If I was looking for a great show to go to,” says DEBBIE HARRY ahead of the two bands joining forces, “it would be to the Blondie | Garbage show. It’s going to be a great, full-on rock show.”