The Intro
Simultaneously one of the hottest and coolest new wave bands, US six-piece Blondie were also one of the most successful, notching up five UK number 1s in under two years (and another in 1999). Heart of Glass melded new wave, rock, disco and pop with a slither of punk attitude, and it’s their best single.
Before
Blondie’s beginnings start back in New York in 1973. Guitarist Chris Stein joined rock band the Stilettoes. He began a romantic relationship with one of their vocalists – Debbie Harry. She had been a waitress, a Playboy Bunny and a member of folk-rock group the Wind in the Willows in the late-60s. Harry and Stein decided to leave the Stilettoes and start a new band in 1974. Together with former bandmates Billy O’Connor on drums and Fred Smith on bass, they became Angel and the Snake that August.
Two months later and with only two gigs under their belts, they changed their name to Blondie. As the whole world knows, Harry was one of the most beautiful women in the world, and would turn heads wherever she went. Among no doubt filthier shouts, lorry drivers would bark ‘Hey, blondie!’ at her as they drove by her walking down the street.
Fast forward to spring 1975 and Blondie’s line-up had changed several times – including experimenting with female backing singers. Drummer Clem Burke then joined them, along with Gary Valentine on bass. They became regular performers at hip joints CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, wowing crowds with power-pop and Harry’s stage presence. A few months later they recruited keyboardist Jimmy Destri to fill out their sound.
Signing with Private Stock Records, their eponymous debut LP was released in December 1976. It made little of an impression, and first single X Offender sank without trace, despite them supporting Iggy Pop on tour. However, the follow-up In the Flesh became a number two hit in Australia after being played by accident on TV (they were supposed to be showing X Offender).
Blondie decided to buy back their contract and switched to the British label Chrysalis Records. Blondie was re-released on Chrysalis in October 1977 and the critics began to take note. Nevertheless Valentine left the group and they recorded second album Plastic Letters as a four-piece, released in 1978.
The first single from the album Denis (a cover of a 1963 song by Randy and the Rainbows) finally saw their commercial stock rise – all the way to number two in the UK, where the music papers made a story out of Harry battling it out for the top spot with another strong female pop star, namely Kate Bush, who won out with Wuthering Heights. Denis did reach the top spot in the Netherlands and Belgium though, and when the next 7-inch, (I’m Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear peaked at 10 in the UK, it seemed Blondie were here to stay. They were.
Hiring Frank Infante on guitar and British bassist Nigel Harrison, the six-strong Blondie toured the UK and became one of the first new wave acts to hit the mainstream. Here at last was a rock group in which the men stayed out of the spotlight. It shone fully on Harry, who had star power like few others at the time.
In a clear attempt to really leave their mark on the pop scene, Blondie worked with a big-name producer. Australian Mike Chapman had been half of ‘Chinnichap’ with Nicky Chinn. Together they wrote and produced glam rock number 1 classics by The Sweet, Mud and Suzi Quatro. The latter proved particularly appropriate, as Chapman had experience in helping female rock stars climb the charts with catchy commercial pop songs.
Blondie’s Chapman-produced third album Parallel Lines was released in September 1978. first single Picture This climbed to 12 and Hanging on the Telephone peaked at five. Their first number 1 was next.
Heart of Glass was one of Blondie’s earliest tracks. Originally known as Once I Had a Love, it was written by Harry and Stein and 1974 and demoed a year later. Although slower and funkier than the released version, It had a disco influence right from the start, having been influenced by one of the genre’s earliest hits – The Hues Corporation’s Rock the Boat (1974). Harry later recounted that the lyrics to Heart of Glass weren’t directed personally to a former love of hers, it was written as a ‘plaintive moan about lost love’. They tried it as a ballad and even reggae over the years, but it never quite worked.
Blondie remained in thrall to disco, to the consternation of some rock die-hards, over the years, occasionally adding dance floor hits to their setlists. Harry expressed her love of the work of producer Giorgio Moroder in the NME early in 1978, and the band surprised a CBGB crowd with a cover of Donna Summer’s I Feel Love later that year.
When it came to meeting Chapman to start work on Parallel Lines, the producer asked Blondie to show him what they could record. At the end he asked if there was anything else, and the band sheepishly decided to perform Heart of Glass. Despite their reticence, Chapman loved it and saw a potential hit. Blondie began to agree, but having also become fans of Kraftwerk, wanted to recreate the futuristic sounds of the German innovators as well as Moroder’s hits.
The six-piece assembled at the Record Plant in New York in June 1978 to record Heart of Glass. Unusually at the time, a rock band chose to build the song around a drum machine. The Roland CR-78 had only been released earlier that year, and it was Stein and Destri who introduced it to the studio, having bought one from a store in Manhattan. Destri in particular had a lot to do with the sound of Heart of Glass and brought in some synthesisers. Other technology used in the production included the Roland SH-5 and Minimoog.
Review
Heart of Glass is one of my favourite number 1s of the 70s and one I’ll never tire of. It never dates either. You could argue the 80s began right here and it certainly had an influence on music over the next few years. It’s icy, cool as fuck and one of the greatest disco tracks of all time – despite not actually being that easy to dance to. I love the lyrics, which suit Harry’s ‘not arsed mate’ attitude. Yes, she was once in love. She’s not any more, and you only have to listen to the first few lines to know she’s totally over it.
The lyrics to Heart of Glass are fascinating. What actually is a heart of glass? Does she have a heart of glass or does he? If it’s him, does she mean she’s cut herself because of him? Or does she mean she’s discovered her heart is fragile and he broke it into pieces? Hard to tell, because although she’s given the impression she’s moved on, the choruses suggest otherwise. In the second one Harry suggests he’s cheated on her, and she sings ‘I’m the one you’re using, please don’t push me aside’. ‘Mucho mistrust’ also suggests infidelity.
It’s worth noting that, as far as I can tell, Heart of Glass is the first chart-topper to contain a swear word of sorts. Blondie decided to try and get away with one instance of ‘Soon turned out, it was a pain in the ass’ in both the single and album mixes. It soon got replaced on the radio with another ‘heart of glass’, but good on them for trying! The song then ends on that catchy-as-hell, resigned ‘Ooh ooh ooh, ah-ah’, which comes across as another ‘ah, fuck it’.
With Heart of Glass, Blondie and Chapman really melded those influences of Moroder and Kraftwerk together to create something unique. Like I Feel Love, it feels like it could go on forever and that wouldn’t be a bad thing. I listened to 45 minutes of different versions of this in one go and I only began to tire towards the end. And like Kraftwerk, its machine-like, but scratch the surface and there’s human emotions underneath.
For the single, Chapman beefed up the sound and accentuated the double-tracked bass drum. For me, the best version is the 5:50 ‘Disco Version’ released as a 12-inch. Unlike a lot of 12-inch mixes of the time, it doesn’t sound like bits have been unnecessarily tacked on. It sounds like the natural version, just for letting the rhythm stretch out that bit longer.
The promo video to Heart of Glass was directed by Stanley Dorfman, a British director who did just that on the very first edition of Top of the Pops. The film begins with aerial shots of New York, slowly revolving like a mirrorball, before showing the streets of the city and landmarks including the Ed Sullivan Theatre and Studio 54. Although we’re meant to get the suggestion the latter is where this is filmed, it was actually made in a long-forgotten, short-lived club.
The rest of the video alternates between close-ups of Harry miming and mid-distance shots of the rest of the band ‘performing’. Harry looks particularly drop-dead gorgeous here, her hair slightly dishevelled, in a silver dress with one shoulder strap. Her bored, slightly pissed-off performance really suits the song and apparently came about through a genuine sulk. Harry wanted to dance but she was told to stay still. She wasn’t keen on Dorfman after that and didn’t appreciate all the close-ups. Nonetheless, it’s an iconic performance.
After
Heart of Glass was a deserved global smash and number 1 in most countries, including the US. Harry became a pin-up and hero to millions of teens and were a breath of fresh air. With this song toppling Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick, 1979 was shaping up to be a hell of a year for pop.
The Info
Written by
Debbie Harry & Chris Stein
Producer
Mike Chapman
Weeks at number 1
4 (3 February-2 March)
Trivia
Births
13 February: Labour MP Rachel Reeves
2 March: Comedian Jocelyn Jee Esien
Deaths
14 February: Conservative MP Reginald Maudling – 14 February
19 February: Comedian Wee Georgie Wood
Meanwhile…
9 February: Trevor Francis signed for Nottingham Forest. He was the first player to sign a deal worth £1 million.
12 February: The Winter of Discontent continued, with more than 1,000 schools closed due to the heating oil shortage caused by the lorry drivers’ strike.
14 February: Talks between unions and the government, known as the ‘Saint Valentine’s Day Concordat’ marked the end to the Winter of Discontent.
15 February: However, the damage was done. Opinion polls showed the Tories up to 20 points ahead of Labour.
22 February: Saint Lucia became independent of the UK.
1 March: Scotland voted for a Scottish Assembly in the devolution referendum. However this was less than 40% of the electorate, which meant it wasn’t followed through.
Also on this day, Wales voted against devolution.