0:00:02 > 0:00:06This programme contains some strong language
0:00:06 > 0:00:10They were just a ragtag New York punk band in a city that was
0:00:10 > 0:00:12falling apart at the seams -
0:00:12 > 0:00:16just one of many bands trying to break out from the niche punk scene
0:00:16 > 0:00:17into the pop mainstream.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19I think people thought we were trashy.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22I think people thought we were unmusical.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24No-one thought they were going anywhere.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Against them they had the punk purists who wanted to keep
0:00:28 > 0:00:31the music anti-establishment, raw and aggressive.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37But Blondie would prove that they were more than a garage band
0:00:37 > 0:00:38with a pretty singer.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40# One way or another
0:00:40 > 0:00:41# I'm gonna lose ya
0:00:41 > 0:00:43# I'm gonna give you the slip. #
0:00:43 > 0:00:49In 1977, Chrysalis Records spotted the band and spent 1m
0:00:49 > 0:00:52buying out their contract and putting top pop hit maker
0:00:52 > 0:00:57Mike Chapman in charge of producing their new album, Parallel Lines.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02# Pretty baby You look so heavenly...
0:01:02 > 0:01:06The tough studio recording sessions coming up would turn Blondie
0:01:06 > 0:01:10from a Greenwich Village punk band into a world-class pop band.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Their breakthrough album would sell 20 million copies,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18but Debbie Harry's sound, looks and unpredictable clothes sense
0:01:18 > 0:01:22would also have a lasting influence on New York's fashion industry,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25while the stories the band told in their songs
0:01:25 > 0:01:28would capture the spirit of New York City -
0:01:28 > 0:01:32a snapshot of a time and of a city that was changing for ever.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41New York in the '70s was a city going through tough times.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45The overriding problem was to save
0:01:45 > 0:01:48the city of New York from going into bankruptcy.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50It was pretty dangerous, it was
0:01:50 > 0:01:51pretty common to get mugged,
0:01:51 > 0:01:53especially over on the East Side.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Er, it was pretty hard to find jobs.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59There were a lot of single occupancy hotels that you could
0:01:59 > 0:02:04sleep for 5 a night, and so transient people and, er...
0:02:04 > 0:02:07you know, a lot of drunks and things like that.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10The band thought of themselves as New Yorkers from an early age.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13Jimmy Destri was brought up in Brooklyn.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Did you ever see those Discovery Channel shows with
0:02:16 > 0:02:20the deep ocean vents and there's all kinds of life living in impossible
0:02:20 > 0:02:23conditions? That's basically what downtown New York was.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Guitarist Chris Stein also grew up in Brooklyn.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32There was the big "be in" in Central Park in the summer of '67
0:02:32 > 0:02:36that was very impressive and a great event.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40I remember as part of my... chemical history, you know.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Fellow guitarist Frank Infante's early memories
0:02:43 > 0:02:45of the city are still vivid today.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49I remember going through the Holland Tunnel with my parents
0:02:49 > 0:02:51in the car, you know.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56And it always was that real Gothamy kind of vibe,
0:02:56 > 0:03:00gritty kind of tunnel, dirty, it was like, "Man, where are we going?"
0:03:00 > 0:03:03So we're going to hell here or something, you know. But it was cool.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Drummer Clem Burke and vocalist Debbie Harry,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10both from New Jersey, discovered the West Village in their teens.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14DEBBIE HARRY: I think my favourite thing was to walk around
0:03:14 > 0:03:17the West Village and look at, you know,
0:03:17 > 0:03:23all the little crafts shops and, er, just sort of try to catch the vibe.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26It was a place we used to go to look at the hippies in, er,
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Greenwich Village.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Kinda walk around and look for freaky-looking people, I guess.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I guess it was the forbidden fruit in a way,
0:03:34 > 0:03:36full of naughty things.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Even English newcomer bassist Nigel Harrison soon fell under
0:03:42 > 0:03:44the city's wayward spell.
0:03:44 > 0:03:45I love New York.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49I think if I left New York, I would decompose, I'd turn to dust.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Since becoming an item in 1973
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Debbie and Chris had shared one ambition.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Just to run away and be an artist of some sort.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03In the 1970s, many artists were coming to live in the city's
0:04:03 > 0:04:07abandoned factories and crowd the East Village sidewalks -
0:04:07 > 0:04:11musicians, film-makers, photographers and fashion designers.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15New clubs were offering some raw alternative sounds
0:04:15 > 0:04:17and films conceived and shot far from Hollywood,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21such as Saturday Night Fever, Taxi Driver, The French Connection,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25and Serpico, were telling true and often harsh New York stories.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Indeed one of the first songs to be recorded had a feeling of menace
0:04:29 > 0:04:31and impending violence.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34It was based on Debbie's experience with a boyfriend
0:04:34 > 0:04:36who had stalked her.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Track two - One Way Or Another.
0:04:47 > 0:04:53This was just a boyfriend, er, and just... I, you know,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56I sort of liked the way that that phrase kept coming up,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58you know, "One way or another, one way or another."
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Nigel played me the track in Japan.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04I used to make a lot... a lot of little demos.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07I had this fantastic little machine I bought in Japan.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Just the thing that went...
0:05:09 > 0:05:10CHORD IS REPEATED
0:05:13 > 0:05:17Just two chords going back and forth with a little riff in it.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20HE PLAYS THE SAME CHORD
0:05:22 > 0:05:24I took that, you know, with the beat...beat thing,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26I had some crazy guitar on it.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28I said, "I like this!"
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Thanks to Jimmy, who I was sharing a room with on tour,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34he said, "We should make a song out of that. That's got to be a song."
0:05:34 > 0:05:36And it was thanks to Jimmy that I..
0:05:36 > 0:05:38I was too shy to sort of show it to anyone.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43He came in with it and we just started playing it live.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46It was a very automatic, band kind of thing.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48Debbie came up with a great lyric.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51You know, because it was a catch phrase - "one way or another" -
0:05:51 > 0:05:52it's such a catch phrase.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55The phrasing just fit right, so I just...
0:05:55 > 0:05:57And it just sort of happened in a flash, you know.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00It was just one of those things that came together really easily.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03One of the things that made it is the guitarist is playing
0:06:03 > 0:06:05but the keyboard is doing a seventh. It's going...
0:06:10 > 0:06:13And it just gives it that edge, you know.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Yeah, that's one of my favourites.
0:06:15 > 0:06:16Frank did a great job on that.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20So this is Frankie playing Nigel's riff.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22GUITAR PLAYS
0:06:22 > 0:06:26And Chris with the...the harmonics.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33And you can hear... those are Chris's lines...
0:06:35 > 0:06:38..a little outta whack.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43It has this odd country hillbilly thing going on underneath it all.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45TRACK PLAYS
0:06:47 > 0:06:51It also reminds me of some kind of a polka.
0:06:51 > 0:06:52Yeah.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56# I'm gonna meet ya
0:06:56 > 0:06:58# I'll meet ya
0:06:58 > 0:07:03# I will drive past your house. #
0:07:03 > 0:07:06The best part of this was when Debbie spat out those words,
0:07:06 > 0:07:11and to see her out there with the sort of facial contortions and...
0:07:11 > 0:07:13HE SNARLS
0:07:13 > 0:07:15I mean, she really went for this track.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18# One way or another I'm gonna find ya
0:07:18 > 0:07:21# I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya
0:07:21 > 0:07:24# One way or another I'm gonna win ya
0:07:24 > 0:07:27# I'll get ya! I'll get ya! #
0:07:27 > 0:07:31I mean, that really tells you all about her personality,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33you know. It's like, "I'll get ya, I'll get ya!"
0:07:33 > 0:07:36One minute she's this sort of frantic...
0:07:36 > 0:07:39and the next minute she.. you can't even talk to her.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44What's really amazing is how many people actually relate to this song.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48They point, they go like that.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51The lyrics are unusual and people often get them wrong,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54as Debbie and Chris discovered in an unlikely place!
0:07:54 > 0:07:56We were in..
0:07:56 > 0:08:01We were in a Hard Rock Cafe in South America somewhere
0:08:01 > 0:08:05and they had a really good forgery of Debbie's lyrics for this.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07Yes, that was in Santa Dominco.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11And we knew it was a forgery because it didn't say "rat food",
0:08:11 > 0:08:13it said something else food.
0:08:13 > 0:08:14Yeah.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19And, you know, that... The phrase "rat food" is in here somewhere.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22# I walk down the mall... #
0:08:22 > 0:08:24I think she wrote these words on the spot.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27These weren't written yet she said.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29# Check out some specials and rat food. #
0:08:29 > 0:08:33"Check out some specials and rat food," you know. She's got the...
0:08:38 > 0:08:39Even today Debbie is not sure
0:08:39 > 0:08:42she gave her performance quite enough menace.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Not menacing enough.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47# I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya... #
0:08:47 > 0:08:50I should be clamped in irons for this.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52# I'm gonna meet ya, meet ya, meet ya
0:08:52 > 0:08:56# One day, maybe next week I'm gonna meet ya. #
0:08:56 > 0:08:59All right, that's enough.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04The band had first come together three years earlier at CBGBs,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06a run-down venue on The Bowery, which became
0:09:06 > 0:09:10the headquarters of the New York punk and new wave scene.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Up-and-comers Blondie had some tough competition.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Other CBGB regulars included Talking Heads,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18The Ramones, The Patti Smith Group,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Johnnie Thunders, and Television.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23The interesting thing about going to CBGBs -
0:09:23 > 0:09:26and I don't think that an 18-19-year-old will have any
0:09:26 > 0:09:30sort of parallel to it now, and I think the only parallel would be
0:09:30 > 0:09:34the people who went to The Cavern Club in the late '50s, early '60s.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37You didn't go to see the Beatles, you went to The Cavern Club.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41We were not the, er, you know, the darlings of the scene, you know,
0:09:41 > 0:09:46we were sort of the struggling out... you know, outer edges of it.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48I think people thought we were trashy.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50I think people thought we were unmusical.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54# That's how the little girl lies
0:09:54 > 0:09:57# He's telling his little girl lies... #
0:09:57 > 0:10:00I think people thought the band was a novelty.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Everyone liked them as people a lot but, you know,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06no-one thought they were going anywhere.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11And especially the competition, which was Television or the Ramones.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14We were informed by the music that we were surrounded by, by our peers.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18We were changing and doing different things, and our sound was changing.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23With the success of Saturday Night Fever came an enthusiasm for disco
0:10:23 > 0:10:27and Blondie was the first punk band to incorporate it into their sound.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30It was a move that punk purists would regard as treason,
0:10:30 > 0:10:34but it would increase the band's chances of hitting the big time.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37They'd been playing at CBGBs for a while,
0:10:37 > 0:10:38and I just heard this sound,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42and it just sounded bigger than any of the bands that had played there.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45And Debbie was just one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49But it was now becoming clear that Blondie was much more than
0:10:49 > 0:10:52a pretty girl with an unformed band behind her.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55They were a great band, they could really play.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58And let's not lose that in the discussion of her image and
0:10:58 > 0:11:02the scene and the punks and all that, this band could play their ass off.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04And one night they were doing just that
0:11:04 > 0:11:08when they were spotted by Terry Ellis of Chrysalis Records.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11He saw Debbie's star quality at once and immediately spent
0:11:11 > 0:11:151m buying the band out of their existing record deal.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19To make sure his investment paid off, he put pop record producer
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Mike Chapman in charge.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Mike had a string of hits to his name
0:11:24 > 0:11:27but he couldn't have been less punk.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30How could he turn Blondie into a hit making team?
0:11:30 > 0:11:31# Wanted something more
0:11:31 > 0:11:32# I know
0:11:32 > 0:11:34# You wouldn't go... #
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Knowing that this was basically a New York underground sort of
0:11:38 > 0:11:40punk influence band,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44I thought, well, it's going to be a little tough.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48But when I heard the songs, I realised that, er, that they
0:11:48 > 0:11:49were songwriters.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53Since 1971, Mike had had an impressive 20 hit singles
0:11:53 > 0:11:55in the charts.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56I told them, I said,
0:11:56 > 0:12:02"You know, these songs are... are absolutely amazing."
0:12:02 > 0:12:05And they said, "Oh, do you think so?"
0:12:05 > 0:12:08I said, "Yeah, I know so. So shall we give it a try?"
0:12:08 > 0:12:11"Yeah, OK. Let's give it a try."
0:12:11 > 0:12:14He was good-humoured and, you know,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17he had all these funny sort of Australian sayings like,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20"Gosh, she bangs like a shit house door in a cyclone."
0:12:20 > 0:12:26And, you know, it's like working with Billy the Kid or something.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28- Yeah. Or a pirate or something. - He was funny
0:12:28 > 0:12:33and cute, you know. He was wily and a good spirit, you know.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Mike would go on to record three other albums with the band,
0:12:36 > 0:12:40although during the Parallel Lines sessions his technique of building
0:12:40 > 0:12:44a hit bar-by-bar would be at odds with the band's usual technique.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48On their previous two albums they had recorded a song a few times
0:12:48 > 0:12:50and then chosen the best take.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Later, tempers would fray,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54but at the outset it was all sweetness and light.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59Blondie's New York, track one, Hanging On The Telephone.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12Of the 12 tracks on the album,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Mike agreed with the band that they
0:13:14 > 0:13:17would write nine of them, but there would be three covers, too.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20The first track was written by West Coast musician Jack Lee.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Hustler Jack just couldn't believe his luck.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26We met Jack. Jack was gone, out of his mind.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29He was staying at the Y, you know, and he was pushing his songs
0:13:29 > 0:13:31to people, and he would come in and show us the song.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34And he would be so enthusiastic, and we'd have to go "Jack,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36"calm down, we're going to do the song."
0:13:36 > 0:13:40I can still hear Clem's unsteady foot here.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Now Clem would kill me if he...
0:13:43 > 0:13:45well, he will kill me when he hears it.
0:13:45 > 0:13:46- But I can hear his... - DRUM PLAYS
0:13:46 > 0:13:49If you listen to his kick-drum, he's not...
0:13:49 > 0:13:52- DRUMMING SPEEDS UP - ..like there - he's not right on.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55- Let's hear the bass in there now. - BASS PLAYS
0:13:55 > 0:13:58This was Nigel's thing, was...
0:13:58 > 0:14:02just his pedalling these bass notes.
0:14:02 > 0:14:03BASS PLAYS
0:14:05 > 0:14:08And it's all a little out of sync.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10It's not perfect.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14Now that was the secret, I think, to, er, to...
0:14:14 > 0:14:16to the, um...
0:14:16 > 0:14:20keeping the element of Blondie in the record,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23then you put in some guitar...
0:14:23 > 0:14:25GUITAR PLAYS
0:14:25 > 0:14:26..and...
0:14:29 > 0:14:33..suddenly it starts to pull it together.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38To me, the genius of Chapman is that this sounds so spontaneous,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42and it wasn't at all. After doing it for an hour and playing
0:14:42 > 0:14:44the same parts for two hours,
0:14:44 > 0:14:46it didn't feel very free-flowing at all.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49It was very mechanical and rigid feeling.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53And now when I hear it, it sounds so spontaneous and effortless,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56- which is great, that's the way Mike was a- BLEEP- genius.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00Mike would walk around in circles, and sometimes he'd have
0:15:00 > 0:15:02a stopwatch and then he'd say, "Why is that ending so long?
0:15:02 > 0:15:04"Why is the intro so long?
0:15:04 > 0:15:06"Why does it take so long for the vocals to come in?"
0:15:06 > 0:15:09# I heard your mother now she's going out the door
0:15:09 > 0:15:13# Did she go to work or just go to the store?
0:15:13 > 0:15:15# All those things she said I told you to ignore... #
0:15:15 > 0:15:19And when the vocals did come in, it was Debbie's aggressive
0:15:19 > 0:15:23and unladylike delivery that made people wake up and listen.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26You have to really drive for some kind of forceful
0:15:26 > 0:15:31emotional content, you know.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Because you can just actually
0:15:33 > 0:15:35just sing technically
0:15:35 > 0:15:37and just be a technical singer and it would be fine.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40But he was always saying, "Oh, you've got to put something in it.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- "Put something in it." - Emotional content. Bruce Lee.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45Emotional content.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Thank you, Bruce.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50VOCAL TRACK: # If I don't get your calls, then everything goes wrong
0:15:50 > 0:15:53# I want to tell you something you've known all along
0:15:53 > 0:15:57# Don't leave me hanging on the telephone... #
0:15:57 > 0:15:59That's the emotional part.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Mike wasn't happy with the way the end of the song sounded
0:16:05 > 0:16:07and added his own voice.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11- SINGS ALONG TO TRACK - # Oh, woh woh. #
0:16:11 > 0:16:17So, and they're all looking at me going, "Are you sure, Mike?"
0:16:17 > 0:16:18And I said, "It'll work."
0:16:18 > 0:16:21# Woh, hang up and run to me
0:16:21 > 0:16:25# Oh, woh woh woh, run to me. #
0:16:25 > 0:16:28The song needed to come to a climax...
0:16:28 > 0:16:31# Oh, woh woh! #
0:16:31 > 0:16:34..and suddenly it was like, "That's it."
0:16:34 > 0:16:38Mike was beginning to get the band working to his methodical style,
0:16:38 > 0:16:40but he still had a way to go.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43He was very hands-on in arrangements.
0:16:43 > 0:16:49He was a guitar player. He helped with the total creative process.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52He wasn't just in the control room ordering pizza.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Mike would be completely do it over and over and over
0:16:55 > 0:16:57until it gets exactly right,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59so we'd be like, "Man, wasn't that good enough?"
0:16:59 > 0:17:02It was more based on our musicianship and Mike took
0:17:02 > 0:17:05it to a whole other level of meticulousness, where we were
0:17:05 > 0:17:10doing stuff over and over again to make it really precise and perfect.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12In Blondie, everyone's so stubborn, everyone's headstrong
0:17:12 > 0:17:14and stubborn, no-one takes orders.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18And it was the first time we... anyone ever remotely had the nerve
0:17:18 > 0:17:20to question anything we'd done.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Not that we were right, but we were convinced we were right.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Here he is coming in and telling us, you know,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27"You have to go to school.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31"You really have to go to school, you know."
0:17:31 > 0:17:34And I'm glad he did. I'm really glad he did.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36I learnt so much.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38Blondie, it seems, were at a point where
0:17:38 > 0:17:43they had to either give up or they had to go all the way for this
0:17:43 > 0:17:47sort of pop perfection that they'd always really aspired to.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50And again, every band in that little world,
0:17:50 > 0:17:54regardless of what they'll say, wanted a big hit.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56We all dreamed of it.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00The band was living and rehearsing in a loft on the Bowery
0:18:00 > 0:18:02in a derelict district of the city
0:18:02 > 0:18:05and Debbie and Chris had now been together as a couple
0:18:05 > 0:18:07for over four years.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10So this was their loft.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14Debbie, Chris, Jimmy, I think Gary Valentine lived in the building.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16You know, it probably wasn't palatial,
0:18:16 > 0:18:21but I think the fact of living in a communal setting was probably
0:18:21 > 0:18:23very helpful to a band, you know,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26coming together and making music together.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28And they were making New York music.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32The New York grime ingredient, er...
0:18:32 > 0:18:36There was enough of that in each of the tracks through the playing.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41I think Clem and, er, and Frankie and certainly Chris
0:18:41 > 0:18:44with his guitar parts,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47added New York into those tracks,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50and Debbie sounds like Debbie, you know,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53she doesn't sound like any other singer,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55which was such a blessing because, you know,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58how often do you get to record a singer
0:18:58 > 0:19:01who is instantly identifiable?
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Er, and she represented, er, New York.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08And a New York which was then often a dangerous place to be.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11Crime was escalating, not in the Village, in the whole city,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14not just especially the Village.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18It was, er, escalating and people were afraid.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21It looked like Dresden after the bombing or something like that.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25I guess, in retrospect, it's very romantic to people now, too,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28and there is a kind of freedom involved with living
0:19:28 > 0:19:31on the fringes of this decaying society, too.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34There was kind of no future in New York in the '70s -
0:19:34 > 0:19:38a lot of stores were closed up, there were lots of empty store fronts.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41You could see lines of people
0:19:41 > 0:19:45lined up to buy their, er...
0:19:47 > 0:19:49..drug of choice.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51There was a lot of street crime.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54We were frequently getting held up and stuff, you know.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Yeah. I got held up several times.
0:19:57 > 0:20:021970s New York could be violent, but that didn't deter the celebrity pack
0:20:02 > 0:20:04from exploring the mean streets of the City -
0:20:04 > 0:20:07people such as Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Tom Waits and Allen Ginsberg,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11who went in search of the thrill of danger
0:20:11 > 0:20:14and other like-minded revellers.
0:20:14 > 0:20:15I am the night life.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19It all started with one discotheque, then more and more and more.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22I live everywhere. I live within you.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25People have more energy to have a good time.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29I come to the discos to absorb an energy -
0:20:29 > 0:20:32to...emit a positive energy
0:20:32 > 0:20:36that is happening in New York and the world.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Andy Warhol was not decadent.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Was it a racy time?
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Depends on what you mean by racy time.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45It was a fun time.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49I thought Allen Ginsberg and Warhol
0:20:49 > 0:20:55and all the others who gave Greenwich Village a wonderful
0:20:55 > 0:20:58ambience and name, so to speak,
0:20:58 > 0:21:01so that people were drawn here.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03I happened to live in the Village.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06You would see the most famous artists,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10the most famous New York musicians and the best fashion designers
0:21:10 > 0:21:14all hanging around with other assorted characters.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17So things were more unified.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Now it's very industry, you know -
0:21:20 > 0:21:23music industry, fashion industry,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27but...then it was a more creative community.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30But it was a creative community that found it hard to accept a band
0:21:30 > 0:21:36fronted by a woman, and a woman who also wrote explicit lyrics.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38I think it annoyed me
0:21:38 > 0:21:41when I was...when I was growing up
0:21:41 > 0:21:43that, you know, that I was expected
0:21:43 > 0:21:47to, you know, raise a family and be the woman, be the wife.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52And it didn't particularly appeal to me,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56and that I might not be particularly good at it.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59All they talk about is her looks and how she's ageing
0:21:59 > 0:22:01and how beautiful she was, but the fact is
0:22:01 > 0:22:04she's an incredible lyricist, and it's very rare that people go
0:22:04 > 0:22:07out of their way to even talk about the lyrics and it's insane.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Oh, the first album was Look Good In Blue.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12"I could give you some head and shoulders to lie on," you know.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17It's like, she never shied away from saying anything risque.
0:22:17 > 0:22:18She was going to follow you downtown.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22If she doesn't hang around you, bad things are going to happen.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Or you'll rip her to shreds, like,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26if you're jealous you're going to rip the other girl to shreds.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28That's quite a statement, you know.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32It's not like, "Oh, I feel so bad." It's like, "I'm going to get you!"
0:22:32 > 0:22:34And, yeah, she was very aggressive.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38# Stand tough for the beast of America! #
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Even nearly 40 years later, a younger generation of performers
0:22:42 > 0:22:46feel that Debbie broke down doors by being candid about her feelings.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Aja Volkman sings with LA band Nico Vega.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54That predatorial thing is totally inspiring, you know,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57for a woman to be able to go out and get what she wants
0:22:57 > 0:23:01and not be afraid of her sexuality and her beauty, and not be
0:23:01 > 0:23:05intimidated by it and, also, not to feel like she's threatening people.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Debbie and Chris were newly in love
0:23:07 > 0:23:11so there was probably a lot of sexy thoughts going around.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15You know it was cool to be raunchy in punk rock.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Everybody liked that.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20I think that's what men love about women, you know, is that they
0:23:20 > 0:23:24can create life and they're, you know, seductive and beautiful,
0:23:24 > 0:23:30and it's like, you know, our species is...it's designed that way.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32You know, women are supposed to attract you
0:23:32 > 0:23:35and pull you in and make you want to stay.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Debbie got a lot of flack for her overt sexuality, which is...
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Ridiculous.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44..ridiculous, because she was so tame by modern standards.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48That sexuality was very evident on Picture This.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52Track three - Picture This.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55When Debbie showed me the lyrics, I thought, "Whoa!"
0:24:13 > 0:24:16This was something she'd obviously lived through, you know,
0:24:16 > 0:24:20that she was singing about an event in her life,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23and I guess she was watching Chris shower.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26I wouldn't have wanted to watch Chris shower but, er,
0:24:26 > 0:24:27obviously Debbie enjoyed it.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30# Picture this, a day in December
0:24:30 > 0:24:35# Picture this, freezing cold weather
0:24:35 > 0:24:38# You got clouds on your lids and you'd be on the skids
0:24:38 > 0:24:40# If it weren't for your job at the garage
0:24:40 > 0:24:42# If you could only oh-oh... #
0:24:42 > 0:24:45You could come in with a song and just go, you know,
0:24:45 > 0:24:46here's Picture This...
0:24:51 > 0:24:53..which are the chords, but if you come in,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55if you put this on those chords...
0:24:56 > 0:24:58HEAVY REVERB
0:25:04 > 0:25:05..it sounds different.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08It was Mike's experience as a guitarist that helped him
0:25:08 > 0:25:11get the very best out of the band's guitarists Frank and Chris,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13however long it took!
0:25:13 > 0:25:15As we built on this thing,
0:25:15 > 0:25:19the sensitivity of the song came into focus,
0:25:19 > 0:25:21and then we add some guitars to it.
0:25:26 > 0:25:31God! That must have taken so damn long to do.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34I mean, it sounds very precise and refined.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37And, you know, I just play a lot more casually than that.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40But I do like the guitar break.
0:25:49 > 0:25:54And this beautiful solo like a waterfall effect here.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07# All I want is 20-20 vision
0:26:07 > 0:26:11# A total portrait with no omissions
0:26:11 > 0:26:15# All I want is a vision of you... #
0:26:15 > 0:26:18And then she's back to it.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20# If you can picture this
0:26:20 > 0:26:22# A day in December
0:26:22 > 0:26:25# Picture this, freezing cold weather
0:26:25 > 0:26:27# You've got clouds on your lids... #
0:26:27 > 0:26:32The lyric to this day, to me, is elusive and beautiful,
0:26:32 > 0:26:37and it's such an important part of the Parallel Lines experience,
0:26:37 > 0:26:41and it all came from this,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45this amazing girl who could, you know,
0:26:45 > 0:26:47sell ice to the Eskimos.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56But now the band had to concentrate more on selling their new sound
0:26:56 > 0:27:00to a world audience who thought of them, if at all,
0:27:00 > 0:27:02as a punk band with attitude.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04But their then-manager had other ideas,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07as they discovered at a photo session.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12We had the concept of being in front of these black and white stripes.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Nobody wanted to smile. It was punk rock.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17And then our erstwhile manager said,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20"Why don't you all take a picture smiling?"
0:27:20 > 0:27:22So everybody took one shot smiling,
0:27:22 > 0:27:27and then he, you know, unbeknownst to us, used those on the cover.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30I just hated that posed album cover.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33It looked like it was designed by management
0:27:33 > 0:27:37and put together by marketing, and it was just awful.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41I don't think you'll ever hear a boy complain about that album cover,
0:27:41 > 0:27:43except maybe the boys who were on the album cover.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47But part of it was that it presented the personality of the band
0:27:47 > 0:27:49in such an appealing way,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51because they're wearing their matching suits,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55it's very Beatlesque, and the idea of Debbie Harry in the middle of it
0:27:55 > 0:27:58preening, as if to say, "Yeah, look what I've got,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00"look at my harem around me."
0:28:00 > 0:28:03That was an image that pretty much everybody loved.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06It's an eye-catching record, it's a classic cover
0:28:06 > 0:28:09that could be an Andy Warhol piece of art by itself.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11It could be a Campbell soup can,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14but it's Parallel Lines.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17As a result of her artistic and unpredictable
0:28:17 > 0:28:20but always confident and individual style,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23Debbie was now fast becoming a fashion icon.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Debbie's wearing a tiger dress which she actually made herself.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30I think it's some kind of seat-cover fabric that she found cheaply,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33and she made a dress out of it, which was very dramatic.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Debbie just came walking across the street from me, towards me,
0:28:36 > 0:28:38and I took a couple of pictures and she looks absolutely stunning.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42A lot of people really think it's one of their favourite pictures.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45because she just looks so good and she's kinda got this wet T-shirt on,
0:28:45 > 0:28:47you know, which is very sexy.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51Photographer Roberta Bayley was also at Coney Island that day
0:28:51 > 0:28:55shooting with Debbie for one of the film-like cartoons the band made
0:28:55 > 0:29:00for PUNK Magazine, telling fantasy stories of life in New York City.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03That day, Debbie was cast as Beach Bunny
0:29:03 > 0:29:05in Mutant Monster Beach Party!
0:29:05 > 0:29:08She's sort of wearing these really ripped-off cut-off jeans,
0:29:08 > 0:29:10and I think a one-shoulder tank top.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13She had an idea of the character and the look.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19Debbie's punk style continues to inspire fashion designers
0:29:19 > 0:29:20nearly 40 years later.
0:29:20 > 0:29:25I think it's this bad-ass attitude to everything.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28Everybody wants to make a statement,
0:29:28 > 0:29:32and I think it's an amazing feeling when you know that
0:29:32 > 0:29:38you are limitless, so that's what is so attractive in the punk movement.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40I think punks were incredibly brave heroic individuals,
0:29:40 > 0:29:43who didn't really care what people thought about them.
0:29:43 > 0:29:48It was highlighting the idea of creativity, highlighting the idea
0:29:48 > 0:29:52of individuality, and also was very critical of the status quo,
0:29:52 > 0:29:57so it was both a political and an aesthetic movement.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01So many designers have been using it, reusing it all the time,
0:30:01 > 0:30:04recycling punk in their collections.
0:30:07 > 0:30:12I hope my dresses are talking for themselves about punk.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17The track Pretty Baby reflects Debbie's interest in the movies,
0:30:17 > 0:30:21though it is not about her but about another rising superstar of the day.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23Track Five - Pretty Baby
0:30:24 > 0:30:27MUSIC: "Pretty Baby" by Blondie
0:30:37 > 0:30:40# Eyes that tell me
0:30:40 > 0:30:43# Incense and peppermints
0:30:43 > 0:30:46# Your looks are larger than life... #
0:30:46 > 0:30:49That song was written for Brooke Shields.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53I think Debbie wrote that inspired by Brooke and her beauty
0:30:53 > 0:30:57and, you know, the fact that she was a girl coming of age
0:30:57 > 0:31:00and stardom, you know, and all of that.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04Pretty Baby was child star Brooke Shield's break-out performance.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06To date, she has made nearly 40 films.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10We met her when she was, what, 12 or something...13?
0:31:10 > 0:31:12- Yeah, she was a baby... - She was very sweet.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14..but she had this complete, you know,
0:31:14 > 0:31:18she was portrayed as having the sexuality, you know.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23Well, she's in practically every shot of the film.
0:31:23 > 0:31:24That song is just so pop to me.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27It's just that feel, it's...it's that...
0:31:27 > 0:31:29HE PLAYS "PRETTY BABY" BASS LINE
0:31:32 > 0:31:33All that stuff, you know.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35It's very ABBA.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37# Pretty baby... #
0:31:37 > 0:31:41I just thought what an amazing melody.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43An absolutely breathtaking melody.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45I remember I put that bass line in.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48HE HUMS "PRETTY BABY" BASS LINE
0:31:48 > 0:31:51# I fell in love with you
0:31:53 > 0:31:54# Pretty baby
0:31:54 > 0:31:58# I fell in love with you
0:31:58 > 0:32:01# Hey, oh, oh, oh. #
0:32:05 > 0:32:09It's just so pop, I get goose bumps, I get chills.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11I do.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Pretty Baby was an out-and-out pop song.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18With Mike's help, the band had broken away from their punk roots
0:32:18 > 0:32:21and, in doing so, alienated many of their fans.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25But was the new album going to find a new audience?
0:32:25 > 0:32:29Parallel Lines was the most foolish album anybody ever made.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31You're trying to build your sound,
0:32:31 > 0:32:33you're trying to build an image for yourself.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35This band is this sound.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37And what do you do for your breakthrough album?
0:32:37 > 0:32:40You just disperse it and do a little jazz and a little reggae
0:32:40 > 0:32:42and a little disco.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44"You added disco to it?"
0:32:44 > 0:32:47Even though we were very diverse, there were certain threads
0:32:47 > 0:32:53that connected people up, you know, and so Nigel was there with his,
0:32:53 > 0:32:58you know, Brit pop sensibilities that Clem was very attuned to.
0:32:58 > 0:33:03I'm an English guy who grew up on the greatest bands in the world.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05Right after the Beatles came,
0:33:05 > 0:33:08the next day, I got a guitar and a Beatle wig.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12Frankie was, er...loved The Stones, I loved the Stones.
0:33:12 > 0:33:17In high school, in particular, I would like to really chill out
0:33:17 > 0:33:21with jazz, and so I listened to a lot of jazz.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24It's funny that to those of us in the rest of the country,
0:33:24 > 0:33:26Parallel Lines seemed like such a New York record,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29because there were so many different kinds of pop music in it,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32and that all these songs could thrive together on one album
0:33:32 > 0:33:35was really innovative and really mind-blowing.
0:33:36 > 0:33:41One of the most unashamedly pop songs on the album was Sunday Girl.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44Its peaches-and-cream lyrics and Romantic inspiration would
0:33:44 > 0:33:49have been seen as an act of pure treason by the CBGB's punk faithful.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53Track Nine - Sunday Girl.
0:33:53 > 0:33:58HE PLAYS "SUNDAY GIRL" RIFF
0:34:00 > 0:34:02The Phil Spector Be My Baby Hal Blaine riff
0:34:02 > 0:34:06is the beginning of Sunday Girl, which is like...
0:34:06 > 0:34:09HE PLAYS "SUNDAY GIRL" DRUM PATTERN
0:34:13 > 0:34:18MUSIC: "Sunday Girl" by Blondie
0:34:26 > 0:34:30I remember Chris wrote the lyric and I was really impressed
0:34:30 > 0:34:31when I read it, you know,
0:34:31 > 0:34:35and Chris, "Hey, the handwriting, what do you think of this?"
0:34:35 > 0:34:39I said, "Jesus, 'cold as ice cream and still as sweet',
0:34:39 > 0:34:41"that's beautiful."
0:34:41 > 0:34:43Chris and his then-girlfriend Debbie maintain
0:34:43 > 0:34:46the song is about their pet cat.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49It was about the cat, whose name was Sunday Man,
0:34:49 > 0:34:53and he ran away when we were on tour, and it was very tragic.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55- And...- Yeah.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57He was a nice cat.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01He was a great character. He was, you know, a funny little...
0:35:01 > 0:35:03a funny little man.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07But keyboardist Jimmy Destri says it's really a love song
0:35:07 > 0:35:09and not about a cat at all.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12It's not about the cat. It's not about the cat.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15That's a cool, you know, brush-off by them saying...
0:35:15 > 0:35:20Chris wrote it to Debbie, of course, you know, yeah.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22It was really a beautiful song.
0:35:22 > 0:35:27# When I saw you again in the summertime
0:35:27 > 0:35:30# If your love was as sweet as mine
0:35:30 > 0:35:33# I could be Sunday's girl... #
0:35:36 > 0:35:39Overall, the band was now accepting Producer Mike Chapman's
0:35:39 > 0:35:43working methods, but when it came to the song 11:59,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46guitarist Nigel Harrison had had enough.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48Track seven - 11:59.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54MUSIC: "11:59" by Blondie
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Mike was suddenly, "Don't go up here, stay down there.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01"Clem, don't do this, watch it on that part."
0:36:01 > 0:36:03There was all these instructions coming at us.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05And that to me was like an act of war,
0:36:05 > 0:36:07because it's like, "This guy is nuts,"
0:36:07 > 0:36:10cos by this time it's, like, take 22.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14- And I had my meltdown and I said, "Are you- BLEEP- crazy?"
0:36:14 > 0:36:17I just... I just...I lost it.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20But the rebellious Nigel was about to be won over.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24I do remember the turning point was when Mike sat us down
0:36:24 > 0:36:29and said, "Look, what we're doing here is we're making records.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33"We're making records. We're not documenting a live performance."
0:36:33 > 0:36:3711:59 was written by the band's keyboardist Jimmy Destri.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40One of Jimmy's best songs too.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43Jimmy had a particular style of writing.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46A lyric about alienation, I guess, you know.
0:36:46 > 0:36:51Looking back on my, you know, little alienated bits of life, you know.
0:37:06 > 0:37:11It's about late-night club life and the sort of, you know,
0:37:11 > 0:37:14isolation, being in the crowd and being isolated
0:37:14 > 0:37:16and, you know, posing and all that,
0:37:16 > 0:37:20very, you know, very New Yorkish.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22# Today could be the end of me
0:37:22 > 0:37:24# It's 11:59
0:37:24 > 0:37:27# And I want to stay alive. #
0:37:27 > 0:37:30I can even smell the air in New York at the time, you know,
0:37:30 > 0:37:33taste the food we were eating and the drugs we were doing.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36By 1978, disco was on the rise
0:37:36 > 0:37:40with the Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever dominating the charts
0:37:40 > 0:37:45and the New York underground scene was shifting from punk to new wave -
0:37:45 > 0:37:46"punk lite".
0:37:46 > 0:37:48This is how New York sounded.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51You're frustrated because you've got to take the subway,
0:37:51 > 0:37:53it's crowded, it's dirty, it's dangerous,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56so that's got to come through your pen and your guitar,
0:37:56 > 0:37:59and that's what you hear in all this music.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03Everybody in Blondie was a real New York character.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05Chris was somebody that you could imagine
0:38:05 > 0:38:09being in Tin Pan Alley in 1939, you know.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12And the same with Debbie, she was like
0:38:12 > 0:38:15a broad-cracking wise.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18So, yeah, they were like real New York characters.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21And these New York characters were about to deal
0:38:21 > 0:38:25a game-changing blow to the punk-versus-disco battle.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28It was called Heart Of Glass.
0:38:28 > 0:38:33We played him everything we'd got, and then he said, "Anything more?"
0:38:33 > 0:38:36And then, you know, I think Chris said, "Well, we have this old song,
0:38:36 > 0:38:40"you know, that we don't use because we've never been able
0:38:40 > 0:38:42"to really finish it the way we wanted it to be,"
0:38:42 > 0:38:44and that was Heart Of Glass.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48Bob Gruen had heard Blondie perform the fledgling hit at CBGBs
0:38:48 > 0:38:50the previous year.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52And I remember clearly having a feeling,
0:38:52 > 0:38:55this is bigger than this club, this is going to go out into theatres,
0:38:55 > 0:38:56it's going to go around the world.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59And I never had that feeling for anybody else down there.
0:38:59 > 0:39:04MUSIC: "Once I Had A Love (The Disco Song)" by Blondie
0:39:04 > 0:39:08It was now up to Mike to make this half-formed song into a hit,
0:39:08 > 0:39:12and he and Clem Burke were already thinking "disco".
0:39:12 > 0:39:16Track Ten - Heart Of Glass.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19# Once I had a love and it was a gas
0:39:19 > 0:39:22# Soon turned out had a heart of glass
0:39:22 > 0:39:28# Seemed like the real thing only to find
0:39:28 > 0:39:29# Mucho mistrust
0:39:29 > 0:39:31# Love's gone behind... #
0:39:32 > 0:39:35The way the song was recorded was a click track,
0:39:35 > 0:39:40just a little beat from a little tiny Rowland rhythm box.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43We thought we were kind of doing a sort of take off
0:39:43 > 0:39:46on Kraftwerk, dance music, experimenting.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49Heart Of Glass was a nightmare to record,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52because it was an idea beyond the technology at the time.
0:39:52 > 0:39:58My influence, once again, I think is felt on that record with
0:39:58 > 0:40:01my sort of homage to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11I started playing the disco dance beat from Night Fever,
0:40:11 > 0:40:13the Bee Gees record, which I loved.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16To help Clem lay down the drum tracks, Mike brought in
0:40:16 > 0:40:20a piece of then cutting-edge technology - a drum machine.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24So I brought this thing in once we had decided
0:40:24 > 0:40:29that we were going to disco this song up a little.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33They got the click track going and they did Clem -
0:40:33 > 0:40:36it was like a Meccano set, they put bits and pieces in it,
0:40:36 > 0:40:37so Clem did the bass drum.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41The kick drum and the drum machine together.
0:40:44 > 0:40:49All the way through the track. then the snare drum, then the hi-hat.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51Then we built the whole thing up.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54Then we did the tom breaks, the tom-toms,
0:40:54 > 0:40:56all the different tom breaks.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59And then we added the cymbals.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02And it literally took days.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Put the bass.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08And this is where I had a major run-in with Nigel.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12He wasn't playing...stiff enough.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14He wasn't like...
0:41:15 > 0:41:18That was the disco link. The octave thing.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20And he said, "I have to play that?"
0:41:20 > 0:41:22And I said, "Well, you don't have to, but it would be nice,
0:41:22 > 0:41:24"if you don't mind!"
0:41:24 > 0:41:27So after our run-in, he agreed to do it.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31And suddenly the whole thing was starting to feel good,
0:41:31 > 0:41:34so then we added some guitars.
0:41:34 > 0:41:3635 years later, Debbie and Chris
0:41:36 > 0:41:41are reunited with the original multi-track recording.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51That's the Space. This is probably... I know what that is.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55All those weird sounds are the Roland space echo or chorus echo.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58I can't remember. It's an old box. They are still out there!
0:41:58 > 0:42:04All those jungle noises were Chris doing his "waaah" with his e-bow,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07I guess, and then...
0:42:07 > 0:42:09HE PLAYS "HEART OF GLASS" GUITAR RIFF
0:42:13 > 0:42:17Now that was the hook in the song.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20Frank was insanely good on that song.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24Once they had the drums and guitars in place, Jimmy and Mike
0:42:24 > 0:42:28then had to make sure the keyboard tracks fit precisely too.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30We didn't have Midi in those days.
0:42:30 > 0:42:35So all of these keyboard parts, we had to do these in sections.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39Mike and I had to do on the one - one, two, three, four.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42KEYBOARD PART PLAYS
0:42:44 > 0:42:47Through the whole song.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51We were all fighting, constantly.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55But I said, "No, keep going, guys, cos we're getting there,
0:42:55 > 0:42:56"we're getting there."
0:42:56 > 0:43:00So finally, we had all the track pieces in place.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03And we had this wonderful, let's hear it now
0:43:03 > 0:43:05with the drums in there...
0:43:05 > 0:43:08DRUM TRACK JOINS MUSIC
0:43:08 > 0:43:13Suddenly, the guitar gave it the swing.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16The drums were sort of...
0:43:16 > 0:43:20There was a little bit of Keith Moon in there for Clem,
0:43:20 > 0:43:24and then all we needed was Debbie to come in and sing.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26And when Debbie put her voice on it,
0:43:26 > 0:43:29she sang it in that little sweet singsong voice,
0:43:29 > 0:43:32and the whole thing just... came together.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36# Once I had a love and it was a gas... #
0:43:36 > 0:43:40I didn't realise that Debbie was actually going to sing this
0:43:40 > 0:43:42in this head voice, this..
0:43:43 > 0:43:47And there she is out there, like lullabying to us,
0:43:47 > 0:43:51and I thought, "Wow, that's so cool." Cos up till then,
0:43:51 > 0:43:55she'd probably been going, "Once I had a love," in full voice.
0:43:57 > 0:44:03I said, "Oh, that's great, this is beautiful, it's so dreamlike."
0:44:03 > 0:44:07# Seemed like the real thing but I was so blind... #
0:44:07 > 0:44:11Heart Of Glass was, at the time, there was dance music around
0:44:11 > 0:44:15and disco music. Even though we did that song as a, you know,
0:44:15 > 0:44:18it was a tongue-in-cheek version, it wasn't really supposed to be
0:44:18 > 0:44:22straight-ahead disco for real. It was like fake disco,
0:44:22 > 0:44:26and that sort of seemed like it had possibilities.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30But the pure punk fans clearly didn't get the tongue-in-cheek subtleties.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33Right after Parallel Lines was released,
0:44:33 > 0:44:37and before it really blew up, we played this, like, farewell gig
0:44:37 > 0:44:40at CGBGs, because we knew we couldn't come back.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43There were lines around the block. And I was walking up to the stage,
0:44:43 > 0:44:48because that's what you had to do at CBGBs, and this guy comes up to me,
0:44:48 > 0:44:51grabs me, he goes, "Your disco album sucks!"
0:44:51 > 0:44:55And I was like, I guess it's going to be a hit,
0:44:55 > 0:45:00because we've finally broken out of the little world.
0:45:00 > 0:45:05I don't think any of us had any idea of how big it was going to be.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09# Once I had a love and it was a gas
0:45:09 > 0:45:11# Soon turned out
0:45:11 > 0:45:13# Big pain in the ass
0:45:13 > 0:45:15The album was released in 1978
0:45:15 > 0:45:19and has to date sold around 20 million copies.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22Heart Of Glass was number one in 16 countries
0:45:22 > 0:45:27and became one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31The band is still touring today and has recorded seven more albums
0:45:31 > 0:45:33since Parallel Lines.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37Except for drummer Clem Burke, they all still live
0:45:37 > 0:45:40in New York City, and still feel that city's energy.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42Just walking around, you know, I like it.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44It's still here, the energy is still here.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47I mean, you know, the money thing is...
0:45:47 > 0:45:49It's a bit of a drag, you know.
0:45:49 > 0:45:53New York City went from "don't go there" to "you can't afford it,"
0:45:53 > 0:45:54like that, in a heartbeat.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57I think it was the early '80s when I realised that corporations
0:45:57 > 0:46:00were moving in. They were seeing something that, you know,
0:46:00 > 0:46:01they could make money from.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05There's still bits and pieces that some people just think are grimy
0:46:05 > 0:46:07and I see as beauty, as a masterpiece.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09The streets are not the same.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12The streets are not full of colourful characters,
0:46:12 > 0:46:15you know, like it's pretty... It could be anywhere.
0:46:15 > 0:46:19One place where music can still be heard is oddly enough
0:46:19 > 0:46:22the original CBGBs on the Bowery, which was turned
0:46:22 > 0:46:27into a fashion outlet by the entrepreneur John Varvatos in 2008.
0:46:27 > 0:46:28There's a history here,
0:46:28 > 0:46:32and there was a history with this space that talked to people.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34And it was a very important part of people's life.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36I'm not trying to recreate that by any means,
0:46:36 > 0:46:39I'm just trying to preserve it to some degree and keep that
0:46:39 > 0:46:43energy alive that's been here on the Bowery for many, many years.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48John keeps the music alive with regular concerts at the shop.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53Vintage Trouble is one of the bands that have played for him.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56There something about the space and something about the history
0:46:56 > 0:46:59and something about those walls that speaks to them.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01And I can't put my hand on it
0:47:01 > 0:47:04and I can't get my arms around it, but I feel it every time.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06I have goose bumps every time we do a show here.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09Much of the Bowery neighbourhood has been redeveloped,
0:47:09 > 0:47:12and its spirit and passion tamed,
0:47:12 > 0:47:16but Parallel Lines remains to tell the story of a band held together
0:47:16 > 0:47:20by their love affair with the music and the city that inspired it.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22# One way or another
0:47:22 > 0:47:24# I'm gonna find you
0:47:24 > 0:47:26# I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya... #
0:47:26 > 0:47:29It does sum up the time, but it's not just that.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31It's that people like the music, they like the sentiment,
0:47:31 > 0:47:32they like what it says.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36They had really smart lyrics, in the same way that,
0:47:36 > 0:47:40you know, the Great American Songbook writers did.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44Cole Porter and Gershwin, you know.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48I guess, you know, we tried to make it about real experience,
0:47:48 > 0:47:54incorporating my little world, my own personal experiences.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57The best thing is when I hear from kids who say,
0:47:57 > 0:48:01you know, it helped me get through my teenage years, you know.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04I was having such a hard time and I used to listen to the music,
0:48:04 > 0:48:05and that's very moving, you know.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08As a record producer, you've got to say, well,
0:48:08 > 0:48:12thank God I had something to do with this,
0:48:12 > 0:48:16because opportunities like that don't come along every day.
0:48:16 > 0:48:20"Man doth not live on bread alone,"
0:48:20 > 0:48:23and that's a reference to the arts.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25It stimulates you.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29It enhances your creativity.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36I mean, without the arts, we might as well go back to the caves.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39# I'm in the phone booth, it's the one across the hall
0:48:39 > 0:48:43# If you don't answer I'll just ring it off the wall
0:48:43 > 0:48:46# I know he's there, but I just had to call
0:48:46 > 0:48:51# Don't leave me hanging on the telephone
0:48:53 > 0:48:58# Don't leave me hanging on the telephone
0:49:00 > 0:49:03# I heard your mother now, she's going out the door
0:49:03 > 0:49:06# Did she go to work or just go to the store... #