Blondie At Their SXSW Interview: When We Got Here It Was Like 'World War Z'

Blondie mainstays Deborah Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke spoke about their legendary band during their South By Southwest (SXSW) interview yesterday.

The 'X Offender' performers – who are celebrating their 40th anniversary together - were asked what was happening in New York 40 years ago. Lady of few words Harry quipped, "Not Much". The group's drummer, Burke, was more talkative: "We were working in a void, and there wasn't anything like South By Southwest, so the only way to get yourself known was playing your local club."

"Dance was as subversive as punk to me. Us doing 'Heart of Glass' was our way of pissing off people in our own circles." - Clem Burke

Blondie's local club, punk institution CBGB, was "A rebellion against MOR", stated Stein. "An anomaly", Burke labelled it.

Chris Stein said about the CBGB scene, "Television would influence the Ramones, the Ramones would influence Blondie, Blondie would influence the Dictators... We never saw Saturday Night Live because we were always out on Saturday night."

 "I remember when cassettes came out and all the labels were like, 'Oh no, people can steal music now! That mind-set never changed" – Deborah Harry

This year marks the first time that Blondie - together - have played 'South By Southwest'. The band's ever-comedic guitarist, Stein, said about the Texas set of festivals: "There's been this cultural shift, an explosion of hipster culture. When we got here it was like 'World War Z,' every single guy was in a plaid shirt and fedora. When we started our band, we were on the fringe. Now the whole culture is inside."

Platinum blonde lead singer Harry later added about South by Southwest - commonly abbreviated to SXSW - “Instead of just going out on tour tirelessly - or very tired - you can play in these very elegant situations."

The legendary band will perform at South By Southwest tonight.

“We survived.” - Deborah harry

Blondie Bulletin:

• Perez Hilton has announced that Blondie will play at his 'One Night In Austin' showcase at South By Southwest on Saturday 15 March.