Debbie Harry can't see Blondie continuing without Clem Burke

Harry "would still like to do music," but can't see herself performing on stage as Blondie going forward.

By Emma Keates  |  July 3, 2025 | 4:24pm
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Debbie Harry can't see Blondie continuing without Clem Burke
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It may be time for Blondie to hang up the phone. Reflecting on the band, which she formed over half a century ago with guitarist Chris Stein and eventually drummer Clem Burke, bassist Gary Valentine, and keyboard player Jimmy Destri, Debbie Harry told Vanity Fair that the thing she’s most proud of is “having worked with Chris and Clem for years—especially Chris (her former romantic partner), that’s extraordinary.”

Burke died of cancer in April. “Clem was not just a drummer, he was the heartbeat of Blondie,” Harry and Stein said of their old friend in a statement at the time. “His talent, energy, and passion for music were unmatched, and his contributions to our sound and success are immeasurable.” Stein also hasn’t toured with the group since 2019 due to health issues. 

Now, Harry says, “Keeping a rock band together for 50 years was like a marriage, and it’s sad that with Clem’s passing and without having Chris onstage, I can’t see myself being onstage as Blondie, even though I am the face of Blondie.” 

She would still like to make more music, she shared, even if it’s in a slightly different format. There is a new Blondie album forthcoming, which the band was working on before Burke’s death. It’s still set to arrive this fall, in addition to a documentary and biopic. The latter two projects are “in the works,” she said, “but I don’t know how a life can be summarized or given a caption.”

“I’m happy to be doing it—it’s helping me to collect my thoughts,” she added. “I ran into a wall: the tour ended, Clem died, and wow. What is this space I live in now? I’m curing—I’m doing a cure. And part of that is de-cluttering up my space, which is crowded with that life. I need to get some breath, get some air in there. And I want to feel that little spark of creativity, surprise—those things. There’s a little tingle of that, and I hope that will be there for me.” 

The new album, produced by Grammy winner John Congleton, will be the band’s first since Pollinator in 2017.

 
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