Today's surprise is...
VINTAGE GIG REVIEW - BLONDIE!
Southend has played host to a number of classic acts over the years, back in 2004 Noisy popped along to probably Southend's largest venue to see punk legends Blondie play an unforgettable show, and scribbled about it in our debut issue, read on...

Glen Matlock & The Philistines/Blondie - Southend Cliffs Pavillion (18/09/04)
When I first heard that Blondie were coming to Southend I couldn't resist going - if only to see Debbie Harry in the flesh! Indeed, almost all of Southend had turned out for this occasion - mainly 30-something men and women who remember Blondie from their youth, as well as a few older adults and one or two hip young things who still revere Debbie Harry as an icon despite not having been born when the band were first making records.

Support was provided by Glen Matlock & The Philistines, Glen being the original bassist in The Sex Pistols before Sid Vicious took over. They played very loud, punkish rock, mainly consisting of songs from their forthcoming album On Something, such as White Knuckle Ride and Suck It & See. Unfortunately, as always, the crowd were impatient for the headlining band and the heckling and swearing between each song increased as their set went on. It was only until the last two numbers - covers of The Monkees' Stepping Stone & The Sex Pistols' Pretty Vacant (lest we forget Glen's musical 'roots'!) - that the crowd really started to get rocking.

After about 45 minutes of waiting, finally the strains of Odyssey's disco hit New York City Girl are played over the PA and the band (minus Harry) take to the stage and plunge into a guitar riff designed to build up the tension before Debbie Harry runs out and the band launch into Atomic. Harry is resplendent in black trousers, white shirt and sparkly belt - her hair is cut in the classic blonde bob she made famous in the 70s and there is no doubt all eyes are on her tonight. The wind machine provides the perfect wind-swept effects for her hair as she poses, pouts and moves to the music - she may be older, but Debbie Harry is still an icon.

The set took in songs old and new - Harry dedicates new song Good Boys from latest album The Curse of Blondie to all the boys in the audience and then says "If that song was for the boys, then this must be for all the girls" to introduce their hit Maria. Also played were The Tide Is High, X Offender, (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear, and Hanging On The Telephone.

The rest of the band are fantastic - the young keyboard player is very energetic, doing solos on the keyboard whilst being bent over or grabbing the keyboard and playing it in the face of a fan in the front row. The guitarists are very cool, soloing and posing all night long. The most epic song of the night was Rapture - this song not only had the crowd going but gigantic guitar and drum solos and even a rap of "The roof is on fire!" thanks to the keyboardist, which made it a great performance. However, as Debbie Harry contributed chants of "motherf**ker" you couldn't help feeling that you were watching a tipsy relative at a karaoke night! Needless to say, the swearing didn't really go down well with the majority of the audience - middle-aged couples, some with children (no doubt brought along by their parents determined to show them what 'real' music is!) - and this foray into modern culture went down like the proverbial lead balloon!

Debbie Harry has a little interaction with the audience, telling us that the band got lost coming here, but apparently "they always get lost" & thanking some overzealous fans in the front row for a gorgeous bouquet of flowers they had thrown to her. Towards the end of the set - just as the band were rocking out - the power went! As the band tried to fix the problem Debbie Harry handled it wonderfully by performing Dreams Lost On Me with just a guitar accompaniment from Chris Stein. Luckily, the problem was fixed and the band thundered into Call Me, followed by another crowd favourite One Way Or Another. Sadly, towards the end of this song the curse of Blondie struck again and the power went out completely! Debbie had to thank the crowd by bowing and shouting, as no microphone would work - although apparently that was the last song anyway! Drummer Clem Burke and the keyboardist decided to tear up their instruments and throw them into the crowd, and ten minutes later Debbie Harry emerged again with a working microphone to apologise and inform us that: "That's it guys. Everything has exploded! We'll make it up to you, I promise!" - so after some more equipment throwing, the band left the stage and the audience left - some to complain and some to head over to the stage door (where apparently the band stayed till around midnight chatting & signing autographs for fans).

So, there was no encore - no Heart Of Glass or Denis, sadly. Overall it was a good night and we were treated to some classic rock n' roll antics!

Originally published in Noisy fanzine issue 1, May 2005.

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