Blondie at Arena Birmingham

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Tue 07 Nov 2017 - Fri 17 Nov 2017

Blondie are back with new music and a UK tour that visits Arena Birmingham on November 13, 2017. The legendary New York band will be playing tracks from their 2017 album, Pollinator, as well as hits from their 40 plus year career.



Pollinator is Blondie's 11th studio album and on its UK release in May reached number 4 in the charts, making it the group's first Top 5 entry in over 18 years.

In line for a live airing are singles Too Much, Long Time and Fun, alongside classics like Heart Of Glass, Atomic, Tide Is High, Maria, Sunday Girl, Rapture and Call Me.

Pollinator was the last album to be recorded at New York's famed recording studio, The Magic Shop, prior to its closure. Producer John Congleton brought the band into the studio to record live in order to capture the essence of the punk rock pioneers.



Blondie's songwriting duo Chris Stein and Debbie Harry are at the heart of Pollinator's creation, contributing the tracks Doom Or Destiny and Love Level, while keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen 's two tracks (Already Naked and Too Much) prove the band is continuing to evolve. Blondie's founding drummer Clem Burke provides the unmistakably thrilling propulsion throughout.

Chris Stein's fascination with modern culture sees him mine a song from Adam Johnston aka an Unkindness (Fragments), first heard as a sample on the Vancouver-based indie artist's YouTube movie reviews. Pop writers and chart queens Sia and Charli XCX were invited to contribute tracks – Sia offered the shimmering synth-led Best Day Ever, while Charli gave the bubblegum punk anthem Gravity.



The Smiths' Johnny Marr , an old friend and admirer, wrote My Monster and contributes guitar to the disc, while Dev Hynes (Blood Orange, Lightspeed Champion) cements an enduring partnership with Blondie by channelling shards of Heart Of Glass into the irresistible Long Time.

Along the way, Joan Jett and Laurie Anderson make studio appearances (Doom or Destiny) along with The Gregory Brothers (When I Gave Up On You)."Their material is part of us and we are part of them," says frontwoman Debbie Harry of their co-writers, all of whom were influenced by her band in the first place. "It's a celebration of recycling!"

Alongside original Blondie members Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke are bassist Leigh Foxx, guitarist Tommy Kessler and keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen.



**Blondie 2017 UK tour dates:

Nov 7: Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham;
Nov 8: Brighton Centre;
Nov 10: Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff;
Nov 11: O2 Apollo, Manchester;
Nov 13: Arena Birmingham;
Nov 14: SSE Hydro, Glasgow;
Nov 16 & 17: O2 Academy, Brixton.**

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!date 07/11/2017 -- 17/11/2017
%wnbirmingham