Blondie & The Pretenders

Short Biography
BLONDIE & THE PRETENDERS JOIN FOR ‘A DAY ON THE GREEN' & VECTOR ARENA

They'retwo of music's most acclaimed bands boasting two of music's mostcompelling front women - Deborah Harry leading the wondrous Blondie and Chrissie Hynde fronting the mighty Pretenders.

Asa double-bill, it's a world first!  And it's also an absolute crackerand that's exactly what fans can savour when Blondie & ThePretenders co-headline a December tour of ‘a day on the green' winery shows, and in conjunction with Frontier Touring, Vector Arena.    

This very special double header launches the 2010/2011 ‘a day on the green'season with concerts on Saturday December 18 at Alana Estate,Martinborough and Sunday December 19 at The Mud House Winery, Waiparaas well as Vector Arena on Thursday December 16.

Both The Pretenders and Blondiehave enjoyed great success in New Zealand, fuelled by a stream oftimeless Top Ten hits and the popularity of Hynde and Harry. Bothladies have always escaped the usual clichés of women in rock and areunquestionably two of the most important and influential women to havegraced the stage. As co-headliners, the bands will alternate in closingthe shows.

Blondie emerged from the late 70'sNew York punk scene and quickly became music, style and pop cultureicons selling more than 40 million albums. They scored hits withreggae, rock/disco, hip hop and pop songs bursting with great hooks andbrilliant, ironic lyrics. ‘Heart Of Glass' was Blondie's first US #1 in1978 opening the floodgates to a run of 14 Top Ten US hits including‘The  Tide Is High', ‘Call Me', ‘Rapture', ‘Picture This', ‘Rip her ToShreds', ‘Hanging On The Telephone', ‘Union City Blues' and ‘Atomic' ,racking up a phenomenal five US and five UK number one singles.

Debbie,founding member & song writing partner Chris Stein and long-timedrummer Clem Burke have just completed their first new album in sixyears titled ‘Panic Of Girls', set for release later this year, and onJune 8 commence a world tour in the UK, which includes their first NZdates since 2004.  

When co-headliners The Pretenders last toured Australia and NZ in 2007, ‘a day on the green'shows were featured in Australia. Chrissie Hynde declared the concerts‘some of our favourite shows of all time' and can't wait to experiencethe outdoor winery concerts here.  

The Pretenders areundoubtedly a special band with a special place in history. Their brandnew live CD & DVD ‘Pretenders-Live In London' (Liberator) capturesone of their many electrifying performances and is a timely reminder ofwhat a great rock band they are.  With hits like ‘Talk Of The Town',‘Kid', ‘Back On The Chain Gang', ‘Don't Get Me Wrong', ‘Middle Of TheRoad', ‘Message Of Love', ‘ I'll Stand By You', ‘Stop Your Sobbing' and‘Brass In Pocket', The Pretenders may have been rockin' for 30 yearsbut their authenticity has never diminished.

Since January2008 ‘a day on the green' has presented concerts by Joe Cocker, SimplyRed, The B52's, The Proclaimers, John Mellencamp, Sheryl Crowe, DianaKrall and Tom Jones firmly establishing itself as a major concert brandacross the country. As we launch the upcoming summer season, promoterRoundhouse Entertainment is pleased to welcome LG as the event'ssponsor for the next three years.  

"For LG, ‘a day on thegreen' beautifully reinforces our ‘Life's Good' brand values and givesus a chance to share that with hundreds of thousands of our consumersall around Australia and New Zealand. Our partnership with ‘a day onthe green' is an exciting opportunity for us, and we are delighted tobe a part of it," said LG's Corporate Marketing Manager, Mark Nesci.

Thechance to see these two truly great bands on the same night is not tobe missed, and one week out from Christmas, it's the perfectend-of-year celebration so get in fast!

In-depth Biography
Blondie was the most commercially successful band to emerge from the much-vaunted punk/new wave movement of the late '70s. The group was formed in New York City in August 1974 by singer Deborah Harry (b. July 1, 1945, Miami), formerly of Wind in the Willows, and guitarist Chris Stein (b. January 5, 1950, Brooklyn) out of the remnants of Harry's previous group, the Stilettos. The lineup fluctuated over the next year. Drummer Clement Burke (b. November 24, 1955, New York) joined in May 1975. Bassist Gary Valentine joined in August. In October, keyboard player James Destri (b. April 13, 1954) joined, to complete the initial permanent lineup. They released their first album, Blondie, on Private Stock Records in December 1976. In July 1977, Valentine was replaced by Frank Infante.

In August, Chrysalis Records bought their contract from Private Stock and in October reissued Blondie and released the second album, Plastic Letters. Blondie expanded to a sextet in November with the addition of bassist Nigel Harrison (born in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, England), as Infante switched to guitar. Blondie broke commercially in the U.K. in March 1978, when their cover of Randy and the Rainbows' 1963 hit "Denise," renamed "Denis," became a Top Ten hit, as did Plastic Letters, followed by a second U.K. Top Ten, "(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear." Blondie turned to U.K. producer/songwriter Mike Chapman for their third album, Parallel Lines, which was released in September 1978 and eventually broke them worldwide. "Picture This" became a U.K. Top 40 hit, and "Hanging on the Telephone" made the U.K. Top Ten, but it was the album's third single, the disco-influenced "Heart of Glass," that took Blondie to number one in both the U.K. and the U.S. "Sunday Girl" hit number one in the U.K. in May, and "One Way or Another" hit the U.S. Top 40 in August. Blondie followed with their fourth album, Eat to the Beat, in October. Its first single, "Dreaming," went Top Ten in the U.K., Top 40 in the U.S. The second U.K. single, "Union City Blue," went Top 40. In March 1980, the third U.K. single from Eat to the Beat, "Atomic," became the group's third British number one. (It later made the U.S. Top 40.)

Meanwhile, Harry was collaborating with German disco producer Giorgio Moroder on "Call Me," the theme from the movie American Gigolo. It became Blondie's second transatlantic chart-topper. Blondie's fifth album, Autoamerican, was released in November 1980, and its first single was the reggae-ish tune "The Tide Is High," which went to number one in the U.S. and U.K. The second single was the rap-oriented "Rapture," which topped the U.S. pop charts and went Top Ten in the U.K. But the band's eclectic style reflected a diminished participation by its members -- Infante sued, charging that he wasn't being used on the records, though he settled and stayed in the lineup. But in 1981, the members of Blondie worked on individual projects, notably Harry's gold-selling solo album, KooKoo. The Best of Blondie was released in the fall of the year. The Hunter, Blondie's sixth album, was released in May 1982, preceded by the single "Island of Lost Souls," a Top 40 hit in the U.S. and U.K. "War Child" also became a Top 40 hit in the U.K., but The Hunter was a commercial disappointment.

At the same time, Stein became seriously ill with the genetic disease pemphigus. As a result, Blondie broke up in October 1982, with Deborah Harry launching a part-time solo career while caring for Stein, who eventually recovered. In 1998, the original lineup of Harry, Stein, Destri, and Burke reunited to tour Europe, their first series of dates in 16 years; a new LP, No Exit, followed early the next year. After more touring, this was followed by another studio set, The Curse of Blondie, in 2003, and a DVD of the Live by Request program from A&E was released in 2004. In 2006, Blondie celebrated their 30th anniversary with induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the release of Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision, Rovi