DEBBIE HARRY The Jam Was Moving
A tad over 40 years old, and recorded between Blondie's 1980 opus 'Auto American' that gifted the world with 'The Tide Is High' and 'Rapture' and their 1982 work 'The Hunter' which yielded that one minor hit posted last week by me: 'Island Of Lost Souls' - lead singer Debbie Harry recorded her first solo long player - entitled 'Koo Koo' which landed in 1981 and had the most extraordinary cover art (see images in the clip!). Instead of Mike Chapman producing, who had really crafted Blondie into the international superstars they became, Debbie went for the supergroup Chic Svengalis: Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards who were the nucleus of the band that sold millions of singles in the heady disco era: 'Dance Dance Dance' (Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah), 'Good Times' and of course the best selling single 'Le Freak' which has sold a staggering 7 million copies. Rogers and Edwards were behind the Sister Sledge breakthrough 'We Are Family' and also created Diana Ross' huge comeback: 1980's 'Diana' with the massive hits 'Upside Down' and I'm Coming Out'.
Sadly the Chic touch didn't work for Debbie Harry, and although it was quite the talking point, thanks to the photos on it, the first single 'Backfired' did exactly that - it tanked in America and only just cracked the British chart (#32). It fared better in Sweden (#16) and here in Australia (#,23) but compared to the huge sales that Blondie had racked up in the preceding 6 years, it was a failure. Whilst trying to vary both her image and her sound, Debbie Harry didn't get good reviews either for 'Koo Koo' and its second single; the subject of this post - 'The Jam Was Moving' was largely ignored all over the world, but I think it is an excellent song and performance by her. Catchy, funky and with a sound that would find favour in future decades, perhaps Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards were a little ahead of their time with this 1981 experiment.
Debbie Harry, later deferred to Deborah Harry on other 80's recordings, managed to find solo success with 'Rush Rush', 'I Want That Man' and 'French Kissing In The USA', and also regrouped with Blondie at the end of the 1990's. There is no denying the iconic status that Debbie has in pop culture and I find her an enduringly and endearingly fascinating figure in pop music. Beautiful, talented with a wonderful mix of attitude and charm as well as sex appeal and cool detachment, there is star quality all over this legendary artist. Debbie Harry rocks. Always has. Always will.