Deborah Harry: Platinum Blonde [Paperback]

Cathay Che (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2006

Long before fair–haired bad girls Courtney Love and Madonna, there was the blond ambition of Deborah Harry. She became a mainstream star, but her punk sensibility, unapologetic sexuality, and esoteric artiness, not to mention her close friendship with Andy Warhol, made her name synonymous with New York City cool and the intersecting worlds of punk, rock, art, film, and fashion. Written with the singer’s full cooperation, and as uncensored as the woman herself, this is a vivid portrait of a vastly influential artist.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A contributing editor at Time Out New York and frequent writer for pop culture rags such as Details and Interview, Che pays fun and frothy homage to multitalented pop icon Deborah Harry. Fans who have read Harry's own 1982 autobiography, Making Tracks, may not find much new grist here (unless you deem noteworthy the kudos of such contemporary hipsters as Shirley Manson, RuPaul and Theo Kogan of the Lunachicks). However, Che does mix her gushing about Harry's sex appeal, artistry, music and film career with some weighted analysis and original interviews--with Harry herself; members of Blondie, the band that brought Harry to the forefront in the late '70s; Blondie's unscrupulous ex-manager, Peter Leeds; and an eclectic cast of fans, friends and colleagues. Che also discusses the impact of Blondie's recent reunion, as well as some of Harry's lesser known feats, including her Broadway debut in Teaneck Tanzi: The Venus Flytrap, costarring the late comedian Andy Kaufman. Mostly, though, the book is a breezy, gossipy read. Those who aren't entrenched in pop culture might miss out on the copious references to New York fashion designers and scenesters (e.g., who is Ashley Heath, who notes, "That safety gear, knee-pad look she wore is just so Helmut Lang"?), but Che's lesson on Harry is loud and clear; as Fred Schneider of the band the B-52's says, "She's a goddess, in your face and in your ears." 16 pages of b&w photos. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

On the eve of last year's Blondie reunion, Harry told Che, a contributing editor at Time Out New York, that her physical appearance accounts for 50 percent of her success. Unfortunately, here, Che does not critically assess Harry's other underrated half--her songwriting flare and proto-girl-power feminism. With downtown Manhattan as cultural backdrop, Che rehashes Harry's hippy stint in Wind in the Willows, the formation and breakup of Blondie, her B-movie and C-solo careers, her influential style, and, ultimately, the beatific blondeness of being. Although Che gave much-bad-mouthed ex-Blondie manager Peter Leeds the chance to blow off some steam, this is basically an extended, gushing celebrity magazine profile (indeed, it started as one); photographers (David LaChapelle), writers (Robert Christgau), and other musicians sing their praises between Che's thin entences. Alas, someone has yet to articulate Harry's intelligence--and her real musical achievements--as has been done for Patti Smith or Mick Jagger. This is recommended, however, because it is the first work to acknowledge Harry's tremendous influence on current female and male performers.
-Heather McCormack, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Andre Deutsch (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0233001530
• ISBN-13: 978-0233001531
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,248,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Blonde, but not platinum, May 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Deborah Harry (Hardcover)

In an age of media obsessing over the latest youthful talent, Deborah Harry stands as an aware, experienced individual who led a full life before even forming Blondie. In fact, Deborah Harry was over thirty years-old before Blondie started getting the attention they deserved. Unfortunately, this book only seems to scratch the surface of her talent and artistic contribution. Interview questions bounce all over the place with a kind of gushing, fan-club-president urgency, with no follow up or connection between them. Additionally, the author should have gotten more of the facts straight (it's Jayne County, not Jane) and do I really need clarification that dead lox = cured fish? Flaws aside, the book's somewhat superficial content might be what we are privy to, from the subject's perspective. Deborah Harry seems to be private about aspects of her life, and does not elaborate too much in certain areas. Chris Stein (artistic collaborator and longtime partner) is a master at directing an interview to ground he feels comfortable in covering. As one of her many fans, it would have been great to get more insight into her brilliance, instead of the interviewer trying to hold responses together with "but some of your old looks were really great, like ripped t-shirts and underwear with boots..." For a more fun jaunt through the roots and takeoff of Blondie, "Making Tracks: The Rise of Blondie" is a must read. Written by Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Victor Bockris, it is a more intimate picture of Debbie, told in her own words. Topics range from the creature feature she just watched and was inspired by on late-night television, to details on early band struggles. The entertaining narrative is brought to life by Chris Stein's documentary photography of not only Debbie, but the whole NY "scene" at that time. Most of "Deborah Harry" relies on reference from "Making Tracks" anyway, so why not take it straight from the source?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Complimentary portrait of Deborah Harry, August 30, 2003

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deborah Harry (Hardcover)

Cathy Che's book traces Harry's life from her birth in New Jersey to her becoming drummer and vocalist in the psychedelic group Wind In The Willows, singing with the Stilettoes, to Blondie, and beyond. However, she divides the book thematically, such as Harry as a movie actress, Harry's influence on music after Blondie's departure from the music scene, as an icon for gays, and on fashion. All this leads up to the Blondie reunion, which yielded the No Exit album and the accompanying tour.

The coverage of the CBGB's scene and the onset of Blondiemania is done well, and certain movie roles, i.e. Videodrome, Heavy, and Hairspray, have added detail, as they were starring roles for her.

The key content of the book are the series of interviews with Deborah Harry and the one with Chris Stein. Che does reveal at the outset that Harry despises idiotic questions like "how does it feel to be a sex symbol?" And that good manners and intelligent questions are a prerequisite to have a successful and interesting interview with her. Her answers are honest, open, with a twist of humour every now and then. However, what struck me was her belief that her accomplishments wasn't worth a full book. Even Chris Stein thinks Harry doesn't realize the influence she has had on pop culture, which is bringing the "movie starlet sensibility into rock."

What's important to emphasize, as Che does is that Blondie is all five members of the group, i.e. Harry, Stein, Clem Burke, Jimmie Destri, Gary Valentine, and as may have been apparent, Blondie became solely equated with Deborah Harry, an inaccuracy on one hand, but that's something that Chris Leeds, Blondie's manager from 77-79, fervently argues, that the men were "backing up this particularly beautiful woman." Leeds is portrayed as a controlling force and someone who had what it took to push Blondie in the spotlight, and he isn't portrayed too flatteringly here, perhaps justifiably so, as a clause in the exit contract gave him 20% royalties.

Another way to put it was 'Blondie' as Harry's onstage persona, a 70's Jean Harlow or Marilyn Monroe. As Harry said, "The initial idea was to be desirable, feminine, and vulnerable, but a resilient, tenacious wit at the same time." "For this reason, technically Deborah Harry both is and isn't Blondie." I can go for that.

The brief commentary by those influenced by her include Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo, Fred Schneider of the B-52's, whose new track "Debbie" on their Future Generation greatest hits is a nod to Ms. harry, Michael Stipe of REM, and Theo Kogan of the Lunachicks is quite rewarding to read. And Che also mentions Madonna, whose fiery independent, self-assured image was surely taken from Deborah Harry.

There is a series of photographs, including Andy Warhol's wonderful silk-screen portrait, a very interesting surreal painting by Robert Williams, and the usual bunch of photos.

Warm, accessible, and generous is how Che portrays Harry in this book, but Evelyn McDonnell's final words in the foreword sums things up pretty well: "When Blondie died Harry was able to go on living."

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Superficial and poorly written, June 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Deborah Harry (Hardcover)

Didn't this exact book come out about a year ago by the same author? Has it just been reprinted by another publisher with a different cover? I found this book really disappointing. The author's bio says she writes for Time Out, which would explain the style-- silly, attempting to be hipper than thou, ultimately poor writing. Who took on this author? Terrible.