When perusing the annals for bands that have retained three quarters of their original line-up for more than 15 years, the list begins to thin considerably.
Extend the parameter to over 50 years, and you are left with a mere handful. Poking its head out cheekily is the quintessentially New Yorkian, sex-pop Blondie, a band that after five decades together still catches your eye, and your ears, with the flirtatious ease it did in '70s Manhattan.Birthed from the sweaty, underground club culture of the Lower East Side amid a swirl of inspiration from a community that included Patti Smith, The Ramones, Talking Heads and Andy Warhol, the sexual suggestiveness of frontwoman Debbie Harry (a former Playboy Bunny who worked at the NYC Playboy Club for a short period) accorded Blondie an edgier, more visceral, raw edge to a '70s music history largely associated with flower power and folk songs.
"We were kids, you know," drummer Clem Burke reflects from a "cold but nice" February London. "It was pure adrenaline. We were all music. We were in an enveloping scene in Lower Manhattan in the mid '70s.
"There was a synergy there built up by bands and musicians and creative people like Allen Ginsberg and Andy Warhol. We were surrounded. That creative energy was very isolated, it was an anomaly. That whole scene was about 100 people inspiring each other. That kept us going.
"We would go to the club almost every night. Who would have thought so much time later, that'd end up in world prominence with all those bands? At the time, it was a creative energy in the air. You didn't really need much money. You played music all the time, so that was what you did, you kind of got by."
Searching for similar scenes of current communal inspiration and exhortation, a definitive finger cannot easily be placed for Burke. "It's hard for me to say. There's always going to be someone in their bedroom picking up a guitar or a computer.
"As far as a cohesive scene, the world has changed so much, and the music business has changed drastically. It's all about how many followers you have. Maybe the scene takes place on the internet now more than anywhere else.
"I'm sure every town has their rock & roll club still. What happened in New York in the mid '70s was kind of analogous to what happened in Liverpool in the '60s. The whole scene developed to spur people on. I don't know if that happens as much nowadays."
Clem thinks perhaps this is attributable to the changing nature of rock. "I just don't know how popular rock & roll is. Rock & roll is more like jazz. There's a big following for jazz, but jazz isn't pop music, and rock & roll isn't pop music any longer. It's a more specialised type of music. It's a different thing nowadays."
Burke's musical journey began at a tender age, drawing inspiration from the big names until later finding muses in the background. "I started drumming when I was about 12 years old. I was always in bands in school, that was my social life; wasn't really big on sport.
"It was always playing music. I'm just mad for it. I liked The Four Seasons, and like everybody of my generation, the lightbulb went off when The Beatles appeared on American television, 'The Ed Sullivan Show'. Ringo was an early inspiration and the so-called British Invasion: The Kinks, The Who, Small Faces. They're still inspirations for me to this day.
"There's people like Earl Palmer and Hal Blaine, two session drummers in the '60s and late '50s. Earl played on Little Richard stuff and Fats Domino; and Hal Blaine was the drummer on the Phil Spector stuff, 'Be My Baby', and The Ronettes, The Monkees, The Beach Boys.
"They were both unknown as far as getting name checked, but the music they played on was everywhere. Those two were a big inspiration to me and I got to know both of those gentlemen later in life. I look up to people like that."
When asked how he has retained a successful working relationship for the vast majority of his life, Burke credits luck and working on yourself. "Being a drummer, I was looking for my front person, my Bowie or my Jagger.
"I found it in Debbie. She's a little bit older than me, so it's like a big sister in some ways. It's had its ups and downs, but things have been going along pretty well – and we have a new album that's gonna come out at some point. Not real soon, but it's finished.
"I think you have to keep yourself together really. I try to avoid the pitfalls. I've learned a lot. A lot of my friends aren't here anymore, all The Ramones are gone. I was always interested in trying to stay healthy to be able to carry on.
"There's a lot of mental health issues in show business and I try to keep that in check. It's become more prominent now, people are more aware. When you think of the tragedies all through the history of rock & roll, you gotta be aware of that stuff and keep yourself in check."
Always one to look after himself, Clem was once the main subject of an academic study on drumming that had some surprising results. "The analogy had been made between sport and drumming. When I became aware of this project, I got what they were trying to do.
"My physical specs, my heart rate and oxygen levels were, academically speaking, in line with a top [professional] footballer. For any musical instrument, you have to be physically fit.
"It's a positive spin on being a musician, and raises awareness about health and fitness in the context of a rock & roll lifestyle. Somebody like Springsteen, obviously he doesn't just have a beer and walk on stage. There's more to it than that. I try to stay as fit as I possibly can as I age – and I've still got my hair," he jests.
Due to his hair or not, Burke's work ethic has seen him collaborate with everyone from The Eurythmics to Iggy Pop, and even the legendary Bob Dylan. "I did videos with Bob for 'Empire Burlesque' [Dylan's 1985 album], that was fun.
"We recorded about 50 songs, but a lot are yet to come out; and he was curious about what went on with Blondie, because at that time we had stopped working. It was great working with someone like Bob, you learn by association. It's not a coincidence that he is the creative force that he is. It's great to be around that kind of atmosphere.
"Bob is a very organic musician, he's not using computers and things like that. Drumming is not necessary to make a recording nowadays, but with certain musicians, you're gonna work. . . old school, let's say. It was a pleasure to work with Bob."
Blondie will be joining a star-studded and iconic line-up in April for Pandemonium Festival, including Alice Cooper, The Psychedelic Furs, and Deep Purple, among many others. "Luckily we're coming to Australia with Blondie for maybe the fifth or sixth time. I always look forward to being in Australia. I've got a few nice friends there."
Asked about the new album and what is important for Clem to make music about, he points, in true Burke fashion, to the positives. "It's the same thing that it's always been. It's about the song, and it's important to always make new music if you've carried on with a band like Blondie; Blondie's been around for such a long time.
"The whole reason for us getting back together after that break was to make new music. So we've carried on that tradition. It's important to make new music and express yourself creatively. Not become a jukebox band just playing the hits."
If the new album begins anything like its predecessor, 2017's 'Polinator''s furious drum intro, then Blondie fans are in for a flaming treat. "Yeah that was my idea," Burke states matter of factly with his tongue firmly in cheek.
Pandemonium Music Festival 2024 Tour Dates
Sat 20 Apr - Caribbean Gardens (Melbourne)Mon 22 Apr - Newcastle Entertainment Centre* Blondie, Wolfmother & Cosmic Psychos
Tue 23 Apr - Newcastle Entertainment Centre* Alice Cooper, Deep Purple & Gyroscope
Thu 25 Apr - Cathy Freeman Park (Sydney)
Sat 27 Apr - Doug Jennings Park (Gold Coast)
Sun 28 Apr - Sandstone Point Hotel (Brisbane)*Blondie not performing
Pandemonium Music Festival 2024 Line-up
Alice CooperBlondie
Placebo
Deep Purple
Wheatus
The Psychedelic Furs
Dead Kennedys
Gang Of Four
Palaye Royale
Wolfmother
Cosmic Psychos
Gyroscope
and introducing Thai solo artist Petch
