Blondie, Debbie Harry, David Bowie, 'Idiot World Tour'

© Chris Stein
U.S.A. c.1977
Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity

This photo was taken in 1977 and shows Debbie with a young David Bowie backstage during Iggy Pop's Idiot Tour, in which Bowie played the keyboard. Recalling their friendship and the extent to which Bowie boosted the artist's career, Harry commented: 'I can't say enough things about David Bowie to show how much I love him...there is no doubt in my mind that Bowie played a big part in our future successes.' Debbie Harry for Rolling Stone magazine.

Back in 1977, Blondie had just released their debut album and the group was struggling to break big. But after David Bowie and Iggy Pop heard Blondie, they brought the new wave band along as openers on the U.S. run of the Idiot World tour, promoting Iggy’s The Idiot, which was written in collaboration with Bowie. Blondie founders Debbie Harry and Chris Stein remember the experience as the turning point in their careers. Both Harry and Stein remember Bowie as a generous headliner. 'They were really just concerned with putting on a great show and not about competing with the opening band,' Harry says. 'This was a new idea for us, but it’s something I tried to carry through all these years when putting on shows — give the band as much tech support as possible. We’ve always done that.' Jessica Goodman for Entertainment Weekly

'Oh yeah, I remember being a little kid using those little box cameras. I also had a magazine with a very evocative picture of a snowy street, and I looked at it all the time. I felt so drawn into this image even as a child. That was the photo where I first really felt that pull, that desire to capture things.' Chris Stein for Hunger

‘Stein and Harry became friends, lovers and bandmates, but he also became something of a personal photographer, capturing her every move. Stein chronicled the band’s early beginnings on camera, from the nascent New York punk scene to the international celebrities they worked with, including Andy Warhol. Like the rest of the world since, Stein was taken with Harry’s charisma, her spirit and – of course – her style.’ Sam Rogers and Susan Devaney for Vogue

'Renowned as the co-founder and guitarist of the iconic new wave band Blondie, Chris Stein’s photography is as poignant and powerful as the songs he wrote. Documenting New York from the seventies to today, he’s lived through the streets and the streets live on through him: from the city’s early punk scene to the landmarks long lost, Stein has captured cultural moments like none other. Captivated by how photography can bottle up a memory forever, his work aimed to keep things as candid as possible, from his still-bandmate and former-partner Debbie Harry to strangers on the street, the result is raw images, people at their most honest.' Kitty Robson for Hunger

Blondie co-founder, guitarist, producer, photographer and co-host of cult cable show TV Party, Chris Stein began shooting in 1968 and hasn’t put the camera down since. It’s all there on film: Warhol, Debbie Harry, the cast, the city – and its his documentary of the Big Apple throughout the 70s and 80s that remains just as looming a character in his photographic archive.

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