Blondie: All the Top 40 Hits

Book excerpt: Blondie was formed in New York by singer Debbie Harry and her guitarist boyfriend Chris Stein, after they left a band calledthe Stilettoes in July 1974. The band's name was inspired by 'Hey, Blondie!' catcalls directed at Debbie.Blondie signed with Private Stock Records, and released their debut album BLONDIE in December 1976, but initially at leastit wasn't successful. The band's second album, PLASTIC LETTERS, was moderately successful, but it really wasn't until the band's third album PARALLEL LINES was released that global success on a massive scale really took off.For the purposes of this book, to qualify as a Top 40 hit, a single or album must have entered the Top 40 chart in at least one of the featured countries. The Top 40 hits are detailed chronologically, according to the date they first entered the chart in one or more of the featured countries. Each Top 40 single and album is illustrated and the catalogue numbers and release dates are detailed, for the USA and the UK, followed by the chart runs in each country.The main listings are followed by 'The Almost Top 40 Singles', which gives an honourable mention to singles that peaked between no.41-50 in one or more countries, but which failed to enter the Top 40 in any. There is also a points-based list of the Top 20 singles and Top 20 albums, plus a fascinating Trivia section, which looks at the most successful singles and albums in each of the featured countries.