Exhibition of behind-the-scenes photographs of Blondie to open

A new exhibition of behind-the-scenes photographs of US rock band Blondie is to go on display.

The photos of the band, fronted by singer Debbie Harry, were all taken in New York in their “breakthrough year” of 1978, which saw the release of their best known album Parallel Lines, which featured classic tracks such as Hanging On The Telephone, Sunday Girl and One Way Or Another.

The free exhibition is being held at the City Of London Corporation’s Barbican Music Library, with 50 prints on display of the band in concert, backstage, in the recording studio, and during photo sessions.

Blondie, who enjoyed success with singles such as Heart Of Glass, Call Me and The Tide Is High, began their career in 1974 performing at New York’s CBGB club alongside the likes of The Ramones, Television and Talking Heads, the band disbanded in 1982 but reformed in the late 1990s.

They are due to release a new album next year.

Photographer Martyn Goddard said: “When I boarded the plane in May 1978 to photograph Blondie’s lead singer, Debbie Harry, in New York, I could not have conceived that there would still be a demand for my images over 45 years later.

“Those assignments produced a body of work that resulted in magazine cover stories, album and single covers, tour programmes, posters, a book, and two photo exhibitions.

“Blondie in Camera 1978 at Barbican Music Library is my visual record of those images and memorabilia collected during a seminal time in the band’s history, and I hope that visitors to the exhibition will enjoy being reminded of the band’s energy, rawness, and style.”

Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Culture, Heritage, and Libraries Committee, Brendan Barns, said: “As pioneers of the New Wave genre, the band produced so many memorable hits, and this new exhibition will certainly bring back many vivid memories of one of the most electrifying bands of their generation.”

It comes after Blondie’s drummer, Clem Burke, died aged 70 in April after a cancer diagnosis.

The exhibition at Barbican Music Library will run from from August 14 to January 5.