Hanging on the Telephone - Blondie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWhkbDMISl8

In the late 70's another music phenomenon that emerged almost simultaneously with punk, was "new wave". A less often remarked upon punk characteristic, shared with "new wave", was its reaction against the larger and larger venues played by rock bands in the seventies, particularly "prog rock" groups like Pink Floyd, Yes and Jethro Tull.

The idea was that it was more exciting to see bands close-up, loud and sweaty in the back room of a pub or in a miniature one-room hall like the Squat in Manchester (see last post). The point is clear: no matter how exciting the elaborate presentation of the large stadium affair, no matter how loud and pure the sound from the giant speakers may be, nothing increases the pulse rate more than the sound of slashing guitars, howling vocals and attacking drumming in a small, crowded venue.

At the height of their success, in the mid-eighties, Blondie turned down proposals to play the 12,500 capacity Wembley Arena for a week in favour of performing at smaller venues; less income, better gigs.

I'm sure drummer Clem Burke, who died just over a year ago on April 6th, 2025, appreciated the proximity of their adoring fans and fed off their palpable excitement, although in later years the lure of the stadium gig proved too strong for Blondie and most longstanding new wave groups.

Wikipedia lists Hal Blaine (see numerous Uncle Stylus posts), the Who's Keith Moon, Earl Palmer and - wait-for-it, Ringo Starr! as Clem Burke's greatest drumming influences. Way back in the early 70's it was fashionable to debate who was "the greatest" player of each rock instrument. In the case of the guitar it was always who was second after Hendrix - was it Clapton, or Beck, or Peter Green, or Rory Gallagher or John McLaughlin or Steve Howe or Ritchie Blackmore and so on. The more obscure the musician you championed, the cooler you looked. With bass guitar, there was also no argument once Jack Bruce had named Motown's James Jamerson as "the best". When it came to the drums, however, the arguments often continued all through the night, ranging from Ginger Baker and Keith Moon to Buddy Rich, Al Jackson of Stax and Benny Benjamin of Motown. But no-one ever mentioned Ringo Starr. Or Earl Palmer. Palmer was a session musician who played on hundreds of hits in the fifties and sixties, and who is usually credited with introducing the "backbeat" to rock 'n' roll music on Fats Domino's "The Fat Man" in 1949. Ringo Starr, in turn, is nowadays often quoted by drummers as a primary influence for his unfussy but flexible style, and in particular for his use of the "backbeat" and the less common "double backbeat" here defined from the entry on Beat Music on Wikipedia:

"A ....backbeat, is a syncopated accentuation on the "off" beat. In a simple 4/4 rhythm these are beats 2 and 4...... 

In a double backbeat, one of the off beats is played as two eighth notes rather than one quarter note."

Whatever the technical definition, the backbeat makes the music more irresistible, more danceable and Burke was the one of the seventies' greatest exponents of it. The double backbeat is at the heart of Blondie's electrifying interpretation of the Nerves' "Hanging on the Telephone".

Released as a UK single in 1978, the year that Blondie erupted onto the UK music scene, Burke's driving backbeat and Debbie Harry's drop-dead vocal delivery plant the band firmly in new wave / post punk territory. Territory taken by storm.

(NB: further example of Clem Burke's great drumming is on the BBC Old Grey Whistle Test's recording of the band in concert on New Year's Eve at the Glasgow Apollo Theatre in 1979 see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnOAwknNopE)