ESSENTIAL ALBUMS: Blondie - "Eat To The Beat" (1979)

Of all the iconic groups to emerge from CBGBs, New York’s legendary dive bar and cradle of punk, Blondie were by far the most versatile. While the Ramones stuck rigidly to their stripped-down minimalism and Talking Heads pursued their own angular, art-rock vision, Blondie always kept one ear on the jukebox. They could match anyone for raw, spit-and-sawdust rock, yet were just as comfortable embracing 60s girl-group pop, reggae, and beyond. This stylistic dexterity, and their refusal to be boxed in by punk orthodoxy, set them on the road to pop stardom despite their gritty NYC roots. That journey peaked spectacularly with Heart Of Glass, a bold plunge into disco that sent them to the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 and charts across the world, from Austria to Australia, finally cementing their breakthrough in America. Its parent album, Parallel Lines (1978), would go on to sell around 20 million copies, spawning further hits such as One Way Or Another and Hanging On The Telephone.

With such a colossal success behind them, Blondie faced the daunting challenge of following it up. Enter the classic “tough fourth album”. When work began in April 1979, the band were in a strong position and once again teamed up with Australian producer Mike Chapman, the self-styled provocateur who had whipped them into shape on Parallel Lines. Chapman’s uncompromising, hit-driven ethos — memorably summed up in his blunt Rolling Stone quote about making hit records or giving up — brought polish and discipline to what Debbie Harry once described as his almost dictatorial approach. Recorded across several New York studios, including Electric Lady and The Power Station, the resulting album was shaped by both tension and ambition. Though sessions were reportedly fraught with drugs and disagreements, Chapman channelled that volatility into something focused, sharp and powerful rather than destructive.

Central to the album’s impact was drummer Clem Burke, whose death in 2025 underscored just how vital he was to Blondie’s sound. His playing on Eat To The Beat is explosive and kinetic, providing not just a rhythmic backbone but the album’s beating heart. Many tracks launch with his distinctive, rapid-fire fills, immediately igniting the songs’ momentum. At the same time, all five band members contributed to the writing, broadening the record’s character beyond the core partnership of Harry and Chris Stein. Nigel Harrison, Frank Infante and Jimmy Destri all delivered key compositions that became central to the album’s identity. Despite its razor-sharp production, the record retained a raw, live edge, reflecting a band that had tightened their musicianship and rediscovered their hunger.

Though Eat To The Beat didn’t match the commercial heights of Parallel Lines in the US — peaking at No. 17 — it was far from a failure, selling two million copies worldwide and enjoying major success in the UK, where it delivered a No. 1 album and the chart-topping single Atomic. Innovative in both sound and presentation, it was accompanied by a full set of promo videos for every track, an unprecedented move in the pre-MTV era, all directed by David Mallet. Overshadowed by its blockbuster predecessor, the album has often been unfairly judged as a lesser sequel, when in reality it stands as an alternative peak: leaner, tougher and closer in spirit to Blondie’s CBGBs beginnings. As Chapman later reflected, it was a chaotic, exhilarating experience — and one that produced a record fearless, confident and unmistakably Blondie.