Blondie: Hanging On The Telephone / Deborah Harry’s Birthday
Tonight, July 1st, we're celebrating Debbie Harry's birthday. In lieu of my own story, I'd like to share someone else's. As Suzanne Shelton wrote on our :
This is more appropriate than you know: Blondie was playing at ParkWest the night we opened Neo - everyone from the show turned up to make the club an immediate success. And "Hanging on the Telephone" was one on the first songs I played that night.
Ok I knew that story, but for those who don't know, Suzanne was the very first resident dj at Neo, and she's referring to its opening night on July 25, 1979. She's also responsible for convincing the owners to let her play a new kind of music called "new wave". I am occasionally blown away (and sometimes despaired by) the realization that this music has been played in this club for 31 years. That said, the early days of Neo were much different than they are today, as the club's focus has gone from punk, ska, and mod to goth and industrial to synthpop and EBM.
I feel like we're celebrating more than just Debbie Harry's birthday at the start of this Independence Day weekend. We're celebrating Blondie, we're celebrating Neo, and a country where an underground nightclub can exist for three decades.
Blondie: Hanging On The Telephone
From the 1978 classic Parallel Lines,
Posted: July 1st, 2010
at 3:51pm by qbot
Tagged with 1978, american, billy oconnor, chris stein, clem burke, debbie harry, disco, fred smith, gary valentine, history, independence day, jimmy destri, neo, new wave, parallel lines, park west, punk, suzanne shelton
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Panic! 4 year anniversary / Aztec Camera: Good Morning Britain + The Smiths: Panic
. I don't even remember how Kamar and I met Pogo and Arturo, but it's no surprise that the new wave djs with the Blondie-named night and the Britpop djs with the Smiths-named night were fast friends. I don't think Debbie Harry and Morrissey ever hooked up, but if Atomic was a girl, Panic would be our quirky British boyfriend. We're there almost every month -sometimes in the booth- and Arturo is one of our favorite regulars and guest djs at Neo. In either case, it's always a good time, and we're glad to help them celebrate their fourth anniversary.
In honor of Panic, I've chosen the oft-overlooked Aztec Camera single "Good Morning Britain", featuring vocals from Mick Jones of The Clash, from their 1990 release Stray. And of course this post wouldn't be complete without "Panic" by The Smiths. See you tonight!
Arturo, Kamar, Qbot, & Pogo
Aztec Camera: Good Morning Britain
The Smiths: Panic
Posted: April 24th, 2010
at 5:17pm by qbot
Tagged with 1986, 1990, andy rourke, arturo, atomic, blondie, british, craig gannon, darkroom, debbie harry, johnny marr, kamar, mick jones, mike joyce, morrissey, neo, panic, pogo, qbot, roddy frame, stray, the clash, the smiths
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