As a musician,an actor,a muse,an icon,the breadth of Debbie Harry's impact on our culture has been matched by her almost Sphinx-like reticence about her inner life. Through it all - while being acclaimed as one of the most beautiful women in the world,prized by a galaxy of leading photographers and fashion designers,beloved by legions of fans for her relentless,high-octane performances,selling 50 million albums or being painted by Andy Warhol - Debbie Harry has infused her perennial Blondie persona with a heady mix of raw sexuality and sophisticated punk cool.
In Face It,Debbie Harry invites us into the complexity of who she is and how her life and career have played out over the last seven decades. Upending the standard music memoir,with a cutting-edge style keeping with the distinctive qualities of her multi-disciplined artistry,Face It includes a thoughtful introduction by Chris Stein,rare personal photos,original illustrations,fan artwork installations and more.
Peppered with colourful characters,Face It features everyone from bands Blondie came up with on the 1970s music scene - The Ramones,Television,Talking Heads,Iggy Pop and David Bowie - to artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat,Marina Abramovi and H.R. Giger of Alien fame. It explores her successful acting career (she has starred in over 30 film roles,including David Cronenberg's Videodrome and John Waters's Hairspray),her weekends with William S. Burroughs and her attempted abduction by serial killer Ted Bundy. Ranging from the hardscrabble grit and grime of the early New York City years to times of glorious commercial success,interrupted by a plunge into heroin addiction,the near-death of partner Chris Stein,a heart-wrenching bankruptcy and Blondie's break-up as a band,an amazing solo career and then a stunning return with Blondie,this is a cinematic story of an artist who has always set her own path. Inspirational,entertaining,shocking,humorous and eye-opening,Face It is a memoir as dynamic as its subject.
Publisher: HarperCollins PublishersISBN: 9780008229443Number of pages: 368Weight: 400 gDimensions: 198 x 129 x 32 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'By the end of this book,unusually for a rock memoir,I grew to really like - not just revere - the author.'- The Observer
'The ultimate rock'n'roll memoir'- The Sunday Times
'(This) autobiography documents,brilliantly and brutally,the lawless,druggy streets of early 70s New York,living the hazy cosmic jive of the legendary downtown loft scene'- Stylist
'Harry offers a vivid portrait of a seedy,bohemian scene in late-60s New York... Engaging'- The Guardian
'Face It: Debbie Harry's cool and forthright memoir... The Blondie singer is a reluctant memoirist and what drove her to write this is unclear - but thank God she did'- The New Statesman
'Intoxicating... This candid memoir is an absorbing read.'- The Daily Mirror
'Face It is a rollicking,riotous read,taking in Blondie's ascent from gritty downtown New York to pop superstars to the band's nosedive of heroin addiction,bankruptcy and break-up,and phoenix-like return to the top of the charts in 1999... a real page-turner... often jaw-dropping'- NME
'An astonishing memoir'- The i
'Debbie has us in raptures...Its tone is matter-of-fact,honest,self-aware and often humorous'- The Daily Express
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