BOOTLEG BLONDIE

Alexander’s, Chester

Reviewer: Brian Gorman

Reviewed on 10 September 2022

The classy, dynamic Alexander’s Bar, in Chester city centre has hosted a great many tribute bands of late, and aficionados of the 70s and 80s post-punk era are certainly being well catered for at the moment. Just recently, we had the fantastic U2 Experience, live on stage, recreating the sights and sounds of frontman Bono’s Irish rockers, and tonight we welcomed fellow iconic music royalty, Blondie. Here, being celebrated in the form of the mightily impressive Bootleg Blondie.

Billed as ‘The official Blondie tribute band’, the group were formed over twenty years ago, and have the distinction of being endorsed by Debbie Harry, and having played with Blondie’s original drummer Clem Burke, and guitarist Gary Valentine. Add to this the fact that they have been thanked on Blondie’s album ‘Pollinator’, and played at the legendary CBGB’s in New York (a favourite haunt for the original band, back in the 1970s), Bootleg Blondie have a lot to live up to, and had a sold-out crowd to impress. The band arrived a fashionably thirty minutes late on stage, but we were soon tapping our feet to the opening bars of the classic ‘Heart Of Glass,’ and doing double-takes when singer Debbie Harris (yes, that’s how she bills herself) appeared in the classic little black dress, with the single slender shoulder strap; diminutive, with the trademark shaggy blonde bob, scarlet lipstick, and perky confidence. “Once I had a love, and it was a gas …” rang out, and there was no mistaking that high pitched, crystal clear vocal. We could be seeing the real thing, here! Well, it’s about as close as you can get. It’s rare, indeed, to see a tribute band with this degree of constructed authenticity, combining looks, voice, attitude, and body language. The audience, of whom the great majority were female (of all ages), were in heaven, dancing along to all the hits (and, respectfully, nodding along to the rhythm of the lesser-known songs).

Next up was another all-time sing-along classic, ‘Dreaming,’ with its frenetic pace, frantic drumming, and primal punk energy, all iced over by those sheer, sparkling vocals. Ms Harris had it all, even the ‘Noo-Yawk’ accent, used to wonderful effect when she screamed out “Sing, you Mother-F**kers!” The hits kept coming, and the audience were with them all the way, with several fans scrambling up on to chairs to grab a few mobile snaps of the dynamic punk princess in full flow. The proto rap, and hip hop hit, ‘Rapture,’ was perfectly realised, but the biggest applause of the night came for the anthemic, mournful and melancholic disco-funk-new wave masterpiece ‘Atomic’, as Debbie donned stylish shades, and long white opera gloves. A life-sized cut-out of a red telephone box formed part of the stage backdrop, and our charismatic lead singer was soon brandishing an old-fashioned handset and receiver when launching into ‘Hanging On The Telephone,’ and now wearing the classic 70s Vultures t-shirt.

Reaching the half-hour mark, I assumed we were about to break for an interval when Debbie surprised us with a Marilyn Monroe style rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’. Apparently, this was for ‘Colin and Leslie’, and their large party of friends in attendance. However, this simply led straight into another flurry of timeless hits, including ‘One Way Or Another’, ‘Picture This’, ‘Maria’, and the ever popular ‘Denis’. A non-stop roller coaster ride through the Blondie songbook culminated in the ‘final’ song, ‘Sunday Girl’, with Debbie now sporting another mini outfit, this time in blood red. After a raucous reception, the expected rhetorical question “Do ya want another one?” rang out, and we were treated to the epic, Giorgio Moroder disco classic ‘Call Me’ (theme song from the film ‘American Gigolo’), followed by a scorching cover of T-rex’s ‘Get It On’, and a spine-tingling reprise of ‘Heart Of Glass’ for the climax.

Bootleg Blondie delivered exactly what any Debbie Harry fan could have possibly wished for. The uncanny resemblance, and vocals, of singer Debbie Harris, and the magnificent recreation of a stream of immortal classic tunes. The audience were bouncing, and singing along, all night. If the original band ever need a break, they know who to call. 

Tags: Chester, Alexander’s, Bootleg Blondie, Debbie Harry, Debbie Harris, Heart Of Glass, Call Me, New York, CBGBs, Giorgio Moroder

Star rating: 5

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