Tina Weymouth shared the discussion Blondie’s Debbie Harry had with Talking Heads and revealed Harry almost joined the band as their singer. The band appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, celebrating the 40th anniversary of their seminal concert film, ‘Stop Making Sense.’
How Debbie Harry Almost Joined Talking Heads
The band discussed how they were formed and the earlier days of the band, and shared a story of how each member joined the band. While sharing her story of joining the band, she explained how David Byrne almost didn’t become a part of the band. After looking for a singer for a long time, Weymouth and Chris Frantz decided to offer Harry to be their singer, which she declined. Weymouth told the story:
“Well, they really needed a bass player, and nobody would join them. They asked Debbie Harry to sing with them, and she said, ‘I already have a band, but you can buy me a drink.'”
Tina Weymouth Joins the Band
After Harry declined to join, the singer ultimately became David Byrne. With the involvement of the bassist and the rest of the members, they were officially formed in 1975. Weymouth shared her own experience in joining the band:
“I just loved them, I just thought, ‘Oh god, these guys. They’re so amazing and creative.’ And, we had a chemistry. It was very special, and so I braved it. Even though it wasn’t the right thing to do, probably, but I thought, ‘I’ll just get them going.'”
Even though the Blondie singer refused to join the band, she still worked with the band for a song. Titled ‘Lolita Punk,’ the song takes place in ‘No Talking, Just Head.’ The album was recorded and released in 1996, after the departure of the frontman, Byrne. The rest of the members came together to gather special guests for the album, which eventually turned into a project.
Earlier, Chris Frantz talked about the near-joining of Harry. He said that the joining of the Blondie singer would have been an interesting meeting of minds since she is an inspiration to the band.
You can watch the interview below.
