Tributes have unsurprisingly been in great supply, from musicians, critics, fans and of course his bandmates in his career-spanning primary job, who described Clem as "not just a drummer [but] the heartbeat of Blondie".
Clem's much-lauded work ethic was played out in the number of records he appeared on outside of Blondie, including Bob Dylan, Eurythmics, Wanda Jackson, Pete Townshend, Iggy Pop and Nancy Sinatra. Oh, and Mark Owen from Take That.
I've picked half a dozen of Clem's extracurricular activities from YouTube, a few of which have proper videos. Like 'em or not, they're all better for having Clem playing on them.
1) Run Like A Villain: Iggy Pop (1982)
2) Blue Guitars: Vivabeat (1986)
3) King Of Confusion (Cover of The Go-Go's): The Coolies ft. Kathy Valentine & Clem Burke (2023)
4) Child: Mark Owen (1996)
5) Revenge: Eurythmics (1981)
6) Where Were You: Adult Net (1989)
The motherlode of course is Clem's contribution to (every single one of) Blondie's eleven albums, six between 1976's self-titled debut and 1982's The Hunter, and five more from 1999's No Exit to 2017's Pollinator.
Clem's contribution cannot be understated. Just listen to Heart Of Glass, Denis, Atomic, Rapture. And he was cool, so cool.
You can find my 45-minute selection of Blondie circa '76-'82 from August 2023 here
In August 1999, I was lucky enough to see Blondie perform live in Long Island, New York on their No Exit tour. I reflected on the gig and recreated the setlist in August 2022, which can be found here
You're laying down a different kind of beat now, Clem, but the echo of your heartbeat will stay with us. Thanks for everything.
A lovely tribute, Khayem. It came as a bit of a shock, I had no idea he'd been so ill. I've oonly seen Blondie the once, relatively recently in 2017 - but was super-impressed by his powerhouse drumming and seemingly limitless energy, like someone half his age, that night - he really stood out.
ReplyDeleteHe certainly did some interesting 'extra-curricular' work too. Yes - thanks, Clem.
As C has said, an excellent tribute. Was lucky enough to see Blondie on the very last day of 1979, a gig broadcast live by the BBC and readily available on You Tube etc. I remember being a wee bit underwhelmed by it all other than coming away with the view that Clem Burke was a fantastic drummer - even better than Rick Buckler! It's sad to think both have passed away within the past few weeks.
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