Up Close with Blondie’s Debbie Harry

Fun lizard aliens? Awesome unicorn-dinosaurs? Blondie’s frontwoman is still rocking, still shocking – and she wouldn’t change a thing.

What is your greatest strength?

A sense of humour.

What is your greatest weakness? 

A sense of humour.

What scares you?

Capitalism, and I’m worried that the illuminati still control everything. It would be better if it were lizard aliens – more fun, at any rate.

What virtue do you most admire in people?

Resilience; the ability to overcome and adapt.

What’s your most treasured possession?

The skull that Andy Warhol used as a model for his skull art.

What’s your idea of absolute happiness?

Realising that absolute happiness doesn’t really exist.

If you could do any other job, what would it be?

A ski instructor, a job that gives you a sense of freedom and thrills.

What’s one thing about you that would surprise people? 

I’m a good cook and I love reading.

If you could have dinner with two famous people, who would you choose?

[Actor] Peter Dinklage and [screenwriter] Werner Herzog, because they know things. 

What travel experience is on your bucket list?

Some island thing. Fiji, perhaps – a location that I’m yet to visit.

How do you switch off?

I watch Survivor.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

This is an oxymoron. Guilt and pleasure don’t relate to each other. I can’t stand ads for “sinful” ice-cream.

If you could turn back time, what would you change in your life?

There’s a terrific book by P. D. Ouspensky, called Strange Life of Ivan Osokin. In it, the dude goes to a magician and says, “If you let me go back and live my life again, I will fix everything, I won’t make any of the same mistakes.” The magician sends him back and – you know what? – he does everything the same.

What is your greatest achievement?

Making it through the ’80s... and Blondie for all this time.

Who is your personal hero?

I have many. Most, like Warhol, William S. Burroughs and [Australian] Vali Myers, were outsiders, artists.

What’s the most American thing about you?

I don’t trust the government.

Where would we find you at a party?

In it. Lit.

If you were an animal, what would it be?

A unicorn-dinosaur hybrid. That would be awesome!

If you were down to your last $20, what would you spend it on? 

I’d buy a beer and watch the sun set near the water.

How would you like to be remembered?

Fondly and with love. 

SEE ALSO: Catching up with Billy Crystal