Did Madonna Steal Blondie’s Looks?
Deborah Harry aka Blondie claims Madonna stole her look when she became famous in the 1980s. Harry who is 62 years-old now said:
“I came right up against the Madonna thing. Maybe it’s my paranoia but she had a lot of my looks. If you look closely, sometimes there’s pictures of her and me that completely overlap. She (Madonna) was getting such a huge push from Warner (Bros), I was definitely on the B-list. It was a hard period for me. I don’t think anybody knew how to market me or what to do with me. I was like a fish out of water.”
Well, if it’s any compensation to Deborah Harry, I think she was always a better singer and artist. She may not have become as famous as Madonna, but her single “Rapture” involving rap was the first to top the charts. Even if she’s right about Madonna stealing her style or looks, their music was very different.
6 babblicious comments:
The old bat is delusional. She does not have a patent on punky blonde hair, red lipstick or eyeliner! She makes herself look bad by crying sour grapes at this point. Madonna’s bubble gum sound was more mainstream popular. Also, M. changed her look all the time like a chameleon. I read Marlene Dietrich also had a screaming jealousy fit that M. was ’stealing her cabaret look’. The market likes sultry blondes. It’s an archetype. Nobody owns that.
sigh, i do like you debbie but why such a remark at such a time. come on! give credit when it’s due. no matter what you say now, fact is, Madonna is Still a Mega Star! and u? giving reunion concerts where ticket sales are so bad, they’ve got to give thme out free.
well regardless on weather or not the looks were stolen etc i think debra was/is a far more talented and iconic figure of the 70’s and 80’s. madonna just slutted out and still is selling sex to an ignorant and deluded mass market
It’s sad to hear about all the haters coming out and saying negative things about madonna now that she’s been nominated for the rock & roll hall of fame. but i do notice one thing in common with these people….It looks as if all the haters are the ones without power and influence. so whatever they say doesn’t mean s.h.i.t.!
I don’t think that Debbie is criticising Madonna….in fact she has expressed an admiration for her.
What I think she is saying is whilst Madonna definately used some of what she did, she felt ultimately usurped by her and certainly felt some resentment for that at the time…. as I think anyone would.
You have to understand that as soon as Madonna came along, the record company weren’t sure how they could now market Deborah Harry, who had been away from the music business for three years nursing her partner…it wouldn’t have worked to have marketed her in the same was as she was 8-10 years previously… they had Madonna for that now…and I think it is fair to say that they are different artists and personalities and it is maybe easier to say in hindsight that no matter whether Madonna had come along or not, Deborah Harry would probably have stuck with her underground identity rather than go down the commercial and mainstream road.
I like Deborah Harry, and I also like Madonna, but, I think it’s kind of petty of Deborah to say something like that. I don’t think Madonna copied her look. She may have taken bits and pieces of it, and transformed it into something else, but she didn’t copy it. Besides.. Madonna changed her style so much, there was barely enough time for her to copy debs looks.