Chris Stein

Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie.[1] He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film, Wild Style, and writer of the soundtrack for the film Union City.[2] as well as an accomplished photographer.

Chris Stein
Stein at SXSW in 2014
Background information
Birth nameChristopher Stein
Born (1950-01-05) January 5, 1950
Brooklyn, New York, US
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • film producer
  • photographer
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • bass guitar
Associated acts

Music
Stein performing with Blondie in 2011

In addition to being the sole writer of the Blondie song "Sunday Girl", Stein co-wrote numerous hits with Blondie's lead vocalist, Debbie Harry, including "Heart of Glass", "Dreaming", "Island of Lost Souls", "Rapture", and "Rip Her to Shreds". Stein also ran the Animal Records label between 1982 and 1984.[3]

In 2015, Blondie members Debbie Harry and Chris Stein made a guest appearance alongside The Gregory Brothers in an episode of Songify the News, and they collaborated again to parody the 2016 United States presidential election debates.[4][5]

Photography

An acclaimed photographer, Stein has taken thousands of images documenting the early New York City punk music scene, the visual allure of Debbie Harry[6] and Blondie, and his collaborations with artists including Andy Warhol and H.R. Giger.[7] Stein's photography was published most recently in September 2014 by Rizzoli International in his book, Chris Stein / Negative: Me, Blondie, and the Advent of Punk.[8][9]

The book Negative: Me, Blondie and the Advent of Punk was launched with an exhibition[10] at Somerset House in London, which also coincided with the fortieth anniversary of the formation of the band Blondie. Some of the photographs in Negative have also been published in the Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Victor Bockris co-authored volume Making Tracks: The Rise of Blondie, first published by Elm Tree Books, London (1982). Making Tracks was later reissued by Da Capo Press, New York (1998).

Stein's photography has also been shown in an exhibition at the Morrison Hotel Gallery, West Hollywood in August 2013;[11] in a joint exhibition with Eddie Duggan at the University of Suffolk (April–May 2017), entitled A la recherche du punk perdu,[12] and in an exhibition in a Blondie 'pop-up' shop in London's Camden Market,[13] linked to the 2017 Blondie performance at the Roundhouse.

Personal life

Stein was born to Jewish parents in Brooklyn, New York.[14] He grew up in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, and attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn, but was expelled for wearing long hair.[15][16] While in Blondie, Stein and Harry maintained a romantic relationship but never married. In 1989, the couple went their separate ways but have continued to work together on a professional basis.[17] Stein was co-host of TV Party, a public-access television cable TV show in New York City, that ran from 1978 to 1982.[18]

In 1983, Stein was diagnosed with pemphigus vulgaris, a rare autoimmune disease of the skin, but he has since regained normal function. Stein had developed a mild form of the disease, and was able to control it with a program of steroids.[19] As of 2016, he was still touring and recording with Blondie.[20]

In 1999, Stein married the actress Barbara Sicuranza, and they have two daughters, Akira and Valentina.[21][22]

See also

References
  1. "Official Blondie Website". Blondie. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  2. Foster, Dave (November 3, 2005). "Union City in February | News | Film @ The Digital Fix". Film.thedigitalfix.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  3. "Chris Stein: Information from". Answers.com. January 5, 1950. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  4. "Blondie's Debbie Harry And Chris Stein 'Moderate' Auto-Tuned First Presidential", RTT News, October 1, 2016, retrieved October 24, 2016
  5. The Gregory Brothers; featuring Blondie (September 27, 2016), "TRUMP VS. CLINTON (ft. Blondie) - Songify 2016", Songify the News, YouTube, retrieved October 24, 2016CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. "The punk centrefold: Debbie Harry photographed by Chris Stein, 1976". Faroutmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  7. "Picture This: Blondie's Unofficial Photographer". Forward.com. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  8. "Chris Stein / Negative: Me, Blondie, and the Advent of Punk". Rizzoli International. September 23, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  9. "Blondie's Chris Stein Shares Stories Behind His Punk Photographs". Rolling Stone. October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  10. "Chris Stein/Negative". Somersethouse.org.uk. December 29, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  11. Appleford, Steve (August 12, 2013). "Blondie Guitarist Reveals Rare Seventies Photos". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  13. "Blondie Pop Up Shop and Exhibition - April 29th - May 3rd 2017". Camdenmarket.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  14. "Interview: Chris Stein | The Jewish Chronicle". Thejc.com. June 30, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  15. Hermes, Will (September 4, 2012). Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever. Macmillan. ISBN 9780374533540. Retrieved September 20, 2020 – via Google Books.
  17. "Subscribe to read | Financial Times". Ft.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020. Cite uses generic title (help)
  18. "Glenn O'Brien Remembered by Blondie's Chris Stein, Co-Host of the Legendary TV Party". Wmagazine.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  19. "Struck by her presence – Music". www.theage.com.au. February 13, 2005. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  20. "Official Blondie Gig List". Official Blondie Web Site. July 28, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  22. "Official Blondie Web Site: Chris Stein". Archive.blondie.net. May 13, 2005. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
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