In her new memoir Face It, the Blondie frontwoman reiterates her chilling story
Along with the recent announcement of her anticipated memoir, Face It, almost 50 years later New Wave champion and Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry continues to muse over a harrowing chance meeting with arguably the most notorious serial killer in US history, Ted Bundy.
Her recollection of the evening began with her searching for a cab in the early 1970s. A newspaper published back in 1989 gives Harry’s first details of what happened, after she had seen a photograph of Bundy in the news and recognised him as a man she had once encountered: “I was trying to get across town to an after-hours club” she claims. “A little white car pulls up, and the guy offers me a ride. So I just continued to try and flag a cab down. But he was very persistent, and he asked me where I was going. It was only a couple of blocks away, and he said, ‘well I'll give you a ride’”.
Bundy was a twisted killer and necrophiliac, who operated across most of the East Coast. His murder spree spanned the majority of the 1970s, and he escaped prison twice to continue his killings. Bundy confessed to a total of 30 murders, and although the actual amount has never been confirmed, it is presumably more. He was executed by electrocution on January 24, 1989.
The Blondie musician offers more details on her claim, noting how hot it was as well as her inability to roll down the window, due to the stripped down, skeletal nature of the car interior. Panic ensued after she had realised that there was no door handle either, and she began struggling to open the door via the handle outside: “As soon as he saw that, he tried to turn the corner really fast, and I spun out of the car and landed in the middle of the street.”
Harry is also openly aware of being supposedly ‘debunked’, but continues to plea her legitimacy. It goes without saying that the chilling legacy of this psychotic murderer continues to profoundly reverberate throughout the lives of those affected by him. A documentary and Netflix film featuring Zac Efron keep Bundy in current pop culture.
Talking about it again in a 2012 Blondie biography, Parallel Lives, Harry said: ”I was so lucky. At the time I didn’t know anything about Ted Bundy”.
Speaking of her first autobiography, Harry says she has ”many more stories to tell. Some funny, some scary, some chill to the bone”.
Face It will follow her and the band’s rise through New York, exploring the sound of punk, disco, and rap that culminated in their pop sound. The memoir is a mix of essays by Harry and interviews with journalist Sylvie Simmons, as well as unseen photos and fan-made art.
“I didn’t want to (write it), but I did,” Harry said of the book. “ If Face It appeals to people then I will get to telling more of the anecdotal bits of the story of Blondie... I have led a very full life and couldn’t possibly cover everything in just one volume.”
“I’m prepared for the best and the worst comments, much like when I have released an album or done a big show. I don’t have a thick skin, but I do have a pretty good sense of humour.”
Blondie released their most recent album Pollinator in 2017, and with tour the US this year. Face It will be published by Harper Collins October 1 2019.