Blondie @ O2 Apollo, Manchester, 11 Nov

The New York stalwarts bring an irresistible run through the hits – as well as latest LP Pollinator – to a packed house in Manchester

Live Review by Joe Goggins | 15 Nov 2017

"We heard this is a city of bees."

Blondie have been to Manchester many, many times before, and more than that, they've moved through various provocative gears in doing so. There's a lovely overlap tonight, though, between the message that the New Yorkers are aiming to put across on this latest tour and the town in which they're relaying the idea.

Debbie Harry take the stage wearing a bee mask, gold and glittery, in the style of those Venetian plague masks. On the back of her jacket, the slogan screams "STOP FUCKING OUR PLANET". A slice of earnings from certain t-shirts at the merch stand will go to a bee preservation charity. Here in Manchester, the worker bee became a symbol of resilience back in May, after the attack at the Arena. Given that this is an especially receptive, and thoroughly happy Saturday night audience, there's a pleasant dovetail there. 

Inevitably, this well-lubricated weekend crowd wants the hits, and they get them. One Way or Another and Hanging on the Telephone represent a storming opening double bill. Call Me remains a classic, but Rapture – also aired early on – makes the grade in extended fashion here and Harry still nails the famous rap without missing a beat.

The singalongs are reeled off – Atomic, Picture This, a monolithic rendition of disco staple Heart of Glass to close – but Blondie, or what's left of them, are here to promote Pollinator, their latest LP. That's where the bee references sprung from, and that's where they falter a touch tonight. They relay Fun, Fragments and Long Time with a tentativeness that lets the songs themselves down – after all, they're all storming pop tracks in their own right.

Attentive followers would be forgiven for a touch of disappointment at the lack of a Johnny Marr cameo this evening – he co-wrote and played on My Monster on the new LP, and he's a sterling track record of showing up to his collaborators' concerts in town when he's not on the road himself. What the hardcore will certainly have appreciated, though, is the lack of the hackneyed The Tide is High – instead, we get the rolling drama of Union City Blue. That they're still capable of such rock and roll upsets speaks highly of Blondie – tonight's show is a meritocracy, not a nostalgia trip.

http://www.blondie.net