Blondie Brings Necessary Evil to Toronto

Tonight you've got a chance to see a living punk rock legend.

My introduction to Deborah Harry came as a young kid, transfixed by her performance on The Muppet Show.

She has influenced some of today's top female pop singers, including Madonna and Gwen Stefani. Known for her striking stage persona and vocal performances, Harry has embraced other musical sub-genres in her work, including punk, new wave, disco, and hip hop.

Her band Blondie was responsible for introducing rap into the mainstream as early as 1980 with the hit song Rapture, one of the earliest rap-influenced songs to achieve mainstream success in the U.S. The song was recently remixed with The Doors' Riders on the Storm in the song Rapture Riders.

Harry is touring in support of Necessary Evil, her first solo album in 14 years, which brings her to The Phoenix tonight, along with Swedish opening act Kristoffer Rangstam.

Her latest video, Two Times Blue shows that she's matured over the years. But she's still got that sultry charm, now in her fourth decade in the music biz. And her talents don't end there....

Harry has appeared in 30 film roles, including David Cronenberg's Videodrome and, 20 years later, in My Life Without Me, for which Toronto's own Sarah Polley won a Genie award.

So is it true, do blondes have more fun?

Deborah Harry plays tonight at The Phoenix (45 Sherbourne Street). Doors at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $45 at Ticketmaster, Rotate This (620 Queen St. West) or Soundscapes (572 College St.) or $50 at the door.

Photo by Joe Gaffney.