HE’S had a friendship with Blondie’s iconic frontwoman Debbie Harry for almost 25 years, so it’s probably safe to say that artist Rob Roth knows her best.
With a clear advantage over most interviewers, the New York-based director will deliver a night that promises to be one Blondie fans won’t easily forget when he hosts an evening with Debbie Harry and Chris Stein at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall on Wednesday, April 22.
Debbie Harry
“My idea and intention for it is to make it feel like being on the tour bus with them,” beamed Rob.
He continued: “I have been on the tour bus with them several times and it is so funny because that is when all the real good juicy stories come out.
“You are stuck in this little room in a way and it is moving across the country but yet they are full of so much of energy because it is after a show.”
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Rob Roth
The trio has already done several shows in this format to help support singer Debbie’s best selling autobiography Face It.
The book, which Rob collaborated on, was released last year and has already been hailed “the ultimate rock n roll memoir” by The Sunday Times.
It features the stories throughout the band’s five decades and Rob hopes to bring those tales - including the unpublished ones - to life in this unique format.
He said: “We haven’t quite repeated ourselves yet. Sometimes I make them tell stories that I know the audience will love.
“A lot of the time I am still digging to see where we can go because between the two of them, they kind of jog each other's memories and it works really well.”
He added: “People can probably expect to hear stories that they have never heard before including myself.
“They always come out with stuff that I go, ‘what?’ and I have known them for 25 years.”
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Blondie emerged on the music scene in the seventies with a unique, eclectic mix of sounds that allowed them to deliver hits Heart of Glass, Rapture, Call Me and the Tide is High.
They have sold 40 million albums worldwide and have even been inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame.
Their allure, talent, and success make an event like this appealing to any music fan as Rob explains.
“They have that really unique and wonderful combination of really good music from a past that is mythologised now.
“With someone in the lead position who is just one of the most beautiful women in the world and also has maintained a kind of mystery about her. That combination is always what people are intrigued by.
“The thing that is always so great is it is surrounded by really great music.
“In the end, it is the music that stands the test of time and is amazing. That is authentic.”
Having tested the show format with audiences both in the States and UK, Rob is happy it has been a success which resulted in the new dates including Glasgow being announced.
“I am always happy when something is received well,” he said.
He continued: “The book has really worked out better for everybody than I maybe anticipated. I knew it would be well received but now it is interesting to grow this new kind of presentation.
“Debbie said in an interview how when we do these it almost like a play which I find really interesting.
“You are kind of watching these three characters rift off each other.”
He added: “I am really excited because in the UK and Scotland, the fans there are so...
“You are full of so much energy.
“I love Scotland and I love Glasgow. I have only been there once, but when I was there I had such a great feeling.”
For tickets to the show, visit here
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