Blondie

"The zenith of the band can be seen in Blondie Unseen, featuring a nostalgic handwritten foreword by Debbie Harry and many unseen images." - Mojo
"Sometimes crazy, frequently sexy and impossibly cool...Debbie Harry was the perfect subject for Roberta Bayley, legendary photographer of the New York punk scene." - The Sunday Telegraph
"From their very early days Roberta captured the band at work and play. This book offers as much an insight into the life of Debbie herself as into this unique period of music and fashion." - ID
"An unseen photo-story shows the late-70s New York rock scene in a fresh light in Blondie Unseen 1976-1980." - Dazed & Confused
"One of the most insightful and artistic portrayals of a punk and pop icon you're likely to come across. Stunning . . . a must have for Blondie fans." - Writers' News
Blondie: The Early Years 1976-1980 captures a unique period in music and fashion as seen through the lens of Roberta Bayley, then among the New York punk scene’s most prominent photographers.
From the band’s earliest days, performing before the difficult to please crowds at legendary New York punk venues such as Max’s Kansas City and CBGB’s, to Blondie’s ultimate ascension to global superstardom at the end of the 1970’s, Roberta Bayley was present to record the swift and dramatic rise of Blondie and the unique phenomenon of Debbie Harry.
Featuring 235 candid photographs, many of which are unpublished, this book provides a fly on the wall visual perspective of life with Blondie during this exciting period. Roberta Bayley’s talent for being in the right place at precisely the correct moment ensures that her photographs capture the v?rit? of the moment in a dramatic and revealing manner. These images, enhanced and complemented by Bayley’s own first-hand descriptions of events provide an inimitable evocation of one of the most creative and exciting periods in popular culture.
Roberta Bayley was chief photographer for John Holstrom’s legendary Punk magazine and also worked the door at punk palace CBGB's from 1974-1978. She was one of the first to visually document the '70s punk scene. Her legendary photos have appeared in several significant books about the era, including the photography collection Blank Generation Revisited: The Early Days of Punk Rock (1997). Roberta Bayley’s work is the subject of regular exhibitions both in the US and overseas.