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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Entertainment
Shannon Brown

BBC Glastonbury viewers' frustration over Blondie's set as some switch off

Blondie's Debbie Harry took to the stage at Glastonbury on Sunday - but the performance prompted complaints from viewers after previous similar issues over the weekend.

Blondie launched their set on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage with hit song One Way Or Another. The rock band opened the performance with static buzzing across the back screen before taking to the stage.

Frontwoman Debbie Harry wore a black sequinned skirt and jacket paired with dark visor sunglasses. After playing Call Me, Debbie Harry said the band had to get the “phone songs out of the way” at the beginning of their set.

Addressing the crowd, she said: “Good afternoon, good evening, good day, good night. “Hello, thank you, it’s very nice to be here, I hope you’re all having a lovely time. We had to get those phone songs out of the way because none of it is relevant today, we all have our phones in our pockets.”

But some viewers were reportedly turning over from the band's Sunday afternoon set (June 25), with many watching the BBC's coverage saying they could not hear singer Debbie Harry against the rest of the band, Somerset Live reports. Similar complaints were made about Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose during the band's headline set on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday.

One fan said: "Love Blondie but the sound is poor quality for them." Someone else said: "Sound is awful here for Blondie, backing music way too loud and can’t hear any vocals."

Another person added: "Blondie coming up soon on Glastonbury 2023 another blast from decades ago. One major complaint from tv viewers is the sound from the vocalists. It's not been the best, hopefully it's been a lot better for the live audience?"

The US rockers continued to rattle through hits Will Anything Happen and Atomic, which ended with the guitarist playing his instrument behind his head.

Debbie Harry came to the edge of the stage to whip up the crowd further as they performed Rapture, which featured intense guitar riffs. They later changed to a more joyful sound as they moved on to The Tide Is High.

Harry got the audience to sing back the tune at one stage, describing it as “so pretty” and adding: “I love it.” Debbie Harry reflected on Blondie’s relationship with Glastonbury as they returned to the festival after playing in 1999 and 2014.

She told the crowd: “We’ve got a long track record with you guys so thank you very much for that.” The singer added they were going to play something from the “deep dark past” before launching into Detroit 442 and Doom Or Destiny.

As the set drew to a close, Harry donned a jacket decorated with fragmented glass to sing chart-topper Heart Of Glass.

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