Blondie Drummer Clem Burke succumbs to cancer

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Clem Burke, who has died aged 70 of cancer, was the drummer with Blondie from the group’s early days in the mid-1970s through to their disbandment in 1982 – and then again when they reformed in 1997.

At other times, and during the band’s second incarnation, he was in demand as a drummer for hire, often playing with figures associated with the punk and new wave milieu from which he had emerged – including Iggy Pop, Johnny Thunders, the Ramones and two former Sex Pistols.

Although Burke did not write any of Blondie’s songs, with singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein he formed the backbone of the group. His driving energy was pivotal in ensuring that the project continued to go forwards even when internal rows threatened to derail it.

His versatile, stylish drumming also paved the way for the various musical adventures that Harry and Stein embarked on across 11 albums, and was informed by a particular love for British music – the Beatles, the Kinks and the Who – that contributed to Blondie’s early popularity in the UK. In Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 best rock drummers he came in at 61.

Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, to Antoinette (nee Terracciano) and Clement J Bozewski, also a professional drummer, the young Clem played left-handed on a right-handed kit, like his hero Ringo Starr. While at Bayonne high school he learned his trade in the Saint Andrew’s Bridgmen Drum and Bugle Corp, and then appeared in local groups. In 1975, after moving across the Hudson river to New York, he saw an advert in a magazine that had been placed by Harry and Stein, who were seeking a “freak energy” drummer for their band, which they had set up the year before.

Replacing the original drummer, Billy O’Connor, who had given up on music, and taking on a stage surname, Burke initially had to persuade Harry and Stein to keep going after they had become frustrated at the stop-start nature of their early efforts. But once the lineup had solidified with Burke’s former schoolmate Gary Valentine on bass, progress was rapid, and the band played regularly at the two main “new wave” venues in New York, Max’s Kansas City and CBGB. “I really thought there was something there,” he said. “We all had a common aesthetic, whether it be the New York Dolls or the Velvet Underground or the Shangri-Las. We had a commonality among our musical influences which was not really the norm at the time.”

Their eponymous debut album, released in 1976, failed to register much in the US, but created a stir in Britain, where its idiosyncratic outlook fed into the punk scene and led to a tour in 1977. Although many of its fine songs had a 60s feel – including In the Sun, Rip Her to Shreds, X Offender and, with Burke showing off his dexterity, Attack of the Giant Ants, they slotted easily into the emerging definition of new wave: not punk exactly, but in sympathy with the mood of the times.

Blondie’s next two albums were decidedly more poppy – and far more successful commercially. Plastic Letters (1978), featuring the UK No 2 hit single Denis, made it to No 10 on the British album charts, while Parallel Lines, released the same year, contained four worldwide hits – Picture This, Sunday Girl, Heart of Glass and Hanging on the Telephone. Reaching No 1 in the UK, it also finally made Blondie’s mark in the US, where it peaked at No 6.

Their next album release, Eat to the Beat (1979), was another UK chart-topper, but despite further successes with singles such as Atomic, Call Me and The Tide Is High (all in 1980), the band called it a day in 1982 after recording sessions for two more albums, AutoAmerican and The Hunter, were bedevilled by increasingly fractious relations between the group’s fatigued and uptight members. “I don’t think that when the band stopped anybody really cared. It was almost like a relief,” Burke said.

Over the following 15 years, Burke’s strong work ethic kept him in gainful employment. Initially he and the one-time Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison formed their own band, Chequered Past, with the guitarist Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, but once that venture ended in 1985 he appeared live and on albums with Pete Townshend, Iggy Pop, Bob Dylan, Johnny Thunders, Eurythmics, Bob Geldof, Joan Jett, the Adult Net, Dramarama, Colors and even the girl band the Go-Go’s, also filling in on two occasions at live gigs with the Ramones, with whom he took the name Elvis Ramone. In addition he drummed on a regular basis with the Detroit-based band the Romantics from the late 80s through to the early 2000s. Once Blondie got together again in 1997 with its renewed core of Stein, Harry and Burke, he remained in the lineup until his death, playing on five more albums and touring regularly while continuing with other projects.

Aside from live and studio work, Burke also took an interest in the wider impacts of drumming. In 2008 he co-founded the Clem Burke Drumming Project with two British researchers, to examine the physical and mental health effects of playing the drums. The project’s conclusion from wiring up Burke was that “rock drumming is an intense and physically demanding activity with peak heart rates well in excess of age predicted maximum”.

He is survived by his wife, Ellen, a former nurse, whom he married in 2002.

“My best friend. Every variety of love that exists, we had for each other, from romantic to familial. My brother. My constant in all the variables of life. Clem will be a part of my life forever. I will never not miss you,” wrote Go-Go’s bass player Kathy Valentine, who spent several years in a relationship with Burke

“What a privilege to have known you, so great working with you and how fun it was to sing along to your genius beat. May you RIP #clemburke,” wrote Go-Go’s singer Belinda Carlisle. Burke filled in for Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock, who was having health issues, on the band’s 2022 dates.

“I just awakened to the devastating news that Clem Burke (@clem.burke) has left us far too soon. My heart is shattered. Clem became an icon as a member of @blondieofficial, but he was also a important part of my band, the K.A.B. I was blessed to call him my friend. If I ever needed him, he was there. Always. Sending healing prayers and comfort to his widow, Ellen, his family, and all who loved him,” wrote Nancy Sinatra.

“So sad to hear the passing of Clem Burke, one of the best drummers ever. I had the pleasure of playing with him on with him on the Walter Lure (RIP) Johnny Thunders tribute in 2017. Glen Matlock was also onstage on bass. Seems like musicians from all genres are dying or getting sick. The band Blondie had a huge influence on me Talk about individualism. Grateful to have known him I have fond memories of time spent. ,” wrote Mike Ness of Social Distortion.

“So sad to hear of Clem’s passing. He was an awesome musician who was such a part of my early musical life. Rest in peace my friend,” posted Joan Jett.