Blondie

Parallel Lines (Chrysalis)

“Favourite” album is definitely a hard one to pick for music lovers,  but I’ve decided to go with one of the records that first sparked my obsession with pop music — Parallel Lines, Blondie. Whenever I listen to these songs, I get such a wave of nostalgia; they take me right back to the middle seat of the car when I was a kid going on long journeys to see family, where I first fell in love with music. Blondie was a personal favorite of my mum’s, so we would absolutely rinse them growing up, with Parallel Lines no exception. With songs like “One Way or Another,” “Picture This,” their cover of The Nerves’ “Hanging on The Telephone,” “Sunday Girl” and “Heart Of Glass,” it was essentially a hits album. These songs introduced me to pop and pop melodies being used in a way which I hadn’t heard before. It had attitude, it wasn’t clean cut and pristine but felt anthemic and had little 8-year-old Gracey screaming along. Debbie Harry is such an icon and a huge inspiration to me, such a strong, powerful presence, whilst being sexy and feminine — I think subconsciously she sparked my love for front women, as I went on to love performers like Gwen Stefani and Hayley Williams. I still come back to this album and I think that’s the test of a great album, that it still holds up decades later.

Gracey’s new single “Empty Love” feat. Ruel is out now.

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(Chrysalis)

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