What are Chris Stein and Debbie Harry doing today? Former Blondie couple lives explored amid Clem Burke’s death

The recent death of Clem Burke, Blondie’s long serving-drummer, has put the band’s remaining members, especially the singer Debbie Harry and the guitarist Chris Stein in the spotlight. As tributes flood in for Burke, fans wonder what the now iconic duo is up to nowadays.

Debbie Harry, the blonde frontwoman of Blondie, is now pushing 80. According to Woman's World, along with her voice and fashion sense, she also influenced the music landscape by fusing punk, disco, and hip-hop.

Her long relationship with Blondie’s guitarist Chris Stein was both personal and professional. They met in 1973 and began making music together in 1974, soon becoming a mainstay in New York’s underground music scene.

Chris Stein has followed a quieter path in recent years. Stein has kept himself busy through his photography, writing memoirs, and making music once in a while. His 2024 memoir Under a Rock offered fresh insights into the band’s early struggles, creative processes, and individual challenges, including his health struggles.

Debbie Harry, now well into her 80s, no longer tours as often as she once did. Now, in her later years, Harry has maintained a good public presence in interviews and media, where she has focused more on talking about her old age, motherhood, and dating.

"I don’t walk around thinking every minute, oh my God, I’m going be 80 — but that’s sort of how I feel. My mother used to say in her head she was 25 and I’m the same." She said in an interveiw with The Times.

Harry has also stayed single and child-free by choice. She has said that although she never married, she has no regrets about it and that her independence makes her happy. She said:

“I think I would have been a terrible parent. Although, who knows?... But it doesn’t bother me for some reason. I guess there’s some missing element in my chromosomes.”

More about Chris Stein and Debbie Harry’s relationship and Chris Stein's legacy

Chris Stein and Debbie Harry’s romantic relationship started in the early 70s and lasted until 1987, spanning the band’s original rise to fame and breakup in 1982.

In the early 1980s, Stein was diagnosed with pemphigus, a rare autoimmune disease. This health scare led to Blondie’s brief breakup in 1982, during which Harry cared for him while struggling to maintain her own career. Today, the duo is still together, and Harry is even godmother to Stein’s children.

Clem Burke started drumming when he was 14 in the orchestra in his school but was supposedly kicked out for playing too loudly, according to Blondie’s official website. According to AP News, in the 1970s, he replied to a Village Voice ad for a drummer with a “freak energy.” This was the start of his long-running partnership with Debbie Harry and the rest of the Blondie crew.

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Burke and the original members of Blondie were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. At the time, the band had sold more than 42 million records worldwide.

The band confirmed Burke’s death on Monday through its website, saying he had died of cancer but offered no further details about his illness.

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