Clem Burke, whose versatile drums promoted the iconic rock Blondie group during his decades doing everything, from new wave to songs with disco infusion, has died. He was 70 years old.
The band said in a statement on their website on Monday that died of cancer, but no additional details were provided.
“Clem was not just a drummer; it was Blondie’s beat,” the band said in a statement. “His talent, energy and passion for music were unmatched, and their contributions to our sound and success are immeasurable.”
The self -proclaimed “Rock AND Roll Survivalist “began playing the battery when he was 14 years old in the orchestra of his school, but was expelled for playing too strong, according to the Blondie website. In the 1970s, the AD of a band in the voice of the town that seeks a rock drummer” Freak Energy “, starting his decades race with the main singer and the rest of his blonde of bands.
The band recorded their first album in 1976 and the following year was on tour with icons such as Iggy Pop and David Bowie. It became known as the most commercially successful band that emerged from a fertile New York rock scene that also produced Talking Heads and the Ramones.
In 2006, Burke and the other original members of Blondie were included in the rock AND Roll Hall of Fame after selling more than 42 million records, according to the Blondie website.
At the end of the 1970s and early 80s, the band had eight top 40 hits, including four No. 1: “Heart of Glass”, “Call Me”, “The Tide Is High” and “Rapture”, which is considered the first success number 1 to present the rap. There is also a 1955 -track 1975 album demonstration that includes “Platinum Blonde”, a kind of band statement. But Burke’s brand solidified especially with its rapid and powerful drums at the beginning of “Dreaming” in 1979.
In 2022, after digging up a New Wave treasure of reel tapes, cassettes and disc, the band created the cash set “Blondie: Against The Odds, 1974-1982”, with 124 tracks and 36 recordings previously not issued, demonstrations, exits and remembered versions of the six initial studio albums of Blondie.
Burke reflected on the discovery in an article by Associated Press: “We would never have thought that we would still be here. Looking back in our files, it is quite surprising.”
The rock AND Roll of Fame described Burke in a publication on Monday on the social platform X as “a versatile and distinctive drummer who played exactly what each song required, and, when asked, to let go with Punk Energy Rock.”
