It may be the credit crunch, but there was a buy-one-get-one-free offering up for grabs at Liverpool's Summerpops festival last night with double headliners Blondie and The Stranglers.
The two vintage bands from the punk new wave scene - one American, one British - put on a superb show proving they have both stood the test of time.
The Stranglers, now far tamer and less controversial than in the late 70s and with a revived line-
up, opened the gig with a high-octane performance complete with pulsating rock and crashing guitars.
Playing hits such as Always The Sun, Peaches, Walk On By, Golden Brown, All Day And All Of The Night, The Stranglers worked the crowd up and by the time they ended their 50-minute set with the fantastic No More Heroes, the audience was at fever pitch.
When Blondie, fronted by Debbie Harry, burst on stage, the packed crowd - with plenty of young faces as well as the older ones seeking nostalgia - was thrilled. Wearing a black outfit cinched at the waist with a red belt and matching red kitten heels with a tie hanging from her neck, Debs looked great and it was hard to believe she is 63.
Blondie opened up with the hugely popular Hanging On The Telephone. It was a shaky start as Debbie mistimed her lyrics on some of the faster parts of the song.
Happily, once she got warmed up, she was back to her best and proved her haunting voice was still intact by belting out a spectacular One Way Or Another followed by Picture This. Indeed, she got better as the concert went on.
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of their Parallel Lines album, Blondie played it in its entirety plus more chart-topping hits such as the rap flavoured Rapture, Maria and Call Me. Blondie's encore included The Beatles' Please Please Me.
This double whammy of Blondie and The Stranglers was first class.
Aasma Day
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