Blondie Co-Founder Chris Stein Publishes Memoir

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Chris Stein, who co-founded the new wave band Blondie with Debbie Harry in 1974, has written his autobiography. Under a Rock arrived on June 6, 2024, via publisher Corsair in the U.K. and June 11 from St. Martin’s Press in the U.S. The 304-page memoir is available in the U.K. here and in the U.S. here.

Stein and Harry will come together for a one-night “In Conversation” event at Stein’s alma mater, the School of Visual Arts, in New York City on June 27 to celebrate the book’s release. The program will be moderated by Blondie’s creative director, Rob Roth. Tickets are available here.

In addition, the Morrison Hotel Gallery in NYC’s Soho neighborhood will unveil a special exhibition of Stein’s captivating photographs in which he documented the band’s early days and the vibrant New York punk and new wave scene. The exhibit, open to the public, runs from June 27 and remains on view through July 15.

“The troops at Lime Street Station Liverpool 1977” (Photo: Chris Stein; used with permission)

From the book publisher’s announcement: Debbie Harry defined iconic band Blondie’s look. Chris Stein―her performing partner, lover, and lifelong friend―was its architect and defined its sound. Parallel Lines, their third album and international breakthrough, sold millions of copies worldwide, and launched singles “Heart of Glass” (which Stein co-wrote with Harry) and “One Way or Another” provided the beat for when Bianca Jagger and Halston danced at Studio 54 and other hits like “Rapture” (which Stein and Harry co-wrote), “Call Me” and “The Tide is High” soon followed.

Chris Stein knows how to tell a story. Under a Rock is his nothing-spared autobiography. It’s about the founding of the band, ascending to the heights of pop success, and the hazards of fortune.

Famous names march through these pages―Warhol, Bowie, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and more–but you can get famous names anywhere. What you can’t get anywhere else is a plunge into the moments that made a giant 1980’s artistic sensation. Stein takes us there in this revelatory, propulsive, distinctive memoir.

Stein was born January 5, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York. The guitarist and photographer wrote or co-wrote many other Blondie songs including “The Hardest Part” and “Dreaming.”