SIXTEEN years ago the curtain fell on one of the most important, influential, seminal and greatest groups in popular music. Or so they thought. They were wrong.

Because this month, Blondie release their new studio album, No Exit.

After the release of their album, The Hunter, in 1982 it appeared as if the Blondie dream had come to an end.

Tours were cancelled, and the band, in their own words "hated each other". The legacy that they left, however, was immense - think of almost any guitar based act, or any female fronted band, and the chances are they'll owe a big debt to Blondie.

In Debbie Harry they had a front-person who was much more than just a vocalist - she became a cultural icon.

In Clem Burke, Chris Stein and Jimmy Destri, they had musicians who were the first to take their underground influences and twist them into multi-million selling records.

The word 'genius' springs to mind. In the spring of 1998, those four original members decided that the time was right, bygones were bygones and that they still had plenty to offer. They entered the studio together for the first time in 16 years to record the album, No Exit, and in the process revealed that not only was the old magic still there, but that it was as powerful as ever.

Described in the Independent on Sunday as a song that deserves a place on any greatest hits compilation, the track is released as a single on January 25.

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