You’ve always maintained a fiercely loyal gay following. Do you think part of that is a product of your openness in talking about your own sexuality over the years?
Probably, and I think that my subject matter lyrically also lends itself to a certain kitschiness, and coming from the New York underground ... I think it’s all of those things combined. Plus the imagery—the blond imagery—I think is very much a linchpin in the gay world and, you know, the drag queens. And I think there’s always been a relationship between a male gay audience and female performers.
Word is that you won’t be performing any Blondie songs on this tour. True? And if so, what kind of reaction do you expect when pleas for “Rapture” and “Heart of Glass” go unanswered?
Absolutely [true]. I’ve put together a new trio with no Blondie members in it—I really want to make a clear definition between Debbie’s solo projects and Blondie—and I hope that the audience can appreciate that and also appreciate this other material. There are some good songs from my earlier solo records, and we’ll be doing some of the stuff from [new album] Necessary Evil. If people really want to hear Blondie, then we’ll have to do another Blondie tour.
Your Hall of Fame induction might best be remembered for your verbal slap-down of an ex-member who tried to crash your performance. Did you expect that to happen or was that totally in-the-moment?
We were told by the organizers that it would be handled a little bit differently than the way it was, but knowing the nature of rock ’n’ roll you’ve gotta be ready. In a way it was sorta good showmanship to have some excitement and to have some controversy. But many, many bands face that dilemma when they get to that stage, because keeping bands together is extremely difficult—people grow their separate ways and there’s hostility and anger and frustration, from The Beatles all the way down to little ol’ Blondie. I think I handled it as best I could, but it was an awkward situation.