Debbie Harry Joins Arcade Fire for ‘Heart of Glass’ at Coachella
Arcade Fire closed out Coachella 2014 with a little help from a New Wave icon, as Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry jumped onstage to sing her band’s 1978 smash “Heart of Glass,” tackling the vocals in messy unison with Régine Chassagne.
Blondie: A Day in the Life at SXSW
Their collaboration isn’t seamless, littered with melodic miscues and lyrical jumbles, but the good-natured performance brings a smile to the entire band. The “Heart of Glass” highlight comes at the 2:22 mark, with Harry following up the line “We coulda made it cruising, yeah” by yelling at the audience, “Cruise on, motherfuckers!”
After concluding that track, Arcade Fire segue into one of their own songs—the synth-driven Suburbs standout “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”—with Harry grooving back and forth and adding occasional vocal harmonies. While riding out the track’s climactic groove, frontman Win Butler takes a second to acknowledge the presence of pop greatness: “Debbie Fucking Harry, everyone,” he says, as Chassagne gives the icon a goodbye hug.
This isn’t the first time Arcade Fire have brought out an onstage guest during their Reflektor tour: Earlier this month, Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas faked out an Argentine audience by donning a papier-mâché Win Butler bobblehead mask. Those giant heads have become a staple in the band’s wild live show: During a recent gig in Austin, the group brought out bobbleheads of President Obama and Texas Governor Rick Perry. Meanwhile, in less jovial bobblehead news, an unknown thief stole bandmember Richard Reed Parry’s mask after a March performance in Bridgeport, Connecticut.