One Way or Another (Blondie)

Deborah Harry of Blondie onstage at the Palladium in 1977

The only other person I photographed that I didn't approach in the real world when I had a chance was Deborah Harry of Blondie. I may have the paparazzi gene, but not the rude paparazzi gene. (I've been known to back off a bit when asked-- I always thought in the long run it was better to be nice-- and it always seemed to work in my favor.) 

Deborah Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie visit Mark Mothersbaugh
after a Devo performance at the Bottom Line in 1978

I saw her one day in Bloomingdales and I was about to approach her when I saw she was having an intense conversation with an older woman. It seemed very personal and I just wasn't about to intrude. I followed them while they argued and walked through the main floor without stopping, hoping there would be a moment when I could approach her (hey, i said I had the paparazzi gene), but they were totally involved in conversation, and I let them walk out the door without saying anything.

Not too long after, I was hired to photograph two Blondie video parties that were seven months apart, but the band wasn't even there. All there was to shoot were people in a club watching videos on a monitor, and record company execs with some fans who won a contest. And I made more money from those two shoots without the band than from selling photos of Blondie or Deborah Harry to magazines.