7 Reasons To Celebrate Debbie Harry's 70th Birthday

The world's resident bleach blonde Queen Of Punk Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry turns 70 today. Where has the time gone? It seems just yesterday she was a 23-year-old folkie in The Wind In The Willows and now— okay, we'll get our act together and get this going.

Here are seven rockin' reasons you should be having a slice of cake for Debbie Harry. 

blondie was the first non-aussie act to play homebake 

In the traditionally all-Aussie, sometimes-Kiwi line-up of Homebake, Blondie were asked to headline back in 2012 — because December 21, 2012 was due to mark The End Of The World As We Know It, apparently organisers thought it apt to have Harry and her clan play their mega-hit Rapture to mark the end of days. In a 2012 interview The Music did with Blondie's Chris Stein, they didn't even know they were breaking a long-held tradition: “No, is that the case? I haven't a fucking clue."

australia gave Blondie their first top 10 single with In The Flesh

Molly Meldrum was the first to play Blondie's B-side In The Flesh from Blondie on his TV show Countdown back in 1977, giving Blondie their very first hit song anywhere in the world. The track went on to spend 15 weeks in the Aussie charts and ended up peaking at #4 nationally. 

she thought Sabrina The Teenage Witch Was Cool before you did 

And nobody dare argue that Sabrina The Teenage Witch (the non-cartoon show, with Melissa Joan Hart) wasn't cool. It 100% was. Anyway, Harry starred as Cassandra, one of the presiding witches on The Witches Council in The Other Realm, way back in the 1996 pilot episode of the show. She was one of the Council members who overlooked the witches and warlocks that lived in the Mortal Realm — and one can argue not much as changed; she's probably judging other punk acts nowadays the same way she judged witches in the show. Here's the entire episode, yours for the watching. She shows up around the 15 minute mark.

Rapture was the first rap song to be played on MTV

The video clip of Rapture from 1980's Autoamerican was said to be the first "rap" song of its kind to be played on the music channel — back when it used to play a ton of music videos. Though it may not seem like rap nowadays, it was revolutionary and among the first of its kind back in 1981, and also featured iconic graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in the clip.

her performance on SNL was the first televised rap performance

While Blondie were on hiatus from 1982 to 1997, Harry took the opportunity to host and act as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live's 1981 Valentine's Day episode. During her performance, Harry brought New York hip hop group Funky Four Plus One on stage with them to perform, marking the very first televised rap performance on national TV. Harry's boyfriend at the time Chris Stein told Wax Poetics, "The people on the show were so nervous about them doing it ... I remember trying to explain to them how scratching worked. Trying to verbalise what that is for someone who has no idea, it’s really difficult.” 

she performed one way or another with the muppet band

There's hardly anything more to say about this. Rocking an orange prison jumpsuit (or something akin to it anyway), Harry performs one of the most commonly soundtracked songs in the history of ever with your favourite puppets. 

she escaped Ted Bundy's serial killing ways in the early 70s

This one has never been verified, but Harry has claimed on more than one occasion that notorious serial killer, rapist and necrophile Ted Bundy lured Harry into his small car in New York City in the early '70s. As The Telegraph writes, Debbie says, "I looked down and there were no door handles. The inside of the car was stripped. The hairs on the back of my neck just stood up. I wiggled my arm out of the window and pulled the door handle from the outside. I don't know how I did it, but I got out. He tried to stop me by spinning the car but it sort of helped me fling myself out. Afterwards I saw him on the news. Ted Bundy."