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Blondie biography

The Hunter also included a song entitled "For Your Eyes Only" which shares its title with a 1981 James Bond film. This song was originally written on spec to be the film's opening-title theme. However, the producers chose another song by the same name, composed by Bill Conti and Michael Leeson. Blondie was offered the chance to perform Conti and Leeson's song, but they turned the offer down. Sheena Easton's rendition of Conti and Leeson's theme song became a top-ten single worldwide.

With tensions within the band on the rise due to the commercial decline and the constant press focus on Harry to the exclusion of the other band members, events reached a breaking point when Stein was diagnosed with the life-threatening illness pemphigus. In August 1982, Blondie canceled their tour plans early and announced their break-up.

Stein and Harry (at the time a couple) stayed together, and retreated from the public spotlight for a few years. After Stein recovered from his illness, Harry resumed her solo career in 1985, with active participation from Stein in all her recordings. Meanwhile, Burke became a much-in-demand session drummer (and played for a time with Eurythmics), and Destri also maintained an active career as a producer and session musician.

Ironically, given how much fuss the band made over the fact that it was a band rather than a solo act, Blondie's first release after the The Hunter was a 1988 remix album called Once More into the Bleach which was billed to "Debbie Harry/Blondie". It featured both solo and band material.

During the late 1980s and into the early 1990s, Blondie's past work was recognized by a new generation of fans and artists including Madonna. Speaking in 1998, Clem Burke said he had recognized elements of Blondie in the band No Doubt, and Harry commented that she began to realize "our reputation had grown since we stopped". Chrysalis/EMI Records also released several compilations and collections of remixed versions of some of its biggest hits.

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