"Backfired" is the debut solo single from American singer and Blondie vocalist

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

. Released in 1981, it was taken from her debut solo studio album, ''

KooKoo ''KooKoo'' is the debut solo album by American singer Debbie Harry, released on July 27, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. Produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, the album was recorded whilst Harry took a break from her band Blondie. It ...

''.

Song information

"Backfired" peaked at number 32 in the UK, and number 43 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (though it remains Harry's highest-charting solo single in the US). It also peaked at number 71 on the US

Hot Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart, and number 29 on the Dance chart. The single also managed to become a hit in only a few other countries including Sweden and Australia. In an attempt to distinguish herself as a solo artist, Harry's image upon the single's release was quite different from her established image with Blondie. She had dyed her hair darker and had a new

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

-inspired look, as seen in the music video for the song directed by

H.R. Giger Hans Ruedi Giger ( ; ; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was a Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as " biomechanical". Giger later abandoned airbrush for pastels, mark ...

, who appeared in the video wearing a mask and mimes the male back-up vocals on the song. Produced by

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

and

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the ...

of the

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology ''Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictiona ...

who had just produced a huge hit album for

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

, "Backfired" further developed Harry's experimentation with dance music as seen in some of Blondie's material (the Chic-inspired "Rapture" having been a No. 1 hit for them earlier the same year), this time delving more into

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

music. The 7" edit of "Backfired" appears on the

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

compilation ''

Most of All - The Best of Deborah Harry Most or Möst or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Most, Kardzhali Province, a village in Bulgaria * Most (city), a city in the Czech Republic ** Most District, a district surrounding the city ** Most Basin, a lowland named after the city ** ...

''. A remix of the track by Bruce Forrest and Frank Heller was included on the 1988 Blondie/Debbie Harry remix compilation ''

Once More into the Bleach ''Once More into the Bleach'' is a remix album released in December 1988 by the band Blondie and Debbie Harry. The 13-track compilation contains remixes of Blondie songs and material from Harry's solo career. It was the first compilation to inclu ...

''. The original extended 12" mix from 1981 appears as a bonus track on both the 1994 and 2005 CD re-issues of the album ''

''.

Critical reception

In single review prior LP release

David Hepworth David Hepworth (born 27 July 1950) is a British music journalist, writer and publishing industry analyst who was instrumental in the foundation of a number of popular magazines in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Along with the journalist, editor and b ...

of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' was disappointed by this song by saying that "if this is the best that ''KooKoo'' has to offer then Debbie Harry's solo career is going to be short".

Track listing

*7-inch single #"Backfired" (7″ Edit) (

) - 3:34 #"Military Rap" (

Deborah Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film '' Wild Style'', and write ...

) - 3:47 *12-inch single #"Backfired" (12″ Mix) (Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards) - 6:23 #"Military Rap" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) - 3:47

Charts

References

{{authority control 1981 debut singles 1981 songs Chrysalis Records singles Debbie Harry songs Song recordings produced by Bernard Edwards Song recordings produced by Nile Rodgers Songs written by Bernard Edwards Songs written by Nile Rodgers