Clement Anthony Burke (né Bozewski; November 24, 1954 – April 6, 2025) was an American musician best known as the drummer for the band Blondie. He joined the band shortly after its formation in 1975 and remained with Blondie throughout the band's entire career until his death in 2025. He appeared on all of the band's albums with two of the founding members,

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 (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

and

Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician and songwriter 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 St ...

. He was drummer for the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

for a brief time in 1987 under the name Elvis Ramone, and played on albums by other artists, including

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

and

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

. He was a member of

the Romantics The Romantics are an American rock band formed in 1977 in Detroit, Michigan. The band's music is often categorized as power pop and new wave. They were influenced by 1950s American rock and roll, Detroit's MC5, the Stooges, early Bob Seger, Mo ...

from 1990 until 2004.

Life and career

Clement Anthony Bozewski was born on 24 November 1954 in

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the Gateway Region on Bergen Neck, a peninsula between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York ...

, the son of Clement J. Bozewski and Antoinette (nee Terraciano). His father, a drummer who played in local clubs, taught him to drum from an early age and he played in a school marching band. His early experiences on the drum kit began in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing in various New Jersey jam bands. Burke also gained percussion knowledge from his stint as a drummer in the St Andrew's Bridgemen Drum and Bugle Corps in Bayonne. He was recruited by

and

when Blondie was first forming in 1974 and joined the band in early 1975. He was a key figure in keeping the group together when Stein and Harry considered disbanding after their original bassist, Fred Smith, departed to

Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. Burke recruited his friend Gary Valentine to play bass. Burke's style of drumming was influenced by

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

and

Earl Palmer Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of al ...

. During the 1980s and 1990s when Blondie was on hiatus, Burke played drums for

(for whom he was the regular drummer between 1990 and 2004),

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

, Dramarama, the Fleshtones,

, and

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...

, amongst others. He recorded with the line-up of Chequered Past in 1983 with

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

guitarist Steve Jones, former Blondie bandmate

Nigel Harrison Nigel Harrison (born 24 April 1951) is an English musician. Harrison spent several years as the bassist of the American rock band Blondie during the 1970s and 1980s. Life and career Harrison grew up in Princes Risborough, a small town in the ...

, bass guitarist and vocalist Tony Sales, and singer/actor Michael Des Barres. In 1987, Burke sat in as drummer for the Ramones for two gigs, under the name "Elvis Ramone", on August 28 in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and August 29 in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

at the punk club The City Gardens, after the sudden departure of Richie Ramone.From the film '' End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones'' On October 8, 2004, he again played under the name "Elvis Ramone" when he joined Tommy Ramone, C. J. Ramone, and Daniel Rey in the "Ramones Beat on Cancer" concert. He recorded and played live with

Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American retired singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of Rock music, rock, Country music, country and Gospel music, gospel. She was among th ...

and

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

. Burke recorded with Sonny Vincent, and Arthur Killer Kane, and played on

the Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American all-female Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar ...

member

Kathy Valentine Kathryn Valentine (born January 7, 1959) is an American musician who is the bassist for the rock band the Go-Go's. She has maintained a career in music through songwriting, recording, performing and touring as well as additional academic and cre ...

's solo release ''Light Years'' in 2005. He recorded and toured with Dramarama from Wayne, New Jersey and Los Angeles on their 1993 album '' Hi-Fi Sci-Fi''. Burke was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

in 2006 as a member of Blondie. In 2007 he joined Slinky Vagabond with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

guitarist

Earl Slick Earl Slick (born Frank Madeloni; October 1, 1952, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith. He has also worked with other ...

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only offic ...

and

Keanan Duffty Keanan Duffty (born 28 April 1964) is a British fashion designer and musician based in New York City. Duffty studied fashion design at Saint Martin's School of Art in London, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He is a member of the C ...

, who were playing their debut concert at the

Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American singer, songwriter, and the lead vocalist and founding member of the punk rock band Ramones, with Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone. His ...

Birthday Bash in May 2007. He was also a member of Magic Christian (Dirty Water Records), along with Flamin' Groovies guitarist Cyril Jordan (on guitar) and Plimsouls lead guitarist Eddie Munoz (on bass), and toured several times as drummer with the

Hugh Cornwell Hugh Alan Cornwell (born 28 August 1949) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and writer, best known for being the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for the punk rock and new wave band the Stranglers The Stranglers are an English ro ...

Band. Burke played 90-minute sets in 100 concerts in a year. In 2008, it was reported that he had taken part in an eight-year study that analysed the physical and psychological effects of drumming and the stamina required by professional drummers, conducted jointly by the

University of Gloucestershire The University of Gloucestershire is a public university based in Gloucestershire, England. It is located over five campuses, three in Cheltenham and two in Gloucester. The university is the successor of a large number of merged, name-changed ...

and the University of Chichester.Rock drummers 'are top athletes' at BBC News Health
Retrieved 26 November 2015 In July 2011, Burke received an honorary doctorate from the University of Gloucestershire as a result of the drumming project. In 2008, Burke founded the Clem Burke Drumming project to investigate the physical and mental-health benefits of drumming. In December 2011, Burke formed the band the International Swingers with

bass player

, guitarist James Stevenson of

Generation X Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the ...

and singer Gary Twinn of Supernaut. About the same time he became a founding member of the Split Squad, participating in tours, appearances at

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festivals, and in the recording of the album, ''Now Hear This...'', released in January 2014. Clem Burke

In April 2013, Burke appeared on the

Little Steven Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared i ...

song "All I Needed Was You" along with Scott Kempner, Barry Goldberg, Gregg Sutton and Tom Jr Morgan on the Carla Olson album ''Have Harmony, Will Travel''. In 2014, Burke was a founding member of the Empty Hearts. The group recorded on 429 Records and his bandmates included

guitarist and vocalist Wally Palmar, the Chesterfield Kings bassist Andy Babiuk,

the Cars The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave Subculture, scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (l ...

guitarist Elliot Easton and

Small Faces Small Faces were an English Rock music, rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966 ...

and Faces pianist Ian McLagan. The band's self-titled first album was released August 5, 2014, and produced by Ed Stasium. In 2015, via

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects, such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist pa ...

, the band the International Swingers raised the money to record their first full-length self-titled album, ''The International Swingers'' (originally under the working title ''Whatever Works Now''). The album was recorded at Studio 606 in Los Angeles which is owned by the

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

. It was mixed by Peter Walsh, who had worked with

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

, Pulp and Scott Walker. In 2017, Burke played dates as a member of L.A.M.F., a

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of New York Dolls. He later formed the He ...

tribute also featuring Walter Lure, Mike Ness and

. The reunion shows in New York took place at the Bowery Electric in Manhattan on November 15 and 16, 2016, (without Glen Matlock) and were recorded for an album, released on Jungle Records in December 2017. In 2019, Burke played with Blondie tribute act Bootleg Blondie. In December 2021, Burke filled in on drums for Gina Schock during

show at the

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed The Whisky) is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boulev ...

, to celebrate their recent induction into the

. In 2022, Burke was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by the University of Chichester. Burke died from cancer on April 6, 2025, at age 70.

Discography

''NOTE: This list includes albums in which Clem Burke was a band member or the featured drummer.'' ; With Blondie * '' Blondie'' (1976) * '' Plastic Letters'' (1977) * ''

Parallel Lines In geometry, parallel lines are coplanar infinite straight lines that do not intersect at any point. Parallel planes are planes in the same three-dimensional space that never meet. '' Parallel curves'' are curves that do not touch each oth ...

'' (1978) * ''

Eat to the Beat ''Eat to the Beat'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blondie, released on September 28, 1979, by Chrysalis Records. The album spent a year on the US ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at , and was one of ''Billboard''s top 10 albums ...

'' (1979) * '' Autoamerican'' (1980) * '' The Hunter'' (1982) * ''

No Exit ''No Exit'' (, ) is a 1944 existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The play was first performed at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in May 1944. The play centers around a depiction of the afterlife in which three deceased characters a ...

'' (1999) * '' The Curse of Blondie'' (2003) * '' Panic of Girls'' (2011) * '' Ghosts of Download'' (2014) * ''

Pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are ...

'' (2017) ; With The Adult Net * ''The Honey Tangle'' (1989) ; With BP Fallon & The Bandits * ''Still Legal'' (2013) ; With Carla Olson * '' Have Harmony, Will Travel'' (2013) ; With Chequered Past * ''Chequered Past'' (1984) ; With The Delphines * ''The Delphines'' (1996) ; With Dramarama * '' Hi-Fi Sci-Fi'' (1993) ; With The Empty Hearts * ''The Empty Hearts'' (2014) * ''The Second Album'' (2020) ; With

* '' In the Garden'' (1981) * ''

Revenge Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...

'' (1986) ; With

* '' Zombie Birdhouse'' (1982) ; With The International Swingers * ''The International Swingers'' (2015) ; With

Jimmy Destri Jimmy Destri (born James Mollica, April 13, 1954) is an American musician, and the original and longest-serving keyboardist for the band Blondie. Background Destri is of Italian descent. His father was a novelist who also wrote screenplays an ...

* '' Heart on a Wall'' (1981) ; With

* ''Light Years'' (2005) ; With Magic Christian * ''Evolver'' (2009) ; With

Mark Owen Mark Owen (born 27 January 1972) is an English singer and songwriter best known for being a member of pop group and band Take That; as of 2024, the group have sold 14.4 million albums and 14 million singles in the UK. In Owen's solo career, he h ...

* '' Green Man'' (1996) ; With Miss Derringer * ''Lullabies'' (2006) ; With

* '' White City: A Novel'' (1985) ; With

The Plimsouls The Plimsouls were an American rock band known for their hit 1982 single "A Million Miles Away", which was featured in the movie '' Valley Girl''. History The band was formed in Paramount, California in 1978. They recorded two full-length al ...

* ''Kool Trash'' (1998) ; With

The Romantics The Romantics are an American rock band formed in 1977 in Detroit, Michigan. The band's music is often categorized as power pop and new wave. They were influenced by 1950s American rock and roll, Detroit's MC5, the Stooges, early Bob Seger, Mo ...

* ''Made in Detroit'' (1993) * '' 61/49'' (2003) ; With Sonny Vincent, Arthur Kane, Rick Ballard * ''A Tribute To Mr. Rock' Chuck Berry Tribute- Carol'' (2004) ; With The 69 Cats * ''Transylvanian Tapes'' (2014) ; With The Split Squad * '' Now Hear This...'' (2014) ; With Walter Lure * ''L.A.M.F. Live At The Bowery Electric'' (2017)

References

External links

Official Blondie website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Clem 1954 births 2025 deaths Ramones members Blondie (band) members American rock drummers American punk rock drummers American male drummers American punk rock musicians Musicians from Bayonne, New Jersey The Adult Net members American new wave musicians New wave drummers 20th-century American drummers The Romantics members Dramarama members The International Swingers members Holy Holy (tribute band) members Drummers from New Jersey Deaths from cancer