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Clem Burke obituary

Drummer with Blondie who provided the backbone of their string of hit singles and live performances

Photograph: Chris Walter/WireImageReplacing the original drummer, Billy O’Connor, who had given up on music, and taking on a stage surname, Burke initially had to persuade Harry and Stein to keep going after they had become frustrated at the stop-start nature of their early efforts. But once the lineup had solidified with Burke’s former schoolmate Gary Valentine on bass, progress was rapid, and the band played regularly at the two main “new wave” venues in New York, Max’s Kansas City and CBGB. Although many of its fine songs had a 60s feel – including In the Sun, Rip Her to Shreds, X Offender and, with Burke showing off his dexterity, Attack of the Giant Ants, they slotted easily into the emerging definition of new wave: not punk exactly, but in sympathy with the mood of the times.

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