Clem Burke, a versatile and hard drummer for blondie, dies at 70

Clem Burke, whose energetic and versatile battery provided the pace for the Blondie group when it produced post -punk, disco and rock tubes in the late 1970s and in the early 80s – then after the new new group in 1997 – died on Sunday. He was 70 years old.

In a statement, the group said the cause was cancer. It didn’t say where he died.

Although Blondie especially remembers his charismatic singer, Debbie Harry, the incessant percussion of Mr. Burke was just as important for his success as one of the most popular American rock groups of his time.

We can be heard falling with a disco rapid rhythm in the intro for “Call me” (1980), only to go to a tropical bed on the “La tide is high” informed by reggae “(1980).

Like other post -punk groups that have slipped into the New Wave – The Cars, Devo – Blondie movement was known as much for its image as for its substance. The group’s album covers and press photos often featured Mme Harry, with her angular face and vaporous blond hair, supervised by her four male group comrades, generally in black costumes and lean links.

Mr. Burke stood out with his childish cheeks and his dizzying hair. But he and the group were much more than their sharp appearance: in an investigation, Rolling Stone ranked him the 61st biggest drummer of all time.