Backfired

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"Backfired"
Single by Debbie Harry
from the album 'Koo Koo'
Released	July 1981
Recorded	1981
Genre	Funk, Pop
Label	Chrysalis Records
Writer(s)	Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards
Producer	Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards
Debbie Harry singles chronology
"Backfired" (1981) "The Jam Was Moving" (1981)
Blondie singles chronology "Rapture" (1981) "Island of Lost Souls" (1982)

Backfired is the debut solo single from the American singer-songwriter and Blondie vocalist Debbie Harry. Released in 1981, it was taken from her debut solo album KooKoo.

Song information

Despite Blondie having two number one singles ("The Tide Is High" and "Rapture") and a top 10 album (Autoamerican) within the previous twelve months, "Backfired" failed to make a significant impact on any of the charts, peaking at #32 in the UK. On the U.S. charts, "Backfired" peaked at number forty-three, where it was Harry's highest charting solo single on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number seventy-one on the soul charts ^[1]. On the dance charts, "Backfired" peaked at number twenty-nine ^[2].The single managed to become a hit in only a few other countries such as 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 inspired look, as seen in the music video for the song directed by H.R. Giger.

Produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of the Chic Organisation who had just produced a huge hit album for Diana Ross, "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 music.

The 7" edit of "Backfired" appears on the Chrysalis Records/EMI compilation Most of All - The Best of Deborah Harry. 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. The original extended 12" mix from 1981 appears as a bonus track on both the 1994 and 2005 CD re-issues of the album Koo Koo.

Track listing

7"

1. "Backfired" (7" Edit) (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) - 3:34  Listen (help·info)
2. "Military Rap" (Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers) - 3:47

12"

1. "Backfired" (12" Mix) (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) - 6:23
2. "Military Rap" (Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers) - 3:47

Chart positions

References

v · d · e Deborah Harry Studio albums Koo Koo (1981) Rockbird (1986) Def, Dumb and Blonde (1989) Debravation (1993) Necessary Evil (2007) Main compilations Once More into the Bleach (Debbie Harry and Blondie) (1988) The Complete Picture: The Very Best of Deborah Harry and Blondie (1991) Deborah Harry Collection (1998) Most of All - The Best of Deborah Harry (1999) French Kissin' - The Collection (2004) Singles "Backfired" (1981) "The Jam Was Moving" (1981) "Chrome" (1981) "Rush Rush" (1984) "Feel the Spin" (1985) "French Kissin" (1986) "In Love with Love" (1987) "Free to Fall" (1987) "Liar, Liar" (1988) "I Want That Man" (1989) "Kiss It Better" (1989) "Brite Side" "Sweet and Low" (1990) "Maybe for Sure" (1990) "Well, Did You Evah!" (Duet with Iggy Pop) (1991) "I Can See Clearly" (1993) "Strike Me Pink" (1993) "I Want That Man (Remix)" (1999) "New York, New York" (Moby featuring Debbie Harry) (2006) "Two Times Blue" (2007) "If I Had You" (2008) "Fit Right In" (2008) Book:Blondie