Clement Burke (born Clement Anthony Bozewski; November 24, 1954)[1] is an American musician who is best known as the drummer for the band Blondie from 1975, shortly after the band formed, throughout the band's entire career. He also played drums for the Ramones for a brief time in 1987, under the name Elvis Ramone.
Burke's early experiences behind the drum kit began in the late 1960s and early 1970s as one of the founding members of Bayonne, New Jersey's premier cover bands, Total Environment and Sweet Willie Jam Band. Burke also gained percussion knowledge from his stint as a drummer in the famed Saint Andrew Bridgmen Drum and Bugle Corps in Bayonne. Recruited by Debbie Harry and Chris Stein when Blondie was first forming in 1974, Burke joined Blondie in early 1975.[2] He was a key figure in keeping the group together after Stein and Harry considered disbanding, following the departure of original bassist Fred Smith to Television; Burke recruited his friend Gary Valentine to play bass. Burke's style of playing was influenced by Hal Blaine, Keith Moon, Ringo Starr, and Earl Palmer.[3]
In 2007, Burke joined Slinky Vagabond with David Bowie guitarist Earl Slick, Glen Matlock, and Keanan Duffty playing their debut concert at the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash in May 2007.[15] He is 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 Band.[16]
Burke in 2008
Burke played 90-minute sets at 100 concerts in a year and in 2008 it was reported that he had taken part in an 8-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 and the University of Chichester.[17][18] In July 2011, Burke received an honorary doctorate from the University of Gloucestershire, as a result of the drumming project.[19]
In 2015, via PledgeMusic, 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 LA which is owned by the Foo Fighters. It was then mixed by Peter Walsh who has worked with Simple Minds, Pulp and most recently Scott Walker.[24]
In 2017 Burke played dates as a member of L.A.M.F., a Johnny Thunders tribute also featuring Walter Lure, Mike Ness, and Glen Matlock.[25] 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 the release on an album released on Jungle Records in December 2017.
In 2019 Burke played with Blondie tribute act Bootleg Blondie.[26]
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.
Glen Matlock 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 officially released studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, although he had left the band early in the recording process, credited as bassist and backing vocalist on only one song on the album, "Anarchy in the U.K.". However, on the bootleg album Spunk, Matlock played bass on all the songs, which included earlier studio recordings of 10 of the 12 songs that later appeared on the Bollocks album.
Blondie is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1974 by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the American new wave genre and scene of the mid-1970s.
The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock.
Marc Steven Bell is an American drummer. He began playing in hard rock bands in the New York City area, notably Dust and Estus. He was asked to drum for punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He replaced drummer Tommy Ramone in the Ramones in 1978, and went by the stage name Marky Ramone from then on. He has also played drums for other punk rock and heavy metal bands, including his own band Marky Ramone and the Intruders. He continues to keep the Ramones legacy alive around the world with his band Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg.
Thomas Erdelyi, known professionally as Tommy Ramone, was a Hungarian-American musician. He was the drummer for the influential punk rock band the Ramones from its debut in 1974 to 1978, later serving as its producer, and was the longest-surviving original member of the Ramones.
In the Garden is the debut studio album by the British new wave duo Eurythmics. It was released on 2 October 1981 by RCA Records.
Halfway to Sanity is the 10th studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, and their last album to feature drummer Richie Ramone. It was produced by Daniel Rey and released on September 15, 1987, by Sire Records. Recording sessions began that April at Intergalactic Studios in New York City, with the band recording instruments before vocals in order to learn songs more quickly. It fared well on charts outside the United States, but peaked at No. 172 on the Billboard 200.
Richard Reinhardt is an American drummer best known by his stage name Richie Ramone, and for being the drummer for the punk band the Ramones from February 1983 until August 1987. As of 2024, he is one of four surviving members of the band, the others being Marky Ramone, Elvis Ramone, and C.J. Ramone. Richie appeared on three studio albums with the Ramones and played on Joey Ramone's second solo album ...Ya Know? He has later released three solo albums and currently fronts his own solo band.
The Romantics are an American rock band formed in 1977 in Detroit. The band is often put under the banner of power pop and new wave. They were influenced by 1950s American rock and roll, Detroit's MC5, the Stooges, early Bob Seger, Motown R&B, 1960s North American garage rock as well as the British Invasion rockers.
"Dreaming" is a song by American new wave band Blondie. Released in 1979, the song was the opening track from their fourth album Eat to the Beat. Written by guitarist Chris Stein and singer Debbie Harry and partially inspired by ABBA's "Dancing Queen," the song also features an active drum performance by drummer Clem Burke, who did not expect the final recording to feature his busy drum track.
James Stevenson is an English punk/alternative rock guitarist, at one time a member of the Alarm, Gene Loves Jezebel, Gen X, the Cult, Holy Holy, the International Swingers and Chelsea.
Ed Stasium is an American record producer and audio engineer, who has worked on albums by the Ramones, Talking Heads, Motörhead, the Smithereens and Living Colour.
Mark Englert is an American musician known as a guitarist for Dramarama since 1982. He has appeared with Dramarama on Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show. He has worked with a number of established musicians including Benmont Tench from Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, and Clem Burke of Blondie. Mark a.k.a. "Mr. E. Boy", was a founding member of Hatful of Rain, a defunct band established in Portland, Oregon during the mid-1990s, which featured singer/songwriter John Lowery and at one time included Courtney Taylor-Taylor of The Dandy Warhols on drums. The band went on to receive stellar reviews from critics around the globe, but failed commercially due to their short term run of just a few months prior to their break-up. Mark has been known to play guitar for many underground artists and has recently put out a few of his own solo records on his own label Phat Boris Records.
Walter Lure was an American rock guitarist and singer. He was a member of the rock group The Heartbreakers.
The Empty Hearts are an American garage rock supergroup band formed in New York City in 2013. which produced its first album and launched its first tour in 2014.
The Split Squad is a Rock and Roll band composed of Clem Burke (drums), Michael Giblin (bass/vocals), Josh Kantor (keyboards), Eddie Munoz, and Keith Streng (guitar/vocals). Some members came to the public's attention in other bands: Burke with Blondie, Kantor with The Baseball Project, Munoz with The Plimsouls, and Streng with The Fleshtones. Since many of the members of the band follow baseball, Annie Laurent Streng, Keith Streng's former wife, proposed the band's name. The term refers to a practice used during Major League Baseball's Spring training.
Chequered Past was a British-American rock supergroup led by actor/singer Michael Des Barres and featuring members of Blondie, the Sex Pistols and Tin Machine. They formed in 1982 and released one, self-titled, album in 1984 on EMI Records. The group stopped performing when lead singer Des Barres was recruited to replace Robert Palmer in Power Station.
The International Swingers is an American–British rock supergroup based in Los Angeles Formed in late 2011, the band is composed of Clem Burke (drums), Glen Matlock (bass/vocals), James Stevenson and Gary Twinn.
Gary Twinn is an English singer-songwriter, musician, TV host and editorial writer, currently fronting punk rock supergroup The International Swingers, which also features Clem Burke, Glen Matlock and James Stevenson.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
