Plastic Letters

Plastic Letters
Plastic Letters
Studio album by Blondie
Released	February 1978
Recorded	June–July 1977
Studio	Plaza Sound (New York City)
Genre	New wave; pop rock; punk rock;
Length	34:46
Label	Chrysalis
Producer	Richard Gottehrer
Blondie chronology
Singles from Plastic Letters
	"Kidnapper"; Released: 1977 (Japan only); "Denis"; Released: February 1978; "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear"; Released: April 1978;

Plastic Letters is the second studio album by American rock band Blondie, released in February 1978 by Chrysalis Records.^[1] An earlier version with a rearranged track listing was released in Japan in late December 1977.^[3]

Overview

This is the second and final Blondie album to be produced by Richard Gottehrer. "Denis", a cover of Randy & the Rainbows' 1963 song "Denise", was successful across Europe, reaching No. 2 in March 1978 in the United Kingdom, and also reached No. 19 in Australia. "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" was the second single from the album, reaching No. 10 in the UK in May 1978. The song was written by the band's second bassist, Gary Valentine, shortly before he left for a solo career prior to the recording of Plastic Letters; his departure necessitated hiring Frank Infante on a session basis to play bass and rhythm guitar. (Infante would be promoted to being a full member of the band shortly after this album was released.) Blondie member Chris Stein is also credited with playing bass on the album, as well as guitar. During recording Blondie was still signed to their old label, Private Stock Records. The album peaked at No. 10 in the UK and has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The pink dress Debbie Harry wears in the cover art was designed by Anya Phillips.^[4] New friend Joan Jett of the Runaways is thanked on the back cover of the record.

In an interview in 2024, Frank Infante said, “There’s a lot of misinformation out there. If you look on Wikipedia, it says that the band did Plastic Letters as a four-piece and that Chris Stein played guitar and bass. No – I played guitar and bass. I did all the bass."^[5] Infante, not yet an official band member at the time of recording, is credited on all issues of the album (as Frank "The Freak" Infante) with rhythm guitar and bass. Stein is credited with lead guitar, bass, e-bow and vibes.

Plastic Letters has been remastered digitally and reissued twice: the first time by Chrysalis Records in 1994 with two bonus tracks, and the second in 2001 by EMI-Capitol with four bonus tracks. The latter issue features the earliest demo of the band's future hit "Heart of Glass", then known as "The Disco Song".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+^[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[7]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[8]
Mojo	^[9]
Q	^[10]
Rolling Stone	^[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[12]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	4/10^[13]

The Globe and Mail wrote that "some of Blondie's hardness has been made pliable with curious arrangements and an attempt to make the band seem more formidable than it really is."^[14]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Fan Mail"	Jimmy Destri	2:35
2.	"Denis"	Neil Levenson	2:15
3.	"Bermuda Triangle Blues (Flight 45)"	Chris Stein	2:45
4.	"Youth Nabbed as Sniper"	Stein	2:56
5.	"Contact in Red Square"	Destri	1:56
6.	"(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear"	Gary Valentine	2:40
7.	"I'm on E"	Deborah Harry Stein	2:13

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
8.	"I Didn't Have the Nerve to Say No"	Harry Destri	2:50
9.	"Love at the Pier"	Harry	2:24
10.	"No Imagination"	Destri	2:54
11.	"Kidnapper"	Destri	2:34
12.	"Detroit 442"	Destri Stein	2:24
13.	"Cautious Lip"	Ronnie Toast Stein	4:21

1994 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Poets Problem" (B-side to "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear")	Destri	2:20
15.	"Denis" (alternative version)	Levenson	2:22

2001 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Once I Had a Love (a.k.a. The Disco Song)" (1975 version)	Harry Stein	3:58
15.	"Scenery" (outtake from Blondie)	Valentine	3:10
16.	"Poets Problem" (B-side to "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear")	Destri	2:20
17.	"Detroit 442" (recorded live 11/06/78 at the Walnut Theatre, Philadelphia, PA)	Destri Stein	2:33

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Plastic Letters.^[15]

Blondie

Chris Stein – lead guitar, guitar, bass, E-bow on "Youth Nabbed as Sniper", vibes
Deborah Harry – vocals
Clement Burke – Premier drums, backing vocals
James Destri – grand piano, Farfisa organ, Polymoog synthesizer and strings, Roland synthesizer, backing vocals

Additional personnel

Richard Gottehrer – production
Frank "The Freak" Infante – bass, rhythm guitar
Dale Powers – background vocals on "Kidnapper"
Rob Freeman – engineering
Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City)
Phillip Dixon – photographs
Ramey Communications – art direction, design

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *Plastic Letters*
Chart (1978)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[16]	64
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[17]	2
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[18]	38
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[19]	33
UK Albums (OCC)^[20]	10
US Billboard 200^[21]	72

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for *Plastic Letters*
Chart (1978)	Position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[22]	18
UK Albums (OCC)^[23]	40

Certifications

Certifications for *Plastic Letters*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI)^[24]	Gold	50,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[25]	Platinum	300,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Ruhlmann, William. "Plastic Letters – Blondie". AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
^ "Kidnapper – 1977". rip-her-to-shreds.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ "Plastic Letters – 1978". rip-her-to-shreds.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ Che, Cathay (1999). Deborah Harry: Platinum Blonde. MPG Books Ltd. p. 77. ISBN 9780233994963.
^ Bosso, Joe (March 28, 2024). "Blondie guitarist Frank Infante sets the record straight on his riffs and solos". Guitar World. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Blondie: Plastic Letters". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Blondie". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
^ Weingarten, Marc (September 21, 2001). "Blondie: Blondie / Plastic Letters / Parallel Lines / Eat to the Beat / Autoamerican / The Hunter". Entertainment Weekly. New York. p. 85.
^ Bulley, Jenny (December 2016). "Blondie: Plastic Letters". Mojo. No. 277. London. p. 107.
^ "Blondie: Plastic Letters". Q. No. 97. London. October 1994. p. 135.
^ Berger, Arion (June 8, 2000). "Further Listening". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
^ Coleman, Mark; Berger, Arion (2004). "Blondie". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 85–86. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
^ Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Blondie". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 49–50. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
^ McGrath, Paul (March 1, 1978). "Hello, Hollywood". The Globe and Mail. p. F2.
^ Plastic Letters (liner notes). Blondie. Chrysalis Records. 1978. CHR 1166.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. pp. 37–38. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Blondie – Plastic Letters" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
^ "Charts.nz – Blondie – Plastic Letters". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Blondie – Plastic Letters". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
^ "Blondie Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1978" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
^ Scaping, Peter, ed. (1979). "Top 200 LPs in 1978". BPI Year Book 1979 (4th ed.). London: British Phonographic Industry. pp. 182–85. ISBN 0-906154-02-2.
^ "Dutch album certifications – Blondie – Plastic Letters" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved October 29, 2019. Enter Plastic Letters in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1978 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
^ "British album certifications – Blondie – Plastic Letters". British Phonographic Industry. August 10, 1981. Retrieved October 29, 2019.

[allmusic-1] Ruhlmann, William. "Plastic Letters – Blondie". AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2020.

[2] "Kidnapper – 1977". rip-her-to-shreds.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[3] "Plastic Letters – 1978". rip-her-to-shreds.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[4] Che, Cathay (1999). Deborah Harry: Platinum Blonde. MPG Books Ltd. p. 77. ISBN 9780233994963.

[5] Bosso, Joe (March 28, 2024). "Blondie guitarist Frank Infante sets the record straight on his riffs and solos". Guitar World. Retrieved April 11, 2025.

[6] Christgau, Robert (1981). "Blondie: Plastic Letters". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved September 7, 2016.

[7] Larkin, Colin (2011). "Blondie". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.

[8] Weingarten, Marc (September 21, 2001). "Blondie: Blondie / Plastic Letters / Parallel Lines / Eat to the Beat / Autoamerican / The Hunter". Entertainment Weekly. New York. p. 85.

[9] Bulley, Jenny (December 2016). "Blondie: Plastic Letters". Mojo. No. 277. London. p. 107.

[10] "Blondie: Plastic Letters". Q. No. 97. London. October 1994. p. 135.

[11] Berger, Arion (June 8, 2000). "Further Listening". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2020.

[12] Coleman, Mark; Berger, Arion (2004). "Blondie". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 85–86. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved September 23, 2011.

[13] Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Blondie". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 49–50. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.

[14] McGrath, Paul (March 1, 1978). "Hello, Hollywood". The Globe and Mail. p. F2.

[15] Plastic Letters (liner notes). Blondie. Chrysalis Records. 1978. CHR 1166.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[16] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. pp. 37–38. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[ac_Netherlands_Blondie-17] "Dutchcharts.nl – Blondie – Plastic Letters" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2012.

[ac_New_Zealand_Blondie-18] "Charts.nz – Blondie – Plastic Letters". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 30, 2019.

[ac_Sweden_Blondie-19] "Swedishcharts.com – Blondie – Plastic Letters". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2012.

[ac_UK2_-20] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 21, 2020.

[ac_Billboard200_Blondie-21] "Blondie Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2020.

[22] "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1978" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved February 22, 2020.

[23] Scaping, Peter, ed. (1979). "Top 200 LPs in 1978". BPI Year Book 1979 (4th ed.). London: British Phonographic Industry. pp. 182–85. ISBN 0-906154-02-2.

[NetherlandsBlondiePlastic_LettersalbumCertRef-24] "Dutch album certifications – Blondie – Plastic Letters" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved October 29, 2019. Enter Plastic Letters in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1978 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".

[United_KingdomBlondiePlastic_LettersalbumCertRef-25] "British album certifications – Blondie – Plastic Letters". British Phonographic Industry. August 10, 1981. Retrieved October 29, 2019.

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v t e Blondie
Debbie Harry Chris Stein Leigh Foxx Matt Katz-Bohen Tommy Kessler Fred Smith Ivan Král Clem Burke Gary Valentine Jimmy Destri Frank Infante Nigel Harrison
Studio albums	Blondie Plastic Letters Parallel Lines Eat to the Beat Autoamerican The Hunter No Exit The Curse of Blondie Panic of Girls Ghosts of Download Pollinator
Compilations	The Best of Blondie The Complete Picture: The Very Best of Deborah Harry and Blondie Blonde and Beyond The Platinum Collection Denis Picture This – The Essential Blondie Collection Atomic: The Very Best of Blondie Greatest Hits Greatest Hits: Sight + Sound Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux
Live albums	Picture This Live Live Live by Request
Remix albums	Once More into the Bleach Beautiful: The Remix Album Remixed Remade Remodeled: The Remix Project
Singles	"X Offender" "In the Flesh" "Rip Her to Shreds" "Denis" "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" "Picture This" "I'm Gonna Love You Too" "Hanging on the Telephone" "Heart of Glass" "Sunday Girl" "One Way or Another" "Dreaming" "Union City Blue" "The Hardest Part" "Atomic" "Call Me" "The Tide Is High" "Rapture" "Island of Lost Souls" "War Child" "Maria" "Nothing Is Real but the Girl" "No Exit" "Good Boys" "Mother" "A Rose by Any Name" "Sugar on the Side" "I Want to Drag You Around" "Fun" "Long Time" "Tonight" "Too Much"
Videos	Eat to the Beat The Best of Blondie The Complete Picture: The Very Best of Deborah Harry and Blondie Live Greatest Video Hits Live by Request
Tours	Tracks Across America Tour '82 No Exit Tour Road Rage Tour Parallel Lines 30th Anniversary Tour Panic of Girls Tour Rage and Rapture Tour
Related	Blondie discography Debbie Harry discography

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