BLONDIE SINGER ON Debbie: In my head I'm still 25

AS she celebrates her 80th birthday on Tuesday, Blondie icon Debbie Harry will no doubt be touched by her presents.

- BY MARK JEFFERIES Showbiz Editor

Yet despite her age she promises a new studio album this year - her band’s 12th - proving it is she who is the gift that keeps on giving.

Growing old gracefully after a chaotic rollercoaster of a life, she may have smoothed out the ride but shows no sign of slowing down.

She vowed recently: “Oh yeah, I'm going to have a whopping great party with everyone there. Though one of the bad things about ageing is everyone's gone already.”

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Debbie, though, is still very much present. As well as new music, she recently added Gucci to her modelling portfolio, becoming a face for their Cruise 2025 collection.

But her path to stardom was not easy. She fled to New York after escaping an abusive relationship in her 20s. There she became a driver for madcap punk rockers the New York Dolls, and worked as a BBC secretary and a Playboy Bunny.

Yearning to sing, she first joined a girl band, then formed Blondie - who would become the most successful group to emerge from the city's 1970's punk scene, with sales now at 40 million.