Eat to the Beat

History

The album includes a diverse range of styles as pop, punk, reggae, and funk as well as a lullaby. Three singles were released in the UK from this album ("Dreaming", "Union City Blue" and "Atomic"). "The Hardest Part" was released as the second single from the album in the US instead of "Union City Blue". According to the liner notes of the 1994 compilation The Platinum Collection, the song "Slow Motion" was originally planned to be the fourth single release from the album, and producer Mike Chapman even made a remix of the track, but following the unexpected success of "Call Me", the theme song to movie American Gigolo, these plans were shelved and the single mix of "Slow Motion" remains unreleased. An alternate mix of the track entitled The Stripped Down Motown Mix did however turn up on one of the many remix singles issued by Chrysalis/EMI in the mid 1990s.

Blondie's first video album was produced in conjunction with this record, featuring a music video for each of the album's twelve songs. It was the first such project in rock music. Most of the songs were filmed in and around New York, the exception was the "Union City Blue" music video, which was filmed at Union Dry Dock, Weehawken, New Jersey. Each video was directed by David Mallet and produced by Paul Flattery. The video was initially available as a promotional VHS in 1979 and subsequently released on videocassette and videodisk in October 1980.

Eat to the Beat was digitally remastered and reissued by EMI in 1994, and EMI-Capitol in 2001, with four bonus tracks and candid sleeve notes by Mike Chapman:

They wanted to try anything. And I was right there with them. We also had a title for the album at a very early point, so we had a concept of sorts: Eat to the Beat. I tried to have Debbie explain exactly what it meant to her, but in her normal fashion she simply confused me and I was forced to give it my own interpretation. . . . [Drugs] found their way to the studio and presented us with yet another obstacle. The more drugs, the more fights. It was becoming a real mess. . . . The music was good but the group was showing signs of wear and tear. The meetings, the drugs, the partying and the arguments had beaten us all up, and it was hard to have a positive attitude when the project was finally finished. . . . Was this the record that the public was waiting for, or was it just the waste of seven sick minds? I had never experienced this kind of emotional rollercoaster before, and I have never forgotten the sounds, smells and tastes that came with it. I guess that was what they meant: Eat to the Beat.

The 2001 remaster was again reissued in 2007 (June 26 in the U.S.; July 2 in the U.K.) without the four bonus tracks. Included instead was a DVD of the long-since deleted Eat to the Beat video album, marking the first time it had been made available on the DVD format.

Video album

1. "Eat to the Beat"
2. "The Hardest Part"
3. "Union City Blue"
4. "Slow Motion"
5. "Shayla"
6. "Die Young, Stay Pretty"
7. "Accidents Never Happen"
8. "Atomic"
9. "Living in the Real World"
10. "Sound-A-Sleep"
11. "Victor"
12. "Dreaming"

Bonus Videos-On side two of Videodisc release

1. Heart of Glass
2. Picture This
3. (I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence Dear
4. Hanging on the Telephone

Personnel