'Some people thought I was a man': The world according to Debbie Harry

'Andy Warhol was one of my greatest mentors. He did a painting of me (pictured),' said Debbie Harry

Debbie Harry became the poster girl of pop when Blondie's iconic album, Parallel Lines, hit the UK in 1978. The former waitress from New Jersey made an instant impact with her cool ice-blonde looks on the album, which is free inside this weekend's Mail On Sunday.

'It was a huge record for us because it really cemented our position in Britain,' she says. 'The album sounds amazing today - and I think we play it better now.' Blondie have a new album out next year, Panic Of Girls.

Now 65,  Debbie Harry remains one of the few rock 'n' roll women to have worked consistently throughout every decade, in movies, television and on Broadway.

It's not about looks  -  it's about how you use them.

I hated the way I looked growing up. I had this blonde hair, pale-blue eyes and these jutting cheekbones. I didn't look like any other kids I grew up with and I felt very uncomfortable about my face. I hated looking in mirrors and I definitely didn't think I was pretty. That attitude sort of worked for me in rock 'n' roll. I got into bands and I started getting attention for my looks but I'd never valued them. I didn't act like the traditional girl in the boys' band - I was one of the band. And I wore leather trousers; I didn't do the cute pretty thing. It was weird for me when my looks started to get such attention but I never got sidetracked by that. For me it was all about being rated as a musician.

I based my image on movie stars like Marilyn but I gave them a punk twist.

I was very into movies, very into art. I loved all those strong blonde actresses who lit up the screen. I took that very cinematic feel to Blondie, this cool blonde. But it was definitely with a twist. I wasn't a victim; I was strong, I was a bit remote. I wanted to make people feel they were watching me on a screen. There wasn't anything like that in music before me. Janis Joplin was a strong woman but all her lyrics were about lost love and being a victim. I wanted to seem more untouchable. I was very happy when people loved my looks and I enjoyed the flattery.

'I got into bands and I started getting attention for my looks but I'd never valued them'

Andy Warhol was one of my greatest mentors.

He did a painting of me (see above). Andy was a great guy. He was an amazing listener. Sometimes people want to talk too much but you get more if you listen. He was incredibly casual about everything. I think the best thing he taught me was always to be open to new things, new music, new style, new bands, new technology and just go with it. Never get mired in the past and always accept new things whatever age you are.

I could have been a housewife or a gardener but I chose to be a rock 'n' roll singer.

The only thing I wanted to be as a teenager was a beatnik. I loved that whole ideal of artists, musicians, writers. It was a choice, a life choice, and it hasn't always been easy.

There aren't many people in bands at my age.

I never feel I have sacrificed anything to do what I do; I've just made choices. It's about working hard and committing to doing this job.

I had a narrow escape from the serial killer Ted Bundy.

It was the early Seventies and I was trying to get across town at two or three o'clock in the morning. This little car kept coming around and offering me a ride. I kept saying no but finally I took the ride because I couldn't get a cab. I got in the car and the windows were all rolled up, except for a tiny crack. This driver had an incredibly bad smell to him. I looked down and there were no door handles. The inside of the car was stripped. The hairs on the back of my neck just stood up. I wiggled my arm out of the window and pulled the door handle from the outside. I don't know how I did it, but I got out. He tried to stop me by spinning the car but it sort of helped me fling myself out. Afterwards I saw him on the news. Ted Bundy.

If I could give my younger self any advice it would be to keep an eye on the business side of things.

In Blondie we were very bad at the business side and we lost a lot of money. At the height of our fame the thing that caused us the most stress was the business - we knew we didn't have a handle on it and we knew a lot of cash was flying away. When you get into a band you think it's all about music. It's all you know about and it's all you want to know about. The reality is that most young musicians could do with a crash course in accounting. It's a weird situation to be really famous, really busy and yet to have this feeling all the time that you're not being properly looked after.

'If I could give my younger self any advice it would be to keep an eye on the business side of things. In Blondie we were very bad at the business side and we lost a lot of money'

I always admire people with longevity.

It's the most valuable asset of any of the arts. The dust that collects around you is what you are. For us it's the songs. We wrote a lot of songs, from Heart Of Glass to Sunday Girl to Hanging On The Telephone. We still perform those songs. That's something. People tell us they still sound fresh and they stand up. On top of that we bring in something new. I think we play better, sing better, perform better than we ever did. Artists have to grow.

I'm glad we came from the era we did.

Fame today is very different. Back then we felt like pioneers. It was amazing being a woman in a band and there were others, from Patti Smith to Siouxsie Sioux, who were changing the way women in bands were seen. Now music has become showbiz; it's all one big celebrity blob. There is so much pressure on kids today. I don't know how well I would have fared under such an intense microscope.

'Lily (Allen) is special and incredibly talented. She has such spirit and such intelligence, and she's one of those girls who respects the women who went before her. I felt I was passing a torch on to her'

Some people thought I was a man.

It was one of the rumours that went around and never went away. You have to learn to live with a lot of rumours like that. I know they say that about Lady Gaga now. She's strong, she's ambitious and so she gets handed the same line. That girl is terrific and we should be proud of her. Never believe everything you read.

Lily Allen is the sweetest girl and a friend.

I was devastated when I heard about her losing her baby. Lily is special and incredibly talented. We became friends when we worked together on a duet of Heart Of Glass. She has such spirit and such intelligence, and she's one of those girls who respects the women who went before her. I felt I was passing a torch on to her.

I am happier today than I was 40 years ago.

I know who I am and I'm more in control. I love what I do and I love how I live. I mix with amazing people, I get to play music on tour, I perform at festivals and my life is never boring. Getting older is hard on your looks, but on stage people sometimes see you as you were, which is nice.

I have a rule  -  I always work on New Year's Eve.

I don't care where I do it, whether it's a club or a bar or a big stage, it doesn't matter. I just have to work because I always feel it's symbolic for me for the next year.