Blondie Drummer Clem Burke Dies at 70 After Cancer Battle

Bandmates and co-founders, singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein, remembered Burke as the ‘heartbeat of Blondie.’

Clem Burke attends the “Tribeca Talks: ‘Blondie’” event in New York City on June 15, 2021. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival

Clem Burke, best known as the drummer for the New York 1970s rock band Blondie, died at 70 on Monday.

In a statement on the same day, former bandmates and co-founders, singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein, confirmed Burke died following a “private battle with cancer.”