How Blondie's Clem Burke altered the course of Fred Armisen's life

Sheena Goodyear · CBC Radio

· Posted: Apr 08, 2025 4:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

From the infinitesimal Fred Armisen archetypal laid eyes connected Clem Burke — rocking retired connected Saturday Night Live with his Beatles haircut and big, reddish drums — his beingness was everlastingly changed.

Burke, the iconic Blondie drummer, has died astatine the property of 70 aft what his set called "a backstage conflict with cancer."

Unlike galore different drummers of his time, Armisen says Burke was larger than life, ne'er taking a backseat to his bandmates. 

Armisen — an actor, comedian and, of course, drummer — says Burke was not lone his idol, but besides his friend. Here is portion of his speech with As It Happens big Nil Kӧksal.

When you adjacent your eyes and you deliberation of Clem Burke down that kit, what bash you see? 

I spot him astatine a much caller concert, a Blondie amusement I saw astatine the Greek Theatre [in Los Angeles], wherever I got to beryllium connected the broadside of the stage, truthful I had a benignant of broadside space focused connected him. And helium was playing with specified fervour that helium astir looked similar helium was dancing arsenic helium was playing the drums.

On your societal media post, you called it "relentlessly exciting," his benignant of drumming.

Yeah, helium ne'er hung backmost and conscionable benignant of disappeared distant from the song. Like, it truly felt relentless. It felt similar the drums were, like, close successful beforehand of you.

When did helium archetypal participate your life? 

In 1979, erstwhile I was a kid, I saw him connected Saturday Night Live.... They bash the opus Dreaming, and the camera pulls retired from his footwear drum. As opposed to, with a batch of bands, you conscionable get a benignant of wide changeable of everyone successful the band. 

The remainder of the set are, of course, you know, incredible, and Debbie Harry, of course, is the pb vocal. But determination was thing astir that messaging. It's astir similar the camera idiosyncratic was saying, like, "OK, but cheque retired the drums."

For me, arsenic a kid … there's thing astir his reddish drum kit and the mode helium was dressed and the mode helium was moving that was marque caller to me. Even though it was similar an echo, to him, of the '60s, I didn't cognize what that meant. I was like, what is this fashion? … Like, what is this mentation of drumming?

It truly acceptable maine disconnected to wanting to beryllium a drummer. It was truly like: Aw man, that's precisely what I privation to be.

You wrote that you utilized his signature sticks astatine the SNL 50 show. What does it consciousness similar to usage those signature sticks and play? 

Because helium had wellness issues, Blondie couldn't play. But Blondie is, to me, specified a immense portion of SNL. So I was like, OK, Clem Burke should beryllium here.

I was, like, what if I usage his signature sticks? There's a version, you know, wherever it's like at slightest he's represented.

I took a representation of the sticks and I sent it to him to beryllium like, "Hey, conscionable truthful you know, I utilized your sticks." He answered back, and that was truly meaningful for me. I wanted him to cognize that helium was there. 

And what did helium say, if you're comfy sharing? 

He was really, truly happy. And past arsenic I was telling radical that, like, "Hey, I did that," they knew due to the fact that helium showed them the photo. So that made maine happy. It truly did.

What was helium similar to bent retired with? 

Aw, man! He was the best! 

He was, like, everything you wanted from a idiosyncratic due to the fact that helium was a euphony nerd. He was a fan. And truthful you couldn't speech astir thing without him having much details astir it — astir records, astir what records were hits. Like, helium truly kept track. He was similar a walking, excited encyclopedia of popular and punk. It was the best.

I got to play with him, too. I did immoderate shows arsenic this quality I did from SNL doing British punk, and helium was the drummer, truthful I got to play euphony with him.

Were you flipping out? Were you nervous? I mean, you cognize however to support cool. You perform. You're a seasoned unrecorded performer. But, I mean, this is Clem Burke. 

It's the weirdest thing. It's really similar a premix of knowing idiosyncratic truthful good without him realizing it. Like, I knew his drumming truthful good that it made cleanable consciousness to me. So it felt natural. 

And helium was conscionable retired to person drumming fun. Like, helium wanted to beryllium a portion of it, you know, conscionable to beryllium a portion of it. 

Now if you look online, everyone is penning each these beauteous things astir him — astir his drumming oregon astir his manner consciousness — and I emotion that. He's not 1 of those radical who it's like, "Oh, helium was underrated."

He was successful the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was celebrated. Everyone knew it. And the mode that they featured him connected records and TV, the mode that Blondie featured him, they appreciated it and celebrated it.

How bully for him that it wasn't like, "I wish much radical knew astir him." No. All the greats bowed down to him. All the greats celebrated him. And isn't that great, that successful his lifetime, helium knew however loved helium was?

There's truthful galore fantastic songs, is determination 1 that you would similar america to play?

Union City Blue is the masterpiece. Masterpiece of drumming. Because, yes, Dreaming is the best, you know, it's the astir well-known. But Union City Blue ... it's similar a tornado. It's similar you're being sucked up into a tornado of drumming ... up into heaven.