Rip Her to Shreds

"Rip Her to Shreds" is a song by American new wave band Blondie, which features on the band's self-titled debut album.

"Rip Her to Shreds"
Single by Blondie
from the album Blondie
B-side	"In the Flesh" "X Offender"
Released	November 1977
Recorded	1976
Genre	Punk rock[1][2] new wave[3] synth-rock[4] pop-punk[5]
Length	3:23
Label	Chrysalis (UK)
Songwriter(s)	Deborah Harry, Chris Stein
Producer(s)	Richard Gottehrer
Blondie singles chronology
"In the Flesh" (1976) "Rip Her to Shreds" (1977) "Denis" (1978)

Single information

In a BBC Radio documentary about Blondie, lead singer Debbie Harry stated that "Rip Her to Shreds" is about what gossip columns do to people's lives.^[6] According to guitarist Chris Stein, the song is an homage to the Velvet Underground song "I'm Waiting for the Man".^[7]

"Rip Her to Shreds" was Blondie's first UK single, released on Chrysalis Records in the UK in late 1977, though it did not chart. The single peaked at No. 81 in Australia in March 1978.^[8] The B-sides to this single were "In the Flesh" and "X Offender", both previously issued as A-side singles by Private Stock Records, and both moderately successful in certain territories. As a promotional gimmick the song was also released as a 12" single (at that time a relative rarity), selling for 99p. ^{[citation needed]}

"Rip Her to Shreds" was included on Blondie's first greatest hits compilation The Best of Blondie, released in October 1981.

Two versions of the song are featured in the 2011 film Bridesmaids where the original studio version plays in the opening of the film and the live version plays during the end credits.^[9]

Blondie re-recorded the song for their 2014 compilation album Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux. The compilation was part of a 2-disc set called Blondie 4(0) Ever which included their 10th studio album Ghosts of Download and marked the 40th anniversary of the forming of the band.

Charts

Chart (1978)	Peak
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8]	81

Release history

UK 7", 12" (CHS 2180)

1. "Rip Her to Shreds" (Deborah Harry / Chris Stein) – 3:22
2. "In the Flesh" (Harry / Stein) – 2:33
3. "X Offender" (Harry / Gary Valentine) – 3:14

Covers

Pop duo Boomkat recorded a version of the song for 2004 film Mean Girls.

Notes

1. Mason, Stewart. "Rip Her to Shreds review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
2. Doran, John (July 12, 2011). "Once More Unto The Bleach: Debbie Harry Interviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
3. Sexton, Paul (August 16, 2019). "City Scenes: New York Punk & CBGBs". uDiscover Music. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
4. Ladouceur, Liisa (March 16, 2017). "An Essential Guide to Blondie". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
5. Pareles, Jon (February 25, 1999). "POP REVIEW; No Debutante: Blondie Returns to Its Roots". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
6. BBC 6 Music, Friday 31 March 2006, Overnight documentary on Blondie which was a re-airing of an existing BBC radio documentary: "Sunday Girl: The Blondie story", BBC Radio 2, 1999, (first aired 1999/09/18), presented by Toyah Willcox. Archived 2006-06-21 at the Wayback Machine
7. Bosso, Joe (September 13, 2022). "Chris Stein: My Career in Five Songs". Guitar Player. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. pp. 37–38. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
9. Soundtracks for Bridesmaids, IMDb