Lauper and Blondie to play NZ

Cyndi Lauper and Blondie are teaming up and heading to New Zealand.

In a world first, the two acts will co-headline a tour, playing arena shows in Christchurch and Auckland at Easter.

It will be Blondie’s first visit to New Zealand in seven years and Lauper’s first trip to our shores.

They have 13 New Zealand top 10 hits between them.

Lauper and Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry have pushed the boundaries and stereotypes of being women in rock, each making impressions on the music landscape.

Blondie rose up out of the late 70s punk scene in New York and went on to sell more than 40 million albums worldwide and join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the band spanned genres including pop, rock, disco, hip hop and even reggae.

Blondie’s hits include The Tide is High, Heart of Glass, Call Me, Rapture and more, and they’ve just completed a new album to be released in May.

Lauper is one of only 20 people in history to earn Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards, and has sold more than 50 million albums since her debut just over 30 years ago.

She may be best known for hits such as Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Time After Time, but recently she’s moved into the country sphere, putting her signature spin on some of the genre’s classics.

Lauper hails Blondie as one of her biggest influences.

“Blondie were the true trailblazers of the New York City new wave and punk scenes. As a young artist, they had such a big impact on me. I just thought that Debbie was so cool.”

Tickets go on sale tomorrow week.