From Rock Star to Occult Historian - A Talk with Gary Lachman
From Harvard Divinity School by Harvard Divinity School
January 26, 2026 · 1h 28m
About this episode
Gary Lachman discusses his journey from being a rock star in Blondie to becoming an occult historian and author.
In Pop Apocalypse, Ep. 19, we welcome author and musician, Gary Lachman, to the show. Lachman was the original bassist for the seminal new wave band, Blondie. He later became an intellectual historian; to date, Lachman has published twenty-six books, most recently a memoir, Touched by the Presence: From Blondie’s Bowery and Rock and Roll to Magic and the Occult (Inner Traditions, 2025). In this wide-ranging chat, we discuss how Lachman’s reading of comics and Lovecraft inspired a lifelong interest in the occult, his early days in Blondie, and how he came to Crowleyan magick. Then we turn to Lachman’s time practicing “The Work” of Gurdjieff, his relationship with the author Colin Wilson, and how keeping a dream journal can change our view of the nature of time. Gary Lachman Bio Gary Lachman is an author and lecturer on consciousness, counterculture, and the Western esoteric tradition. His works include Dark Star Rising (Tarcher, 2018), Beyond the Robot (Tarcher Perigee, 2016), and The Secret Teachers of the Western World (Tarcher, 2015). A founding member of the rock band Blondie, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. He lives in London.
People in this episode
Host: Harvard Divinity School
Guest: Gary Lachman
Topics covered
- occult
- music history
- intellectual history
- dream journaling
- Gurdjieff
- Blondie
Keywords
- Gary Lachman
- Blondie
- occult
- Gurdjieff
- dream journal
- Colin Wilson
- Lovecraft
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Blondie
Books & works: Touched by the Presence: From Blondie’s Bowery and Rock and Roll to Magic and the Occult
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