Pretenders

Led by the magnetic American expatriate Chrissie Hynde, the Pretenders emerged from the late-1970s punk and new-wave ferment in London, forging a direct link between that underground milieu and mainstream radio through a string of taut, angular singles whose sharp melodies also made them instantly radio-friendly. Their self-titled debut, issued in 1980, reached the top of the British album chart and remains widely regarded as one of the most impressive first statements in rock history. The group’s early years produced a run of incisive hits including “Brass in Pocket,” “Back on the Chain Gang,” and “Middle of the Road.” As the decade progressed, the loss of two founding members and the steady turnover of replacements effectively recast the Pretenders as Hynde’s own vehicle, although her autobiographical lyric writing and unmistakable vocal delivery kept their sonic identity intact. Learning to Crawl in 1984 and its 1986 follow-up Get Close both achieved gold status on either side of the Atlantic, while 1994’s Last of the Independents introduced the enduring rock ballad “I’ll Stand by You.” Entering the new century the band’s release schedule slowed, yet Break Up the Concrete (2008) and Alone (2016) still registered strongly on the U.K. charts, and Hynde’s songwriting retained its edge and energy; those qualities powered the group’s twelfth studio album, Relentless, released in 2023.

Raised in Akron, Ohio, Hynde relocated to England in 1973 and took a post as a contributor to the weekly New Musical Express. She immersed herself in the nascent punk scene, worked at Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s celebrated boutique Sex, and performed with early outfits such as Jack Rabbit, Masters of the Backside, and the Moors Murderers. Encouraged by Anchor Records executive Dave Hill, she assembled the Pretenders in 1978 and cut a demo with a short-lived original configuration. Hill launched Real Records specifically to release the band; by the time serious recording began, the lineup had stabilized around Hynde on vocals and guitar, James Honeyman-Scott on guitar, Pete Farndon on bass, and Martin Chambers on drums. Their debut single, a cover of Ray Davies’ “Stop Your Sobbing” produced by Nick Lowe, entered the British Top 40 in early 1979. The follow-up, Hynde’s own “Kid,” also fared well, yet it was the catchy “Brass in Pocket” in 1980 that truly ignited their career; both the single and the debut album reached number one in Britain and performed almost as strongly in the United States.

While touring America later that year Hynde met Ray Davies; their three-year relationship produced a daughter. An EP titled Extended Play appeared in March 1981 as the band completed work with producer Chris Thomas on its second album. Pretenders II arrived on Sire Records in August and included another Davies composition, “I Go to Sleep,” alongside standouts such as “Talk of the Town” and “Adulteress.” Although it reached the Top Ten in both Britain and America, some critics found it overly reminiscent of the first record. By June 1982 Farndon’s drug problems led to his dismissal; two days later, on 16 June, Honeyman-Scott died of a heroin-and-cocaine overdose. Still absorbing the loss, Hynde and Chambers enlisted guest musicians Billy Bremner of Rockpile and Tony Butler of Big Country to cut “Back on the Chain Gang,” which became the band’s biggest U.S. hit when released late in 1982. Tragedy struck once more on 14 April 1983 when Farndon himself succumbed to a drug overdose. Hynde had already recruited guitarist Robbie McIntosh and bassist Malcolm Foster; together they issued “Middle of the Road” and “2000 Miles” before year’s end. Learning to Crawl, the third album, surfaced in January 1984. Its introspective yet hook-driven rock connected strongly with listeners and reviewers alike, becoming the Pretenders’ highest-charting American release at number five on the Billboard 200 and earning platinum certification. After appearing at Live Aid in July 1985 the band began work on its fourth record; disagreements between Hynde and Chambers resulted in the drummer’s departure, and Foster soon followed. Hynde and McIntosh finished Get Close with session players, releasing it in October 1986. The album steered toward a more polished sound and yielded the final major ’80s singles “Don’t Get Me Wrong” and “Hymn to Her.”

By the time Packed! appeared in 1990 the Pretenders functioned essentially as a Hynde solo project; the album used only session musicians and listed her as sole member. Apart from the modest hit “Never Do That,” it made little commercial impact. Hynde stayed relatively quiet until 1994, when Last of the Independents was greeted in some quarters as a comeback. The record introduced guitarist Adam Seymour and bassist Andy Hobson while restoring Chambers on drums and returned the band to the Top 40 with the ballad “I’ll Stand by You.” That mid-1990s configuration endured long enough to record the 1995 live album Isle of View and the studio set ¡Viva El Amor! in 1999, the latter noted for its spare production and strong Hynde songs. The same year she organized the memorial concert Here, There and Everywhere – A Concert for Linda honoring Linda McCartney; the Pretenders backed guests including Paul McCartney, George Michael, Elvis Costello, and Tom Jones, the latter of whom later enlisted them for a cover of Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” on his album Reload.

The Pretenders entered the 2000s on solid footing with a successful Greatest Hits collection in 2000 and the reggae-inflected Loose Screw in late 2002, still featuring the same core lineup. In 2006 the career-spanning box set Pirate Radio appeared, containing more than five hours of music plus a DVD of rare performances. For the next studio album Hynde refreshed the roster with guitarist James Walbourne, bassist Nick Wilkinson, and pedal-steel player Eric Heywood; studio veteran Jim Keltner contributed to 2008’s Break Up the Concrete, though Chambers remained the live drummer. The album debuted at number 32 on the Billboard chart and number 35 in Britain. After several years of touring Hynde placed the band on hiatus in 2012. She issued her debut solo album Stockholm two years later and published the memoir Reckless: My Life as a Pretender in 2015. When the Pretenders regrouped in 2016 to tour with Stevie Nicks the existing lineup stayed intact, yet it did not participate in that year’s Alone, which Hynde recorded with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys along with guests ranging from Duane Eddy to Richard Swift. In 2019 the archival package The Pretenders with Friends documented a 2006 concert that included guest appearances by Iggy Pop, Shirley Manson of Garbage, and members of Incubus and Kings of Leon.

The current lineup of Walbourne, Wilkinson, and Chambers delivered Hate for Sale, the band’s eleventh studio album, in 2020. Chambers’ first studio recording with the group since 2002, it also marked Walbourne’s emergence as Hynde’s chief songwriting collaborator, credited on every track. Viewed as a return to fundamentals, the album earned strong reviews and reached number 29 on the U.K. chart. Three years later the same partnership produced Relentless, another incisive collection that played to the band’s established strengths.