“He would go back with a guitar, sit on the bed and just work out what sounded really good. “Jimmy would be the person that said, ‘Right, there’s eight bars here that I can put a really good stamp on,’” Martin Chambers recalled in 2020. Guitarist James Honeyman-Scott attributed the song’s inherent melodic quality to Hynde’s shift from punk to pop (“Chrissie started to like pop music, and that’s why she started writing things like Kid,” he said in 1979), but Honeyman-Scott’s glorious, country-flavoured solo was also a major part of the song’s attraction. Pretenders’ second single, Kid, was about as glorious as jangly guitar pop gets, even if its subject matter (which effectively deals with a prostitute whose son finds out what she does for a living) was hardly the stuff of classic radio hitmaking. Once, when I apologised about commerciality to Noel Gallagher, he told me, ‘I wish I’d fucking written it!’” “But I played it to some girls I knew from the boxing community, and, by the end, they were both in tears, so I guess it moved them. “I was embarrassed by this song because it was so intentionally commercial,” she said in 2006. In fact, the only person with any reservations was Hynde herself. In retrospect, its success could never have been in doubt, as it was a beautifully executed ballad with a universal message of hope and empathy (“Don’t be ashamed to cry/Let me see you through/’Cause I’ve seen the dark side, too”) which Chrissie Hynde delivered with feeling. Proving that the group were every bit as relevant in the 90s as they had been during their 80s heyday, I’ll Stand By You asserted itself as one of the best Pretenders songs of the decade when it reintroduced the band to the mainstream on both sides of the Atlantic. It was a revelation.”ĥ: I’ll Stand By You (from ‘Last Of The Independents’, 1994) Especially Private Life, which I never thought would work acoustically. “It was like I was hearing these songs for the first time. “As soon as I heard them running through things they were thinking of doing, I was sold,” producer Stephen Street recalled in the Pirate Radio box set’s sleevenotes. In retrospect, the performance was executed with aplomb, but the way Hynde and her team recalibrated the reggae-tinged Private Life was truly inspired. Though stripping their sound back to a largely acoustic set-up, the group showcased a few of their hits (Brass In Pocket, Kid, 2000 Miles) but also resurrected some of their best-loved deep cuts for the occasion, which was broadcast live from London’s Jacob Street Studios. Swiftly released in order to capitalise on the success of Last Of The Independents, and to take advantage of the then in-vogue MTV Unplugged format, Pretenders issued a live album of a different stripe with 1995’s The Isle Of View. Holding its own among the very best Pretenders songs, though, is the record’s first single, The Buzz: a vintage-style outing showcasing Walbourne’s stylish guitar filigrees and a sublime Hynde vocal.ġ7: Private Life (from ‘The Isle Of View’, 1995) This latter-day outfit were responsible for Hate For Sale: a high-quality collection ranging from the sneering, Damned-esque title track to the soulful ballad You Can’t Hurt A Fool. Pretenders’ current line-up, featuring Chrissie Hynde and original drummer Martin Chambers, plus bassist Nick Wilkinson and guitarist James Walbourne, may just be their best since the quartet formed. We reveal exactly why they’re special – so special – with the 20 best Pretenders songs.Ģ0: The Buzz (from ‘Hate For Sale’, 2020) Thanks to her singular songwriting talents and staunch support from some well-chosen collaborators, her band have amassed a formidable catalogue and remain a force to be reckoned with. The deaths of original members, guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon, threatened to derail the group, but leader Chrissie Hynde is nothing if not resilient. By melding punk aggression with a classic pop sensibility, Pretenders came up with a truly unique sound which propelled them towards major stardom during the early 80s.
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