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Chrissie Hynde (b.
17 September 1951, Akron, Ohio, USA) came to England to seek her fortune
in 1973. After meeting with New Musical Express writer and future
boyfriend Nick Kent she joined the paper and gained entrance into the
world of rock. During her pre-Pretenders days she worked at Malcolm
McLaren's shop, SEX, played with Chris Spedding in France, and moved back
to America where she formed a band called Jack Rabbit. She returned to
punk-era London in 1976, forming the short-lived Berk Brothers and
achieving a brief period of tabloid notoriety as part of the Moors
Murderers, a non-existent band set up as a publicity stunt by the
notorious punk icon Steve Strange. By the time she assembled the
Pretenders in 1978, Hynde had gained a great deal of experience. The
classic Pretenders line-up comprised Pete Farndon (b. 2 June 1952,
Hereford, England, d. 14 April 1983; bass), James Honeyman-Scott (b. 4
November 1956, Hereford, England, d. 16 June 1982, London, England;
guitar) and Martin Chambers (b. 4 September 1951, Hereford, England;
drums, who replaced Gerry Mackleduff). They were signed to Dave Hill's
Real Records, which was soon co-opted by Sire Records. Their debut single
was a Nick Lowe -produced cover version of the Kinks' "Stop Your Sobbing".
It scraped into the UK Top 40 in February 1979, having received critical
praise and much interest. "Kid" and the superb "Brass In Pocket" followed.
The latter was accompanied by a black-and-white video with Hynde portrayed
as a waitress, and reached the number 1 position in the UK in November. It
was their chart-topping debut album that eventually put them on the road
to becoming one of the decade's most important bands. Pretenders was a
tour de force and remains their finest work. In addition to their previous
singles the album contained the reggae-styled "Private Life" (later
recorded by Grace Jones ), the frenetic "Precious", the Byrds -like "Talk
Of The Town" (a UK Top 10 single) and the beautiful ballad "Lovers Of
Today".Throughout 1980 the band became a major stadium attraction in the
USA, and it was in America that Hynde met and fell in love with her
musical idol, the Kinks' Ray Davies. Pretenders II was released in 1982.
It was another collection of melodious rock played with new-wave
enthusiasm. Standout tracks were "Message Of Love", the brilliantly
confessional "The Adulteress", and another Davies chestnut, "I Go To
Sleep" (a UK number 7 single the previous November), first recorded by the
Applejacks in 1964. During the turbulent month of June, Pete Farndon,
whose drug abuse had been a problem for some time, was fired. Two days
later Honeyman-Scott was found dead from a deadly concoction of heroin and
cocaine. Nine months later Hynde gave birth to a daughter by Ray Davies.
Two months after this happy event, tragedy struck again. Pete Farndon was
found dead in his bath from a drug overdose.The new full-time Pretenders
were Robbie McIntosh on lead guitar, and bass player Malcolm Foster. They
set about recording a third album and the band ended the year with another
UK Top 20 hit single, the Christmassy "2000 Miles". Learning To Crawl was
released at the beginning of another successful year, and climbed to
number 5 on the US album chart. The album was erratic, but it did contain
some gems, notably the epic "Thin Line Between Love And Hate", the
powerful "Middle Of The Road" and the melodic, yet poignant tribute to
Honeyman-Scott, "Back On The Chain Gang' (the band"s first US Top 10
single). The band embarked on another US tour, but Hynde refused to be
parted from her baby daughter who accompanied her, while Davies and his
band were touring elsewhere. In May 1984, following a whirlwind affair,
Hynde married Jim Kerr of Simple Minds. Back with the Pretenders she
appeared at Live Aid at the JFK stadium in Philadelphia, and would enjoy
success in August 1985 under her own name duetting with UB40 on the UK
chart-topping reggae remake of Sonny And Cher's "I Got You Babe".
Following the birth of another daughter (Jim Kerr was the father this
time), Hynde dismantled the band for a period. A number of musicians were
used to record Get Close, including a soon to depart Chambers, McIntosh,
bass player T.M. Stevens, keyboard player Bernie Worrell, and drummer
Blair Cunningham (ex- Haircut 100 ). The Jimmy Iovine -produced album was
released at the end of 1987 but received a mixed reception. Two tracks,
"Don't Get Me Wrong" and "Hymn To Her", had already charted in the UK Top
10 the previous year. A troubled tour of America saw Worrell and Stevens
sacked, McIntosh quitting, and Foster and keyboard player Rupert Black
reinstated. Ex- Smiths member Johnny Marr also played several dates, but
subsequent attempts by Hynde to record with the mercurial guitarist
foundered. In 1988 a solo Hynde performed with UB40 at the Nelson Mandela
Concert and the subsequent duet, "Breakfast In Bed", was a UK Top 10 hit
in June. Hynde's marriage to Kerr collapsed before 1990's Packed!,
recorded with drummer Cunningham, bass player John McKenzie, and
guitarists Billy Bremner and Dominic Miller. The album proved to be
another critical and commercial success, demonstrating her natural gift
for writing tight, melodic rock songs. She subsequently much of her time
campaigning for animal rights and environmental issues, before returning
with a new album in 1994. Last Of The Independents saw Hynde reunited with
drummer Martin Chambers, alongside Adam Seymour (guitar) and Andy Hobson
(bass). In March 1995, in the company of Cher, Neneh Cherry and Eric
Clapton, Hynde topped the UK charts with the charity single "Love Can
Build A Bridge". The same year's The Isle Of View saw Hynde performing an
acoustic set of Pretenders material backed by a string quartet. She
returned to the band format with 1999's Viva El Amor!, a passionate
record that spoke volumes about Hynde's undying commitment to rock
music.
Discography
Pretenders (Real/Sire 1980)****, Pretenders II (Real/Sire 1981)****,
Learning To Crawl (Real/Sire 1984)****, Get Close (WEA/Sire 1986)**,
Packed! (WEA/Sire 1990)**, Last Of The Independents (WEA 1994)***, The
Isle Of View (WEA 1995)***, Viva El Amor! (WEA 1999)***.
Compilations
The Singles (WEA/Sire 1987)****, Greatest Hits (WEA
2000)****.
Videography
The Isle Of View (Warner Music Vision 1995).
Bibliography
Pretenders, Miles. The Pretenders, Chris Salewicz. The Pretenders: With
Hyndesight, Mike Wrenn.
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