Welcome to Pretenders 977 Radio this site
is a celebration of the music of both
Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders.
Chrissie moved from her native Akron OH
to come to England in the 70's, working in
various jobs, most notably Malcolm Mclaren
and Vivienne Westwood shop SEX, and
also a as writer for the NME. She was in
London at the begining of the UK punk
scene and would hang around with
members of the Sex Pistols, the Damned
and The Clash and with everybody starting
bands around her,she desperately wanted
her own band.
It wasn't until 1978 that her dream would
come true and she would form The
Pretenders with Martin Chambers, James
Honeyman - Scott and Pete Farndon. They
recorded and released a version of Ray
Davies "Stop Your Sobbing" produced by
Nick Lowe it hit the british charts in early
1979. Followed on by "Kid" and "Brass In
Pocket" which was the first Number 1 in
1980 in the UK Charts. Their self-titled
debut album was released in early 1980
and eventually climbed to number one in
the U.K. The Pretenders were nearly as
successful in America, with the album
reaching the Top Ten and "Brass in
Pocket" reaching number 14.
Chrissie met Ray Davies and the two fell in
love. Following a spring 1981 EP, Extended
Play, the group released their second
album, Pretenders II. Although it fared well
on the charts, it repeated the musical ideas
of their debut. In June of 1982, Pete
Farndon was kicked out of the band, due to
his drug abuse. A mere two days later on
June 16, James Honeyman-Scott was found
dead of an overdose of heroin and
cocaine. Pregnant with Davies' child, Hynde
went into seclusion following
Honeyman-Scott's death. In 1983, two
months after Hynde gave birth, Farndon
also died of a drug overdose.
Chrissie regrouped the Pretenders in
February 1983, adding former Manfred
Mann's Earth Band guitarist Robbie
McIntosh and bassist Malcolm Foster; the
reconstituted band released "2000 Miles" in
time for Christmas. The new Pretenders
released Learning to Crawl early in 1984 to
positive reviews and commercial success.
Apart from a performance at Live Aid, the
only musical activity from the Pretenders
during 1985 was Hynde's appearance on
UB40's version of "I Got You Babe." Hynde
assembled another version of the
Pretenders for 1986's Get Close. Only she
and McIntosh remained from Learning to
Crawl; the rest of the album was recorded
with session musicians. Get Close showed
the Pretenders moving closer to MOR
territory, with the bouncy single "Don't Get
Me Wrong" making its way into the
American Top Ten in 1987.
In 1990 the Pretenders released Packed!,
which failed to ignite the charts in either
America or Britain. She was relatively quiet
for the next few years, re-emerging in 1994
with Last of the Independents, which was
hailed as a comeback by some quarters of
the press. The album did return the
Pretenders to the Top 40 with the ballad "I'll
Stand by You." In the fall of 1995, the
Pretenders released the live album Isle of
View, then remained silent for a few years.
Hynde finally returned in 1999 with an
album of new material, Viva el Amor. Three
years later, the Pretenders left their
longtime label for Artemis. The
reggae-tinged Loose Screw appeared in
November and a tour followed in January
2003. In March 2006, the Pretenders
released their first-ever box set, Pirate
Radio, via Rhino. And in 2008 The
Pretenders released their ninth studio
album "Break Up The Concrete"
is a celebration of the music of both
Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders.
Chrissie moved from her native Akron OH
to come to England in the 70's, working in
various jobs, most notably Malcolm Mclaren
and Vivienne Westwood shop SEX, and
also a as writer for the NME. She was in
London at the begining of the UK punk
scene and would hang around with
members of the Sex Pistols, the Damned
and The Clash and with everybody starting
bands around her,she desperately wanted
her own band.
It wasn't until 1978 that her dream would
come true and she would form The
Pretenders with Martin Chambers, James
Honeyman - Scott and Pete Farndon. They
recorded and released a version of Ray
Davies "Stop Your Sobbing" produced by
Nick Lowe it hit the british charts in early
1979. Followed on by "Kid" and "Brass In
Pocket" which was the first Number 1 in
1980 in the UK Charts. Their self-titled
debut album was released in early 1980
and eventually climbed to number one in
the U.K. The Pretenders were nearly as
successful in America, with the album
reaching the Top Ten and "Brass in
Pocket" reaching number 14.
Chrissie met Ray Davies and the two fell in
love. Following a spring 1981 EP, Extended
Play, the group released their second
album, Pretenders II. Although it fared well
on the charts, it repeated the musical ideas
of their debut. In June of 1982, Pete
Farndon was kicked out of the band, due to
his drug abuse. A mere two days later on
June 16, James Honeyman-Scott was found
dead of an overdose of heroin and
cocaine. Pregnant with Davies' child, Hynde
went into seclusion following
Honeyman-Scott's death. In 1983, two
months after Hynde gave birth, Farndon
also died of a drug overdose.
Chrissie regrouped the Pretenders in
February 1983, adding former Manfred
Mann's Earth Band guitarist Robbie
McIntosh and bassist Malcolm Foster; the
reconstituted band released "2000 Miles" in
time for Christmas. The new Pretenders
released Learning to Crawl early in 1984 to
positive reviews and commercial success.
Apart from a performance at Live Aid, the
only musical activity from the Pretenders
during 1985 was Hynde's appearance on
UB40's version of "I Got You Babe." Hynde
assembled another version of the
Pretenders for 1986's Get Close. Only she
and McIntosh remained from Learning to
Crawl; the rest of the album was recorded
with session musicians. Get Close showed
the Pretenders moving closer to MOR
territory, with the bouncy single "Don't Get
Me Wrong" making its way into the
American Top Ten in 1987.
In 1990 the Pretenders released Packed!,
which failed to ignite the charts in either
America or Britain. She was relatively quiet
for the next few years, re-emerging in 1994
with Last of the Independents, which was
hailed as a comeback by some quarters of
the press. The album did return the
Pretenders to the Top 40 with the ballad "I'll
Stand by You." In the fall of 1995, the
Pretenders released the live album Isle of
View, then remained silent for a few years.
Hynde finally returned in 1999 with an
album of new material, Viva el Amor. Three
years later, the Pretenders left their
longtime label for Artemis. The
reggae-tinged Loose Screw appeared in
November and a tour followed in January
2003. In March 2006, the Pretenders
released their first-ever box set, Pirate
Radio, via Rhino. And in 2008 The
Pretenders released their ninth studio
album "Break Up The Concrete"
| Video of the week |
| Pretenders 977 Radio Interviews....... Glynn Wedgewood of the IV Thieves click here Susie Hug click here |
| **The Pretenders - Amoeba - 29th Sept '08** Chrissie and James played an acoustic set at the Amoeba in Hollywood CA click here to listen or for video click here. |
| **The Pretenders - Farm Aid - 20th Sept '08** The Pretenders played Farm Aid in Mansfield MA click here to listen to their set or to watch click here |
| **The Pretenders - Koko, London - 30th July '08** The Pretenders played the Koko as part of the iTunes Live Festival click here to view pictures from the show, an EP is now available on iTunes. Please check out a couple of short interviews they did before they went on stage interview 1 & interview 2 |
| Exclusive interview with Chrissie Hynde for Peta.org.uk. Click the banner below |
Email : contact@pretenders.org.uk
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| The Pretenders Lillywhite Session was broadcast on the 6th November '08 if you missed it you can now listen to it here |
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