![]() ![]() Hynde occupies an interesting position in rock’s pantheon of women stars. But rather than throwing in the towel, Hynde hired Robbie McIntosh on lead guitar and backing vocals and Malcolm Foster on bass and backing vocals. By 1983’s Learning to Crawl 50 percent of the original group was dead, leaving just Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, and harmonica) and Chambers. The Pretenders’ first two albums included several hits unfortunately, while the band was making its bones musically, it members were dropping like flies. She received a record contract on the strength of a demo recorded with a three-piece band including Phil Taylor of Motörhead, then hired a permanent group including Honeyman-Scott, Farndon, and drummer Martin Chambers. Hynde, an Akron, Ohio native, formed The Pretenders in 1978 in London, England, where she was working as a journo for NME and at SEX, the legendary fashion boutique of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde on the subject of orphans, to lose one band member is bad luck-to lose two, sheer carelessness. Technically Farndon was no longer a Pretender-Hynde fired him shortly before he died-but still. During the 2-year hiatus between 1981’s Pretenders II and 1983’s Learning to Crawl, Hynde saw two band mates, guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon, die drug-related deaths. Unfortunately, like Badfinger, The Pretenders are just as famous for their tragically high mortality rate as they are for their music. Chrissie Hynde is an excellent songwriter, and has one of the most distinctive voices in rock. I would not call The Pretenders a great band, per se. I could tell the poor puss was thinking, “What the devil is he doing?” So I cried, “Listening to The Pretenders, you hairy little fool! And dancing!” I dervished about the apartment all by myself, like a lunatic, with the cat looking on from the safety of the bed, wide-eyed with eminent peril. Ed.Ī couple of days ago, I found myself doing something I haven’t done (no exaggeration) in years: dancing. ![]() Celebrating Chrissie Hynde, born on this day in 1951. ![]()
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