The thing is, James and Chrissie were on the cover despite not really having anything to promote, but obviously were of such interest and significance that they were seen as liable to attract additional readers that week.
They're are a band that not too many bloggers seem to write about, certainly compared to many of their contemporaries, and I'm certainly guilty of neglecting them over the years at TVV. But over the festive period I gave listen to their Greatest Hits CD for the first time in years and realised that I'd forgotten just how great their earliest releases really were.
Stop Your Sobbing - a cover of a Kinks song that spent nine weeks on the chart between February and April 1979, peaking at #34
Kid - one of THE great records of a great year for music; it spent seven weeks on the chart in July and August 1979, peaking at #33
Brass In Pocket - the #1 hit that brought them to the attention of a wider public. Seventeen weeks on the chart between November 1979 and April 1980
Talk Of The Town - held back until Brass In Pocket slipped off the radar, eight weeks on the chart in April and May 1980, peaking at #8
Message Of Love - the comeback single after a period out of the spotlight. Seven weeks on the chart in February and March 1981, peaking at #11
Some of you might only know the band only through Brass In Pocket or the later radio-friendly rubbish like Don't Get Me Wrong on the perennial Xmas effort 2000 Miles. It's hard to imagine that previously, The Pretenders had been a more than half-decent band. But then again, that was before the deaths of two of the four founding members....
mp3 : The Pretenders - Stop Your Sobbing
mp3 : The Pretenders - Kid
mp3 : The Pretenders - Talk Of The Town
mp3 : The Pretenders - Message Of Love
Happy Listening
8 comments:
Saw them in Buffalo in 1982. They were rough but such a great band. All I remember about the show were stick flying around Chambers because he was playing his drums harder than anyone I've ever seen.
Talk Of The Town was the first seven-inch I bought for myself with my own money. Timeless.
Of course, Chrissie Hynde had connections. Didn't she once work for NME, and date one of their top writers Nick Kent? Not that I'm accusing her or NME of cronyism or anything...
Agreed though, early Pretenders were terrific.
The first album is absolutely flawless. Put on The Wait or Tattooed Love Boys and turn it up! You will not be disappointed.
A great band, and I agree with Brian about The Wait. I saw them in March 1982 in Perth, Western Australia and its still one of the best live performances I've seen. It must have been one of the last, if not the last gig that James Honeyman-Scott played. I remember standing just behind him and Martin Chambers as they came out to watch the support band from the mixing desk......
Villain, you hit the nail square on the head. Pretenders, Mk. 1 were pretty brilliant. Chrissie Hynde spent the nexus of Punk hobnobbing and writing about it rather than performing in it, but when she finally got her chance she put together an amazing band.
The debut was a masterclass in fusing punk, pop, unpretentious rock and blues together in the post punk era.
The second album's disappointments are certainly a product of Farandon and Honeyman-Scott's chemical reliance.
After the second album I'm afraid I stopped paying attention.
I saw them at the Hammersmith Palais in 1980 (Tenpole Tudor and UB40 supporting!) and they were terrific with Chrissie just sex on legs in her leather trousers. As said up top Martin Chambers really banged the drums hard, he was holding his sticks at the thin end end and hitting with the thick end.
Chrissie was indeed quite the face around the early punk scene.
I saw her struggling to choose between some cushions in John Lewis a few years back, I got good vibes off her.
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