"2000 Miles" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Pretenders | ||||
from the album Learning to Crawl | ||||
B-side | "Fast or Slow (The Law's the Law)" | |||
Released | 18 November 1983 [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:40 | |||
Label | Real (UK) Sire (US) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Chrissie Hynde | |||
Producer(s) | Chris Thomas | |||
Pretenders singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Gatefold image | ||||
Music video | ||||
"2000 Miles" (Official Music Video) on YouTube |
"2000 Miles" is a song by British-American rock band Pretenders. Written by lead vocalist Chrissie Hynde and produced by Chris Thomas,it was released on 18 November 1983 as the second single from their third studio album, Learning to Crawl (1984). [3] It was most popular in the UK,where it peaked at No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1983. In the US,it was released as the B-side of both the 7-inch single and 12-inch single remix of the band's hit "Middle of the Road".
Considered a Christmas song,it has been released on various Christmas compilation albums.
The song is about two long-distance lovers who miss each other at Christmastime. [4] "Robbie McIntosh plays beautifully on '2000 Miles'," Hynde recalled. "Anything to avoid listening to my voice and my stupid words." [5]
The song frequently reappears in the UK Charts around Christmas time staying in the charts for a few weeks over the Christmas period. [6] Similarly,in Poland the song plays everyday in December as part of the Christmas rotation on RMF FM's RMF Classic.
Dave Marsh,in his 1989 book The Heart of Rock &Soul:The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made,ranked "2000 Miles"' as the 630th best rock or soul single to that date. It is one of four songs by Pretenders listed in the book. [7] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Matt Wardlaw rated it the Pretenders’9th greatest song,calling it "one of the season's most beloved Christmas songs." [8]
The official video features Hynde dressed as a member of The Salvation Army in a snowy location. [9] Chrissie Hynde also recorded a version of the song in 1995 with violins and other stringed instruments.
British rock band Coldplay released a piano cover of the song as a charity single. [10] The track's digital download was available for £1.50 between 16 December 2003 and 1 January 2004,with all royalties being donated to Stop Handgun Violence and Future Forests. [11] [ dead link ]
American rock band Train covered the song for their Christmas album Christmas in Tahoe (2015). The same year,Australian singer Kylie Minogue covered the song for her first Christmas album Kylie Christmas .
Chart (1983–1984) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [12] | 30 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [13] | 11 |
Ireland (IRMA) [14] | 14 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [15] | 13 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [16] | 36 |
UK Singles (OCC) [17] | 15 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [18] Digital sales since 2004 | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
The Pretenders are a British-American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde,James Honeyman-Scott,Pete Farndon and Martin Chambers. Following the deaths of Honeyman-Scott in 1982 and Farndon in 1983,the band experienced numerous personnel changes;Hynde has been the band's only consistent member.
Pretenders is the debut studio album by British-American band The Pretenders,released in January 1980. A combination of rock and roll,punk and new wave music,this album made the band famous. The album features the singles "Stop Your Sobbing","Kid" and "Brass in Pocket".
Christine Ellen Hynde is an American-British musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist,guitarist,and primary songwriter of the rock band The Pretenders,and one of the band's two remaining original members alongside drummer Martin Chambers. She is the only continuous member of the band,appearing on every studio album.
Pretenders II is the second studio album by British-American rock band the Pretenders,issued on Sire Records in August 1981. It incorporates two songs that had been released as singles in the UK and placed on an EP in the US. It peaked at #7 on the UK Albums Chart and #10 on the Billboard 200,and has been certified a gold record for sales by the RIAA. It is the final album by the original line-up,as the following year bassist Pete Farndon was dismissed and guitarist James Honeyman-Scott died in the same week. Farndon died in 1983,and a new line-up would make the band's next album,Learning to Crawl.
"My City Was Gone" is a song by the rock group The Pretenders. The song originally appeared in October 1982 as the B-side to the single release of "Back on the Chain Gang";the single was the first release for the band following the death of founding bandmember James Honeyman-Scott. The song was included on the album Learning to Crawl,which was released in early 1984,and it became a radio favorite in the United States. It is sometimes referred to as "The Ohio Song" for its constant reference to the state.
Learning to Crawl is the third studio album by British-American rock band the Pretenders. It was released on 13 January 1984 by Sire Records after a hiatus during which band members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon died of drug overdoses. The album's title of "Learning to Crawl" was given in honour of Chrissie Hynde's then-infant daughter,Natalie Rae Hynde. She was learning to crawl at the time that Hynde was trying to determine a title for the album.
Get Close is the fourth studio album by rock band the Pretenders,released on 20 October 1986 in the United Kingdom by Real Records and on 4 November 1986 in the United States by Sire Records. The album contains the band's two highest-charting Mainstream Rock Tracks entries,"Don't Get Me Wrong" and "My Baby",both of which reached number one.
Last of the Independents is the sixth studio album by English-American rock group the Pretenders,released in 1994. For this album,the band is officially credited as being Chrissie Hynde,Adam Seymour (guitar),Andy Hobson (bass) and Martin Chambers (drums). However,this line-up only plays together on one track;the rest of the album is performed by Hynde and Seymour in conjunction with a rotating series of musicians on bass and drums. These musicians include Hobson and Chambers,as well as bassists Andy Rourke,Tom Kelly and David Paton,and drummers Jimmy Copley and J.F.T. Hood. A few other session musicians also appear,including Ian Stanley,and one-time Pretenders guitarist Robbie McIntosh,who plays alongside Hynde and Seymour on "I'm a Mother". The album marked the official return of Chambers,who had been fired by Hynde eight years prior.
"I'll Stand by You" is a song recorded by English-American rock band the Pretenders from their sixth studio album,Last of the Independents (1994). The song was written by Chrissie Hynde and the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg,and produced by Ian Stanley. The song is a ballad in which the singer pledges love and faithful assistance to a loved one in times of personal darkness.
"Brass in Pocket",also known as "Brass in Pocket (I'm Special)",is a song by English–American rock band the Pretenders,released in 1979 as the third single from their self-titled debut album. It was written by Chrissie Hynde and James Honeyman-Scott,and produced by Chris Thomas. Originating as a guitar lick written by Honeyman-Scott,the song's lyrics were explained by Hynde to be about the cockiness that one needs to effectively perform. The song's title derives from a phrase she overheard after a show.
"Back on the Chain Gang" is a song written by American-British musician Chrissie Hynde,originally recorded by her band the Pretenders and released as a single by Sire Records in September 1982. The song was included on The King of Comedy soundtrack album in March 1983 and was later included on the Pretenders' third album,Learning to Crawl,in January 1984.
"Middle of the Road" is a song by the Pretenders,released as the third single from the album Learning to Crawl. The single was released in the US in November 1983,then in the UK in February 1984.
"Don't Get Me Wrong" is a song by British-American alternative rock group the Pretenders. It was the first single released from the group's fourth studio album,Get Close (1986). It was also included on the band's The Singles album,released in 1987. Frontwoman Chrissie Hynde said she was inspired to write the song for her friend John McEnroe.
"Kid" is a song written by Chrissie Hynde that was released on the Pretenders 1979 debut album Pretenders. Hynde wrote the song about a fictional boy discovering that his mother is a prostitute. The song's melodicism was attributed by guitarist James Honeyman-Scott to Hynde's growing interest in pop music. Honeyman-Scott wrote the song's solo,which he had designed over a couple of days.
"Precious" is a song written by Chrissie Hynde and performed by her band the Pretenders. First released on the band's self-titled debut album in late 1979,the song features punk-inspired music and aggressive lyrics.
"Show Me" is a song written by Chrissie Hynde and first recorded by British-American rock band Pretenders for their 1984 album Learning to Crawl. It was released in 1984 as the fourth single from the album,reaching No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart. It was not released as a single in the UK.
Alone is the tenth studio album by English-American rock band the Pretenders. The album was released on 21 October 2016,by BMG Rights Management. It is the first Pretenders album since 2008's Break Up the Concrete,and follows Chrissie Hynde's solo debut Stockholm from 2014.
"Talk of the Town" is a song written by Chrissie Hynde and performed by the Pretenders. Released first as a single and then on the Pretenders' 1981 EP Extended Play,a slightly shortened version of the song was included on the band's 1981 album Pretenders II.
"Message of Love" is a song written by Chrissie Hynde and performed by the Pretenders. Released first as a single and then on the Pretenders' 1981 EP Extended Play,it was later re-released on the band's 1981 album Pretenders II.
The remainder of the Learning To Crawl album was recorded and mixed through the end of 1983, with plenty of breaks interspersing the sessions while Hynde came up with new material, the last of which was that ethereally beautiful Christmas number '2000 Miles'.