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.
¡Viva El Amor! is the seventh studio album by the rock band the Pretenders, released in 1999. The band's lineup for the album is the same as that credited on 1994's Last of the Independents: Chrissie Hynde, Martin Chambers (drums), Andy Hobson (bass) and Adam Seymour (guitar). This time, however, the credited line-up actually plays on most of the album, although Hobson is replaced on bass by session musicians on a few cuts.
Terence Trent D'Arby's Symphony or Damn* is the third studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby, released in 1993 through Columbia Records. This album marked something of a comeback after the disappointing performance of his previous album Neither Fish nor Flesh, and was generally well received by many critics, with Q magazine rating it five stars upon its release.
James Honeyman-Scott was an English rock guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the band the Pretenders.
Martin Dale Chambers is an English musician, best known as a founding member and drummer of the rock band the Pretenders. In addition to playing the drums with the group, Chambers sings backing vocals and plays percussion. He was part of the original band line-up, which also included Chrissie Hynde (vocals/guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (guitar/vocals/keyboards) and Pete Farndon. Hynde and Chambers are the only two surviving original members, and he has served two separate tenures with the group.
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.
Extended Play is a 1981 EP released by new wave band The Pretenders. "Message of Love" and "Talk of the Town" featured on this EP were also included on their second album Pretenders II released later the same year. "Porcelain" and "Cuban Slide", outtakes from their Pretenders debut album, were included on disc two of the 2006 and 2021 remastered editions of their debut album and on the Pirate Radio box set. The live version of "Precious" on this EP, recorded at their New York Central Park performance on 30 August 1980, was finally released on CD on November 5, 2021. The booklet for disc one of the Pretenders debut album from the 2015 UK Edsel/Rhino Records box set 1979–1999 incorrectly states "Precious" is from that Central Park performance. Instead, the box set version is from their Boston performance of 23 March 1980; it is also included on disc two of the 2006 remastered edition of Pretenders.
The Isle of View is a live acoustic album by rock band The Pretenders, released in 1995. It was recorded in May during a live, televised performance at London's Jacob Street Studios. The Duke Quartet accompanied Chrissie Hynde for much of the performance. The title is a pun on the words I Love You.
"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.
Break Up the Concrete is the ninth studio album by rock group the Pretenders. It is their first studio album since Loose Screw in 2002. Several "exclusive" editions of the disc exist ; each appends a new countrified version of a vintage Pretenders song, in keeping with the general sound of the album. The title song "Break Up the Concrete" was used in the opening scene of an episode of House M.D..
"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.
Stockholm is the debut solo album by American singer Chrissie Hynde, lead singer of the Pretenders. It was released on June 10, 2014. It features several guests such as Canadian musician Neil Young and former tennis player John McEnroe.
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.
Hate for Sale is the eleventh studio album by English-American rock band the Pretenders. It was released on July 17, 2020 by BMG Rights Management. It has received positive reception from critics.
Relentless is the twelfth studio album by the English-American rock band the Pretenders, released on 15 September 2023 through Parlophone. It is the first Pretenders album released through Parlophone and was preceded by the lead single "Let the Sun Come In". The band began their Relentless Tour on 12 May, which includes the UK and Ireland as well as various European, US and Canada dates up to October 2023.
