Pretenders 45th Anniversary- Chrissie Hynde 1-13-25

To be completely honest, the almost instant appeal of The Pretenders debut, practically  from the outset in January 1980, caught me and not just a few of my American radio brethren off guard. Rock’n’roll in general, and rock radio in particular, being such a boys club back then, we could understand Pat Benatar’s brand of Eighties feminism singing, “Hit me with your best shot” all the while gyrating pixie-style in a skimpy leotard (in fairness, not her idea). But the woman out front of The Pretenders clearly wore the pants in the family, and those were LEATHER pants behind that electric guitar.

Chrissie Hynde joins me In the Studio for the straight dope about the Pretenders debut on its forty-fifth anniversary with her unique saga which led to the songs “Brass in Pocket”, “Precious”, “Kid”, “Mystery Achievement”, and the choice of The Kinks cover “Stop Your Sobbing” the week of January 13. -Redbeard