The Pretenders: four decades in the business

An English rock and pop band, The Pretenders is made up of Martin Chambers, Nick Wilkinson, James Walbourne and Eric Heywood. It is fronted by Chrissie Hynde, a punk and new wave singer and guitarist from Ohio, USA. The band formed in the late 1970s - initially with James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon in the lineup - but only Chambers, on drums and backing vocals, and Hynde play in the band these days, although the former did take a break for several years. Despite Hynde also launching a successful solo career from 2012, The Pretenders continue to tour and attract fans of pop music and new wave rock alike. The re-formation of the band in 2016 was followed by an album, Alone, and an extensive tour. Don't miss your chance to see them live, buy The Pretenders tickets now at StubHub UK. 

The Pretenders: still touring and making new music

Hynde was working at the NME in the early 1970s, after she had relocated from the US to London. She was involved as a musician with punk acts such as The Clash and The Damned for a while, before joining Masters of the Backside in 1976. It was Dave Hill though, an executive at Anchor Records, who was most responsible for The Pretenders forming. After hearing some of Hynde's demo recordings, he put together a scratch band to lay down some tracks and, after accepting a deal with Real Records, Hynde was able to recruit the other members of the group.

The Pretenders' first single was a Kinks cover version called "Stop Your Sobbing", and attracted widespread acclaim. After "Kid" was put out in 1979, "Brass in Pocket" then became a huge hit in early 1980. It reached number 14 in the US Billboard 100 and got to the top spot for two weeks in the UK. Other notable tracks from the band's eponymous debut LP included "Precious", a Hynde-penned number, which would be used as a single in some territories, while "Private Life" was another hit single around this time. It would chart once again when Grace Jones recorded her distinctive version of it.

In 1981, Pretenders II was released. It got to a high of number 10 in the US album charts and hit the top spot in New Zealand. Learning to Crawl, which came out on Sire Records, became platinum-selling in the US after it came out in 1984. Hit albums continued, with plenty of tracks pouring out of Hynde's creative mind. Get Close and Last of the Independents were released in 1986 and 1994 respectively; both charted in the top 10 in the UK. Pretenders had released three live albums before they signed to BMG and went on to record the aforementioned Alone. Buy The Pretenders tickets now and see them live when they next visit the UK.

Similar to The Pretenders

Once you've sorted your The Pretenders tickets, take a look at some of the other artists listed at StubHub UK. Sheffield superstars The Human League are always adding dates to their busy schedule, while Johnny Marr always puts on a fantastic show.