![]() ![]() Hynde’s bold and seductive vocal flipped rock’s traditional male posturing, with her dynamic band providing wonderfully assured backing. Yes, it’s one of those ubiquitous songs so familiar that you probably wouldn’t choose to play it at home very often, but when it comes on the radio or you inadvertently catch the video on the telly or YouTube, you can’t resist its funky swagger. There’s a beautiful melody, chiming riffs aplenty from Billy Bremner and characteristically warm vocals from Hynde, who celebrates her own resilience on a song that was a hit single in 1982. “Back on the Chain Gang” is both a moving elegy for Honeyman-Scott and a defiant statement from Hynde that, after the guitarist’s death and the departure of Pete Farndon in 1982 (he left the band before his death), The Pretenders were by no means finished. The identity of the subject of Hynde’s love and devotion is never made clear, but pop doesn’t come much more perfect or evocative than this, with her achingly tender vocal and Honeyman-Scott’s tremendous soloing – a sublime hybrid of Duane Eddy and Roy Orbison – elevating the song to classic status.Ģ) “Back on the Chain Gang” ( Learning to Crawl, 1984) That’s all.Coming hard on the heels of their debut single, a lovely cover of the Kinks’ “Stop Your Sobbing”, The Pretenders retained that record’s sixties vibe for follow-up hit “Kid”. One last thing though the bit where Hynde sings “I’m special” and the band respond “Special” whilst pointing to the menu header of ‘SPECIAL’ gained a mild chuckle out of me. One day I hope that ‘Brass in Pocket’ becomes the centre of the latest TikTok craze in order to leave behind the unpleasantness and lack of character present within the official video. Sundara Karma? St Vincent? The bloody Smiths? All devotees to the church of Hynde. When you go and re-listen to your music, you’ll find that the rest of the indie world owes them an unpayable debt. The themes of the song and the video clash in such a way that it leaves somewhat of an unfortunate taste in your mouth, which is disheartening for a band like The Pretenders. And in agreement with this statement is Hynde herself in a 2016 interview with Louder Sound, she said of the video “the closing shot shows the band driving off and me looking out of the window, weeping. For a song with such unshakeable charisma and confidence as ‘Brass in Pocket’, it’s disheartening to see the band’s iconic leader - the effortlessly cool Hynde - reduced to such a passive figure in the video, even for the time the video was made. ![]() If this was some kind of subversive statement, it’s all too implicit. All the while, they are watched by the waitress, played by Hynde, who simpers and longs for their affection. Martin Chambers, Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott swagger into a café, copping off with miscellaneous girls at the table, and run off into the sunset with them. A kitchen sink budget, limited location space and a pallid colourscape leave little to the imagination, but the band are undeniably having fun. ![]() Whilst the song has left an undeniable impact on the indie rock genre as we know it, the video is so, SO 80s. With that said though, taking a look at the video for their sharp and sassy numsingle ‘Brass in Pocket’ makes you wonder if the same rules of timelessness apply. The Pretenders Announce New Album Details ![]()
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