's songwriting, yet it was a full-fledged band when it was formed in the late '70s. With their initial records, the group crossed the bridge between punk/new wave and Top 40 pop more than any other band, recording a series of hard, spiky singles that were also melodic and immediately accessible.
was an invigorating, sexy singer who bent the traditional male roles of rock & roll to her own liking, while guitarist
created a sonic palette filled with suspended chords, effects pedals, and syncopated rhythms that proved remarkably influential over the next two decades. After
's semi-autobiographical songwriting and bracing determination meant that the group never became just another rock band, even when their music became smoother and more pop-oriented.
Originally from Akron, OH,
Hynde moved to England in the early '70s, when she was in her twenties. British rock journalist
Nick Kent helped her begin writing for New Musical Express; she wrote for the newspaper during the mid-'70s. She also worked in
Malcolm McLaren's SEX boutique before she began performing. After playing with
Chris Spedding, she joined Jack Rabbit; she quickly left the band and formed the Berk Brothers.
In 1978,
Hynde formed
the Pretenders, which eventually consisted of
Honeyman-Scott, bassist
Pete Farndon, and drummer
Martin Chambers. Later in the year, they recorded a version of
Ray Davies' "Stop Your Sobbing" produced by
Nick Lowe. The single made it into the British Top 40 in early 1979. "Kid" and "Brass in Pocket," the group's next two singles, also were successful. Their debut album,
Pretenders, was released in early 1980 and eventually climbed to number one in the U.K. THe band were nearly as successful in America, with the album reaching the Top Ten and "Brass in Pocket" reaching number 14.
During an American tour in 1980,
Hynde met
Ray Davies and the two fell in love. Following a spring 1981 EP,
Extended Play, the group released their second album,
Pretenders II. Although it fared well on the charts, it repeated the musical ideas of their debut. In June of 1982,
Pete Farndon was kicked out of the band, due to his drug abuse. A mere two days later on June 16,
James Honeyman-Scott was found dead of an overdose of heroin and cocaine. Pregnant with
Davies' child,
Hynde went into seclusion following
Honeyman-Scott's death. In 1983, two months after
Hynde gave birth,
Farndon also died of a drug overdose.
Hynde regrouped
the Pretenders in February 1983, adding former
Manfred Mann's Earth Band guitarist
Robbie McIntosh and bassist
Malcolm Foster; the reconstituted band released "2000 Miles" in time for Christmas. The new
Pretenders released
Learning to Crawl early in 1984 to positive reviews and commercial success. Ending her romance with
Ray Davies,
Hynde married
Jim Kerr, the lead vocalist of
Simple Minds, in May of 1984.
Apart from a performance at Live Aid, the only musical activity from
the Pretenders during 1985 was
Hynde's appearance on
UB40's version of "I Got You Babe."
Hynde assembled another version of
the Pretenders for 1986's
Get Close. Only she and
McIntosh remained from
Learning to Crawl; the rest of the album was recorded with session musicians.
Get Close showed
the Pretenders moving closer to MOR territory, with the bouncy single "Don't Get Me Wrong" making its way into the American Top Ten in 1987.
Hynde recorded another duet with
UB40 in 1988, a cover of
Dusty Springfield's "Breakfast in Bed."
Hynde's marriage to
Kerr fell apart in 1990, the same year
the Pretenders released
Packed!, which failed to ignite the charts in either America or Britain. She was relatively quiet for the next few years, re-emerging in 1994 with
Last of the Independents, which was hailed as a comeback by some quarters of the press. The album did return
the Pretenders to the Top 40 with the ballad "I'll Stand by You." In the fall of 1995,
the Pretenders released the live album
Isle of View, then remained silent for a few years.
Hynde finally returned in 1999 with an album of new material,
Viva el Amor. Three years later,
the Pretenders left their longtime label for Artemis. The reggae-tinged
Loose Screw appeared in November and a tour followed in January 2003. In March 2006,
the Pretenders released their first-ever box set,
Pirate Radio, via Rhino. The four-disc package included over five hours of music and a DVD of rare performances.
–
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi