ARTIST · ROCK / NEW WAVE

The Pretenders

Telecaster jangle with don’t-mess swagger—melody always wins the stare-down.

Rock
New wave
Punk rock

Updated 27 October 2026

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Biography

Brass in Pocket became template for confident vocal talk-sing over lean groove.

Later albums navigated grief and line-up changes without losing sonic bite.

Hynde’s songwriting pairs romantic ache with barbed observation.

High-bitrate streams preserve amp grit, tambourine slice, and vocal attitude.

Chrissie Hynde, from Akron, Ohio, moved to London in 1973 and formed The Pretenders with James Honeyman-Scott, Pete Farndon, and Martin Chambers. Pretenders (1980) included Brass in Pocket, Stop Your Sobbing, and Kid.

Honeyman-Scott died in 1982 and Farndon in 1983, but Hynde carried on with Learning to Crawl (1984) and Don’t Get Me Wrong. Later albums include Last of the Independents (1994) and Alone (2016).

The Pretenders: recent news, 2020–2026

2020 Hate for Sale was released in July.
2023 Relentless was released in September.

Interesting facts about The Pretenders

01 Anglo-American rock band formed in Hereford, England in 1978 led by Chrissie Hynde.
02 Pretenders (1980) included Brass in Pocket as a UK and US hit single.
03 Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
04 Chrissie Hynde is from Akron, Ohio.
05 Stop Your Sobbing was written by Ray Davies of The Kinks.