The Pretenders - Back to NZ
Posted: Thu Dec 7, 2006 12:40 pm

---

Following The Pretenders’ end of year US tour with The Who, the band have lined up shows in New Zealand for the New Year. The band first visited New Zealand in 1983 for the Sweetwaters Festival, and last played here in Feb 2004.

2006 was something of a jubilee year for The Pretenders. 27 years since the first single ‘Stop Your Sobbing’, the passage of time was celebrated first by the career retrospective box set Pirate Radio, containing 81 tracks and 19 videos; and then with re-mastered and expanded reissues of their landmark albums Pretenders and Pretenders II. These releases serve as a timely reminder of the band’s amazing past catalogue of work: ‘Brass In Pocket’, ‘Kid’, ‘Stop Your Sobbing’ ‘Talk Of The Town’, ‘Precious’, ‘Tattooed Love Boys’, ‘Message Of Love’, ‘Stand By Me’, ‘Chain Gang’. ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’; and demonstrate the evolution of a great rock’n’roll band, who rose from the UK punk and new wave scene to crash into the Top 40 worldwide, spearheading a “second British Invasion”.

The Pretenders were conceived in 1978 by Chrissie Hynde, who moved to Britain in the early 1970s from Akron, Ohio. She wrote for the music press, and was an early participant in punk: working at Sex, the boutique owned by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood; playing guitar in an early line-up of The Damned; and, at one point, even living in the Sex Pistols’ Denmark St rehearsal rooms. Channelling the fiery energy of the times into accessible, enduring songs and impassioned performances, the group fused the furious rush of punk, the melodic sensibility of 60s acts like the Kinks and The Who, and the hooks of Motown soul. Hynde’s rather unique songwriting and breathy, tough, vocal delivery ensured that The Pretenders were far more than a sum of influences or a transient, trendy thrill.

The band survived the deaths of founding members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon in 1982 and 1983 respectively, and though some of the band’s biggest and most-loved hits came afterwards, when The Pretenders were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame by Neil Young in March 2005. Chrissie Hynde had this to say:
“I know that The Pretenders have looked like a tribute band for the last 20 years. And actually they are a tribute band…we’re paying tribute to James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, without whom we wouldn’t be here. And on the other hand, without us, they might have been here, but that’s the way it works in rock 'n' roll."

However, it is certainly Hynde who, as main songwriter and bandleader, has defined the sound and public perception of the band throughout various line-ups and eras. Her independent, uncompromising image and outspoken nature has meant she has effortlessly transcended “one of the first woman to lead a popular rock band” status and become a true rock’n’roll icon whose power, performances, and relevance have not dimmed with the passing of the years. Though recently the recipient of Mojo Music Songwriter Award, she is still not ready to settle down and reflect on past glories (remember the lyric “I got no trophies on display/I sign them all away/I mean, what the heck…”). Hynde and The Pretenders are alive and kicking, and heading our way.

THE PRETENDERS are CHRISSIE HYNDE (lead vocals and guitar) and fellow founding member MARTIN CHAMBERS (drums), with 12-year veteran ADAM SEYMOUR (guitar) and NICK WILKINSON (bass).

THE PRETENDERS

Monday 5th February - TSB Bowl Of Brooklands, New Plymouth
Tuesday 6th February - St James Theatre, Auckland

Tickets from Ticket Direct www.ticketdirect.co.nz and
Real Groovy Records

RE: The Pretenders - Back to NZ
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:26 pm

---

This is an automatic reply stating that Muzic Bot has closed this thread due to inactivity.

This means that there have been no posts made to this thread for a period of 12 months and the thread has been locked.

Now that this thread is locked, you will not be able to make any further posts to it.