Wednesday 3/8/23 6pm ET: Feature LP: The Pretenders – Get Close (1986)

Get Close is the fourth studio album by rock band the Pretenders, released on October 20, 1986 in the United Kingdom by Real Records and on November 4, 1986 in the United States by Sire Records. The album contains the band’s two highest-charting Mainstream Rock Tracks entries, “Don’t Get Me Wrong” and “My Baby”, both of which reached number one.

1. “My Baby” 4:07
2. “When I Change My Life” 3:38
3. “Light of the Moon” 3:57
4. “Dance!” 6:46
5. “Tradition of Love” 5:27
6. “Don’t Get Me Wrong” 3:46
7. “I Remember You” 2:38
8. “How Much Did You Get for Your Soul?” 3:48
9. “Chill Factor” 3:27
10. “Hymn to Her” 4:58
11. “Room Full of Mirrors” 4:44

Chrissie Hynde – vocals, rhythm guitar
Robbie McIntosh – guitars
T. M. Stevens – bass guitar (3, 4, 6–9)
Blair Cunningham – drums (3, 4, 7–9), percussion (4)
Bernie Worrell – organ, synthesizer (tracks 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11)
Martin Chambers – drums (track 11)
Rupert Black – keyboards
Carlos Alomar – percussion (track 11)
Bruce Brody – organ
Mel Gaynor – drums (track 1)
Steve Jordan – drums, percussion (track 6)
Tommy Mandel – synthesizer
John McKenzie – bass
Chucho Merchán – bass (tracks 2, 4, 6, 10)
Simon Phillips – drums (tracks 2, 5, 10)
Patrick Seymour – synthesizer
L. Shankar – violin (track 5)
Bruce Thomas – bass
Paul Wickens – synthesizer, piano
Malcolm Foster – bass

Sunday 7/31/22 12pm ET: Feature LP: Pretenders (1980)

Pretenders is the debut studio album by British-American band the Pretenders, released December 27, 1979 on Sire Records in the US and January 7, 1980 under Real Records in the UK. A combination of rock, punk and pop music, this album made the band famous. The album features the singles “Stop Your Sobbing”, “Kid” and “Brass in Pocket”.

Nick Lowe produced the Pretenders’ first single, “Stop Your Sobbing”, but decided not to work with them again as he thought the band was “not going anywhere”. Chris Thomas took over on the subsequent recording sessions.

1. “Precious” 3:36
2. “The Phone Call” 2:29
3. “Up the Neck” 4:27
4. “Tattooed Love Boys” 2:59
5. “Space Invader” 3:26
6. “The Wait” 3:35
7. “Stop Your Sobbing” 3:26
8. “Kid” 3:06
9. “Private Life” 6:25
10. “Brass in Pocket” 3:04
11. “Lovers of Today” 5:51
12. “Mystery Achievement” 5:51
13. “Cuban Slide” 4:32
14. “Porcelain” 3:52
15. “The Wait” Single Edit 3:08
16. “Nervous But Shy” 1:44
17. “Swinging London” 1:53

Chrissie Hynde – lead vocals, rhythm guitars, backing vocals
Martin Chambers – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Pete Farndon – bass guitar, backing vocals
James Honeyman-Scott – lead and rhythm guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Fred Berk – bass guitar
Geoff Bryant – French horn
Henry Lowther – trumpet
Gerry Mackelduff – drums tracks 4, 5, 7, 9, 10
Chris Mercer – saxophone
Nigel Pegrum – drums on track 3
Chris Thomas – keyboards, sound effects, production
Jim Wilson – trumpet

Thursday 1/13/22 6pm ET: RadioMaxMusic Special: The Music of 1981 A to Z – Part 8

This RadioMax special features our Library of music from 1981 A2Z.

We complete letter H and begin I. We feature music from: Police, Peter Cetera, Lulu, Pretenders, Abba, The Who, Glen Campbell, Terri Gibbs, Foreigner, Ronnie Milsap, Phil Collins, Donald Byrd, Carly Simon, Bangles, U2, AC/DC, Santana and many more. . .

6pm to 10pm ET

Tuesday 6/29/21 12pm ET: Artist Countdown: The Pretenders Top 30 Hits

The Pretenders, a London, England-based rock band, reflects worldwide charting of 11 studio albums, four compilation albums, one extended play (EP), four live albums, and nearly 40 single releases singles.

Vocalist/guitarist Chrissie Hynde, guitarist/keyboardist James Honeyman-Scott, bassist Pete Farndon and drummer Martin Chambers formed The Pretenders in 1978. Their chart-topping debut album, Pretenders, is widely regarded as one of the finest debut albums of all time. The Pretenders’ hit songs include “Brass in Pocket” (1979), “Talk of the Town” (1980), “Message of Love” (1981), “Back on the Chain Gang” (1982), “Middle of the Road” (1983), “2000 Miles” (1984), “Don’t Get Me Wrong” (1986), “My Baby” (1986), and “I’ll Stand by You” (1994).

1	I’ll Stand by You	1994
2	Don’t Get Me Wrong	1986
3	Back on the Chain Gang	1982
4	Hymn to Her	1986
5	Night in My Veins	1994
6	Middle of the Road	1982
7	Never Do That	1990
8	My Baby	1987
9	Kid	1980
10	2000 Miles	1983
11	Talk of the Town	1981
12	I Go to Sleep	1981
13	Human	1999
14	Stop Your Sobbing	1980
15	Thin Line Between Love and Hate	1984
16	Sense of Purpose	1990
17	Show Me	1984
18	Holy Commotion	2016
19	Time the Avenger	1984
20	Boots of Chinese Plastic	2008
21	Love’s a Mystery	2008
22	My City Was Gone	1982
23	The Adultress	1981
24	Hold a Candle to This	1990
25	The Buzz	2020
26	Where Has Everybody Gone?	1987
27	Didn’t Want to Be This Lonely	2020
28	Brass in Pocket	1980
29	Room Full of Mirrors	1986
30	Day After Day	1981

Tuesday 3/23/21 12am ET: Feature LP: Pretenders – Learning To Crawl (1984)

Learning to Crawl is the third studio album by British-American rock band The Pretenders. It was released on January 11, 1984 after a hiatus during which band members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon died of drug overdoses.

After Farndon’s dismissal from the band and Honeyman-Scott’s death, Chrissie Hynde and Martin Chambers initially recruited Rockpile’s Billy Bremner and Big Country’s Tony Butler to fill in a caretaker line-up of the band in 1982. Bremner played guitar and Butler played bass on the band’s September 1982 single “Back on the Chain Gang/My City Was Gone”, both sides of which were later included on Learning to Crawl. As the album sessions got under way, Bremner, Graham Parker’s bass player Andrew Bodnar, and Paul Carrack (formerly of Squeeze, Ace and Roxy Music) played guitar, bass and piano respectively for the track “Thin Line Between Love and Hate”.

Finally, Robbie McIntosh (guitar) and Malcolm Foster (bass) were recruited to join Hynde and Chambers, and the band was now officially a quartet. It was this line-up that recorded the rest of the tracks featured on Learning to Crawl.

The November 1983 single “2000 Miles/Fast or Slow (The Law’s the Law)” was the newly reconstituted foursome’s first release, followed shortly by the full Learning to Crawl album in January 1984.

The album’s title of “Learning to Crawl” was given in honor of Chrissie Hynde’s then-infant daughter, Natalie Rae Hynde. She was learning to crawl at the time that Chrissie was trying to determine a title for the album.

“Middle of the Road” – 4:08
“Back on the Chain Gang” – 3:44
“Time the Avenger” – 4:47
“Watching the Clothes” – 2:46
“Show Me” – 4:00
“Thumbelina” – 3:12
“My City Was Gone” – 5:14
“Thin Line Between Love and Hate” – 3:33
“I Hurt You” – 4:27
“2000 Miles” – 3:30

“Fast or Slow (The Law’s the Law)” – 3:15
“Tequila” – 3:35
“I Hurt You” – 4:06
“When I Change My Life” – 4:43
“Ramblin’ Rob” – 3:32
“My City Was Gone” (Live) – 4:53
“Money (That’s What I Want)” (Live at US Festival, May 1983) – 4:39

Chrissie Hynde – lead vocals (all but 11 & 15), rhythm guitar, harmonica
Robbie McIntosh – lead guitar, backing vocals
Malcolm Foster – bass guitar, backing vocals
Martin Chambers – drums, backing vocals, lead vocals (11), percussion

Billy Bremner – lead guitar on “Back on the Chain Gang” and “My City Was Gone”, rhythm guitar and vocals on “Thin Line Between Love and Hate”
Tony Butler – bass guitar on “Back on the Chain Gang” and “My City Was Gone”
Andrew Bodnar – bass guitar and vocals on “Thin Line Between Love and Hate”
Paul Carrack – piano and vocals on “Thin Line Between Love and Hate”

Saturday 9/5/2020 12:00am ET: Feature LP: Pretenders II (1981)

Pretenders II is the second studio album by British rock band the Pretenders, issued on Sire Records in August of 1981. It incorporates two songs that had been released as singles in the UK and placed on an EP in the US. It peaked at #7 on the UK Albums Chart and #10 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified a gold record for sales by the RIAA. It is the final album by the original line-up, as the following year bassist Pete Farndon would be dismissed and guitarist James Honeyman-Scott would die in the same week. Farndon would perish in 1983, and a new line-up would make the band’s next album, Learning to Crawl.

1. “The Adultress” 3:55
2. “Bad Boys Get Spanked” 4:04
3. “Message of Love” 3:26
4. “I Go to Sleep” 2:55
5. “Birds of Paradise” 4:14
6. “Talk of the Town” 2:45

1. “Pack It Up” 3:50
2. “Waste Not Want Not” 3:43
3. “Day After Day” 3:45
4. “Jealous Dogs” 5:36
5. “The English Roses” 4:28
6. “Louie Louie” 3:30
7. “I Go To Sleep” (Guitar Version)
8. “In The Sticks”
9. “Pack It Up” (Radio Mix)
10. “Talk Of The Town” (Demo)
11. “What You Gonna Do About It”

Chrissie Hynde — rhythm guitar, lead vocals
James Honeyman-Scott — lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Pete Farndon — bass guitar, backing vocals
Martin Chambers — drums, backing vocals
Additional personnel
Chris Mercer — tenor saxophone
Henry Lowther, Jim Wilson — trumpets
Jeff Bryant — French horn
Chris Thomas — sound effects
Technical
Bill Price — recording
Gavin Cochrane — front cover photography

Wednesday 7/22/2020 2am ET: Feature LP: Pretenders – Hate For Sale (2020)

Hate for Sale is the eleventh studio album by English-American rock band The Pretenders. It was released on July 17, 2020 by BMG Rights Management. It has received positive reception from critics.

“Hate for Sale” – 2:30
“The Buzz” – 3:51
“Lightning Man” – 2:57
“Turf Accountant Daddy” – 3:05
“You Can’t Hurt a Fool” – 3:19
“I Didn’t Know When to Stop” – 2:24
“Maybe Love Is in NYC” – 3:25
“Junkie Walk” – 2:45
“Didn’t Want to Be This Lonely” – 2:56
“Crying in Public” – 3:17

Friday 4pm ET: Artist Countdown: Pretenders Top 30 Hits

The Pretenders are an English-American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Martin Chambers (drums, backing vocals, percussion). Following the drug-related deaths of Honeyman-Scott and Farndon, the band experienced numerous subsequent personnel changes. Hynde has been the band’s only consistent member.

The Pretenders’ hit songs include “Brass in Pocket” (1979), “Talk of the Town” (1980), “Message of Love” (1981), “Back on the Chain Gang” (1982), “Middle of the Road” (1983), “2000 Miles” (1984), “Don’t Get Me Wrong” (1986), “My Baby” (1986), and “I’ll Stand by You” (1994). The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

1	Brass in Pocket
2	Don’t Get Me Wrong
3	Back on the Chain Gang
4	I’ll Stand by You
5	Hymn to Her
6	Night in My Veins
7	Middle of the Road
8	Message of Love
9	2000 Miles
10	My Baby
11	Never Do That
12	I Go to Sleep
13	Human
14	Talk of the Town
15	Stop Your Sobbing
16	Show Me
17	Thin Line Between Love and Hate
18	Sense of Purpose
19	Time the Avenger
20	Boots of Chinese Plastic
21	Love’s a Mystery
22	My City Was Gone
23	Kid
24	Hold a Candle to This
25	Where Has Everybody Gone?
26	Room Full of Mirrors
27	977
28	You Know Who Your Friends Are
29	Mystery Achievement
30	She

Related articles

• Chrissie Hynde’s Daughter Can Return To Fracking Protest Site (contactmusic.com)
• Chrissie Hynde daughter held as minister prepares South for more fracking (thetimes.co.uk)
• “Show Me” – The Pretenders (robined.wordpress.com)
• Rocker Chrissie Hynde’s girl arrested in anti-fracking superglue demo (express.co.uk)

Tuesday 4pm: Sounds of The 80s

This week on The Sounds of The 80s we feature tunes from:  Leslie Pearl, Whitesnake, Chicago, Pretenders, David Bowie, Pebbles, Wham!, Erasure, Billy Idol, Alabama, John Mellencamp and more . . . 

Wednesday 6pm: Feature Artist – The Pretenders

The Pretenders are an English-American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Martin Chambers (drums, backing vocals, percussion). Following the drug-related deaths of Honeyman-Scott and Farndon, the band experienced numerous subsequent personnel changes. Hynde has been the band’s only consistent member.

The Pretenders’ hit songs include “Brass in Pocket” (1979), “Talk of the Town” (1980), “Message of Love” (1981), “Back on the Chain Gang” (1982), “Middle of the Road” (1983), “Don’t Get Me Wrong” (1986), “My Baby” (1986), and “I’ll Stand by You” (1994). The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

Tuesday 4pm: Sounds of The 80’s

This week on Sounds of The 80s, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Pretenders, Cyndi Lauper, M. Pat Benatar, Leslie Pearl, Pointer Sisters, Timbuk 3 and more. . .