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The Pretenders 1981 full concert

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Rockpalast

Hadnt seen this one on YouTube before. The original band, in their pomp, and Chrissie scorching hot in every way

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  1. After watching this , a mate recalled their show around this time – they were ordinary and she sang flat. Mrs Wells saw Chrissie and band a few years ago. 50 min set including lengthy lecture on veganism.
    Not the most consistent of bands.

    • I saw them at B’ham Odeon, shortly after the 2nd album came out. The band was terrific, I recall. The 2nd time I saw “them” was last year, “they” now she, and she was very good. Competent band, clearly, but for all James Waldens posturing, he is no Honeyman-Scott in charisma stakes.

  2. They’re an inconsistent band live. I saw them at the Cambridge Corn Exhange when Last of the Independents came out (mid-90s), and it was fantastic.

    I nearly paid twenty quid for this 2003 show on Blu-ray, but decided to check it out on YT first. I’m pleased I did, as it all seems a little, um, underwhelming.

  3. I’ve seen them a couple of times and both have been great…

    First saw them in 1987 at Manchester Apollo on the Get Close tour (with Robbie McIntosh on guitar).

    Saw them again at the Singapore F1 in 2012 (I think they have just reconvened after a longish break) where they played at the Esplanade Ampitheatre – which only has a capacity of 600 !. It was also the first ever concert that we took our two boys to (what a start !) – as you can imagine it was packed and the guys on the mixing desk let them sit there (they were only. 9 and 11 at the time). Here’s a clip…

  4. Saw them at the Fforde Grene in Leeds in 1980, They had a support band, Ada Wilson’s Strangeways, who made some sarcastic Peter Kay-style comment about ownership of some unclaimed laundry if there were “brass in’t pocket”, which Hynde went on to use as a song name.

  5. Indirectly related to Ms Hynde, I went to see Simple Minds at Hammersmith Odeon shortly after she had left the leader of The Kinks for Jim Kerr. He said “this one is dedicated to Ray Davies” before they played Speed Your Love To Me, I thought that was a twattish thing to say, and the gig was terrible, one of the most disappointing ones I ever saw (they were better next time I saw them in 2011).

  6. I have seen her live on a few occasions and the band have always been good. The last one was probably 4-5 years ago with the shape playing guitar player referenced above and he did come across as a bit of a twat.

  7. I can only think of one thing now every time Chrissie Hynde’s name comes up, and it’s the story – related to us by someone on the Afterword – of him being at a party, and her walking in, dressing and acting exactly how you might expect Chrissie Hynde to dress and act, top hat n’all, and promptly walking out because she realises people have recognised her.

    I find that story funny – not anti-Chrissie Hynde – just funny.
    “F*** me, it’s Chrissie Hynde!” Sound of door slamming.

  8. I saw them about 6 times in the late 70s, including 2 consecutive nights at the Marquee before they were signed. In those days one of the things I wanted from the music press was to know which bands on the club circuit were hot. The Pretenders most definitely were.

    • It was of course Farndon who had the pompadour.

      *rolls eyes dismissively at both this and the Cockerney accents (especially when, as Hubes points out, “brass” is a Northern term for cash)*

  10. I saw The Pretenders at the Feyenoord Stadium Rotterdam, as they supported U2 in I think 1985, along with Big Audio Dynamite and a load of forgotten others. All I remember is that BAD were better ….drugs and alcohol may have been taken and made my memory hazy!

  11. Saw them last yet at Black Deer.
    She was dogshit which is a shame because I like most of the albums. I don’t think she is a nice person to say the least

  12. I did a mix of them a while back but it was pretty much the Honeyman-Scott/Farndon years which were my teenage faves. I sent a link to Chrissie and she gave me a thumbs up despite the mix being a bit cheeky in parts!

    Precious
    The Adultress
    Bad Boys Get Spanked
    Message Of Love
    Lovers Of Today
    Waste Not Want Not
    Private Life
    Whatcha Gonna Do About It
    Stop Your Sobbing
    I Go To Sleep
    The Phone Call
    Swinging London
    Space Invader
    The Wait
    Louie Louie
    Pack It Up
    In The Sticks

  13. Love the band but have only seen them the once, despite them being pretty frequent visitors to Australia I think.

    In one of those “this-isn’t-quite-right” bookings, saw The Church and Pretenders on a double bill at Penrith Panthers, a huge sprawling Leagues Club – not sure if these exist outside of Australia. A few restaurants, miles of poker machines, a nightclub, and a medium sized theatre that would more usually accommodate the slicker end of the cover band circuit. Penrith is as far west into the suburbs as you can get before the ascent up to the Blue Mountains. My wife and I used to live in what’s affectionately called Penriff, and I quite like the town.

    Anyway, as you might imagine, most of the audience were civilians expecting a Greatest Hits kind of vibe. The Church have always been pretty self-directed in that regard so played most of the then-new Untitled #23. Steve’s gratitude at the quite genuine audience response became grating and awkward after a while though, carrying a subtext of “who knew people out in the burbs could dig music this challenging? Well done, proles!” – Just my reading I’m sure.

    After a short break, the lights only partially dimmed and Martin Chambers walked onto the the stage to find that no one really recognised him. He had to resort to a theatrical “Boo!” jump scare, whereupon he took to his drum throne and off they went. Pretty sure Adam Seymour was Chrissie’s right hand at the time – I really liked him, particularly on the Isle of View acoustic video.

    (Actually got myself into a band for a time with his role as an inspiration: strong female leader with songwriting chops backed by a guy doing guitar, songwriting, arrangements, BVs, all the busy work so that she might shine more brightly. Really liked that role in a band.)

    Anyway, the gig never really got past that self consciousness for me. Between songs she said something about vegetarianism and someone shouted “Stick to singin’!”. It’s a fairly touristy audience when you don’t know Chrissie’s stance on meat. I remember them playing really well but the whole thing being pretty antiseptic. Met Marty Willson-Piper afterwards. Which was nice.

    I realise there’s something discordant here about me berating SK’s aloofness toward the ‘plebs’ in the suburban crowd, while I’m here calling them ‘tourists’ who don’t dig Chrissie’s principles, but there you go.

    • Much beloved here, I accept that, but I’ve never really taken to Joni Mitchell ever since I saw her Isle of Wight appearance in 1970.
      She berated the audience for being ‘tourists’ and then began a spiel about having recently gone to Greece or somewhere.
      Hey, isn’t that being a tourist?
      It’s pretty much my definition!

  15. Read something about Kilbey that always stuck with me. He said in a Pre-covid interview that he had two careers that he ran at the same time. One was touring with The Church and the other was touring with a Hits of the 80’s package tour where he’d walk out, sing Under the Milky Way and walk off again. He said he made more money with the 80’s tours than with his full band.

    • Wasn’t he doing a thing a few years back where for $1000 he would write a bespoke song for you? Wonder if he’s still on that side hustle (as the young folk of today call ’em).

    • He does it all now. The Church , Steve Kilbey, Kilbey plays the Church, unplugged, reads excerpts from his book. -anything to get the punters in. Such is the consequence of streaming.

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