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Home , Adam Seymour (musician), Back on the Chain Gang, Big Country, Chrissie Hynde, Jaan Uhelszki, Learning to Crawl

n that fractured musical landscape of seditious invective on prime time British 1979-80, it took to television and spearheaded what came to provide the missing link between be referred to as rock’s “W inter of the iconography and idealism of Hate.” Hynde didn’t buy into that par­ big sixties guitar rock and the de- ticular cultural revolution, despite hav­ constructed nihilism of the punk- ing palled around with John Lydon and ish mid- and late seventies. They united and having worked behind the I counter at Sex, Malcolm McLaren and Vivi­ mainstream FM rockers, self-conscious new wavers, and the pierced, tattooed toughs that enne Westwood’s shop on King’s Road - one still uneasily roamed the earth like vestigial of the cradles of first-wave punk civiliza­ body parts as the M e Generation tottered tion. Instead, Hynde insisted, “I’m not a to an unsteady start. punk, I’m a musician.” One whose roots W hat is probably most significant is and traditions stretched back at least to that it took a single woman, born and and the Wheels as raised in one of the grittier bowels of the well as . American Midwest, who answered an urgent Maybe you should blame her uncompro­

call to travel to the U.K. for her own rock 5 ? mising aesthetic on that heady triumvirate of roll baptism. She’d been strangely spurred Marc Bolan, , and , on after seeing a picture of Iggy Pop on the whom the teenage Hynde, already a self- cover o f Kfew Musical Express. In plunging taught baritone ukulele and harmonica into those roiling, uncertain waters, she player, worshiped from a makeshift altar in managed to unite British and American her teenage bedroom in America’s rubber rock, which in that brief no man’s land of capitol, Akron, . Or, more important, time that separated the death of punk and the perhaps it was her then rather revolutionary advent of M T V were at their most polarized confession that she didn’t want to be with Brian Although consorted with Jones but be him. the crème de la crème ofU .K . punks almost So with only a single suitcase, massive as soon her black Cuban-heeled boots amounts of black eyeliner, and three al­ struck English soil in 1973, she believed - bu m s (W kite Light/White Heat, Raw and more to the point, she was unafraid to Power, and Fun House), Hynde took her say she believed - that musical history ex­ first tentative steps into the British rock isted before the spewed their scene. Armed with the time-honored ere-

The Pretenders By

► The Pretenders: Chrissie Hynde, , , and James Honeyman-Scott (clockwise from top left), circa 1981

► Chrissie Hynde and her tattooed love boys: Guitarist Jimmy Honeyman- Scott, bassist Pete Farndon, and drummer Martin Chambers ▼ Live in : Andy Hobson, Hynde, Chambers, , 1999

▲ Chambers, live in Santa Monica, on his birthday in September 1981

dentials of being a former art student - like many of her guitar Chrissie Hynde is nothing if not self-effacing and dismissive heroes - she penned acerbic, opinionated reviews for the era’s of her extraordinary talents — musical and otherwise. leading British rock bible, A[ME, until she realized that she Her dreams led her to work with M ick Jones, a few months needed to be on the other side of the typewriter. She began re­ before the formation of , and then to join and exit the hearsing with a series of loose-knit bands, including a brief Berk Brothers. She also briefly played with the provocatively stint gigging in France.. Forced to re­ dubbed Masters of the Backside, who turn to Ohio, she joined an R£s?B band mammmtmmamm later metamorphosed, without her, called Jack Rabbit - which made per­ into the Damned. Finally, in 1978, she fect sense for a girl who got her first H ynde answ ered an hooked up with Real Records’ Dave kiss onstage from Jackie Wilson. Hill, who believed enough in her McLaren attempted to lure her urgent call to travel that he encouraged her to form her back to the U.K. with the promise of to the U.K. for her own own band rather than try to insert her­ her heading up an all-male band self into any morejintenable situa­ called the Love Boys; the only catch rock & roll baptism tions. W hy? Because if anything, was that Chrissie was to front the Chrissie Hynde was born knowing band as a boy. That didn’t appeal to what she wanted and, more impor­ her, nor did the offer of playing in tant, what she didn’t want. And once Bernie Rhodes’s School Girls’ Underwear; in spite of these she met bassist Pete Farndon, all prickly attitude and rockabilly rather spurious offers, she returned to Britain in 197b with hair, just back from a two-year Australian stint with a folk a renewed vigor - but without a fixed plan for world domi­ band, she knew she had the cornerstone for what would be­ nation. That was an unexpected benefit. “I had no ambition, come the Pretenders - such an unlikely name for a band that is I just had dreams,” explained Hynde, rather modestly. But nothing if not authentic. It was cribbed from Buck Ram’s ▼ Hynde and a gal’s best friend - a Telecaster - live in Detroit during the Pretenders’ first U.S. tour, 1980

“,” which a Hell’s Angels acquaintance would play surreptitiously when his nefarious cronies weren’t around. Hynde decided on the name when pressed to choose something in advance o f the band’s first single. (She eschewed her earlier sobriquet of the Rhythm Method, believing that the ▲ Pete Farndon, at an early Pretenders gig at the Palomino Club, 1981 contraceptive reference might inhibit radio play.) After Farndon signed on, he recruited his hometown pal, the grandly named guitarist James Honeyman-Scott from - M ott the Hoople country, for the uniniti- ated - and began putting in long hours of practice with Hynde and drummer Gerry Mackelduff. The Pretenders’ debut single, “” b/w “The W ait,” pro­ duced by , featured this lineup. But Mackelduff wasn’t long for the band and was handily replaced by another Herefordshire native, Martin Chambers, who worked as a day laborer in the roofing trade and drummed by night in a dance band that specialized in Glenn Miller hits, when he wasn’t gig­ ging with Honeyman-Scott in the audaciously named Cheeks. Honeyman-Scott’s reverence for rock history, his sly rework­ ing of Ron W ood and Keith Richards licks, and his unflinching

melodic sense provided a perfect foil for Hynde’s cool-as-an- ▲ Chambers and Farndon relax at the pinball machine, Detroit, 1980 oyster demeanor and flint-edged song cycles of heartache, y

▲ Chrissie Hynde takes the boys in the band back home to Ohio to perform outside Akron at the annual Blossom Music Festival, 1981

self-recriminations, and fugitive love songs. the elegiac single “,” which they A n obscure 1964 Kinks tune, “Stop Your Sobbing,” became dedicated to Honeyman-Scott. A year later, Hynde and a modest U.K. hit for the Pretenders upon its release in Jan- Chambers put a new band together with guitarist Robbie uary 1979. Its followup, “Kid,” produced by Chris Thomas, also McIntosh and bassist , releasing the appro­ did fairly well, and soon the band and Thomas were recording priately titled . Acknowledging the im­ the group’s first, self-titled . Its first single, “Brass in Pock­ permanence of life and love, the 1984 album features some et,” rocketed to Number One in the U.K., setting the stage for of the Pretenders’ most formidably inspired writing, in­ the band’s January 1980 debut, Pre­ cluding the sanguine and reflective tenders, to nab the top spot on the U.K. “Middle of the Road” and the har­ chart, then climb into the U.S. rowing “Time the Avenger.” Two j Top Ten. proclaimed Since their exciting years later, Chambers departed, that the album was “like a drug” - and, leaving Hynde to record with-a suc­ to be honest, he should know. debut, the Pretenders cession of musicians. The band toured with a demonic have upheld th eir “I didn’t talk to Martin for a few vengeance for the next eighteen years because of the trauma of losing months, selling out such venues as the early promise Pete and Jimmy,” Hynde told Aussie 3,500-seat Santa Monica Civic Audi­ journalist Mike Gee in 1999. “W hat torium in less than two hours, signify­ I’ve done since they died is keep the ing that the Pretenders myth was al­ spirit of the original Pretenders alive ready gathering steam - further fostered by Hynde’s and bring in players who were influenced by the original conflagration with a Memphis bouncer that earned her an band and play to that spirit. But, yeah, I wish they were still overnight stay in jail. In 1981, Pretenders II shotup the UJS, and alive and we were still together.” U.K. charts with alacrity, but a cloud appeared on the horizon. Chambers returned to the band in 1994 for the Pretenders’ W ithin four months, Chambers injured both his hands, forcing first album in four years, The Last of die Independents. W ith the band to cancel dates. Then the cloud turned into a gather­ guitarist Adam Seymour and bassist Andy Hobson, the group ing darkness, and in June 1982, tragedy struck. Farndon was scored the Top Forty hit “I’ll Stand By YoiU’ In 1999, one of ousted from the band because of his pervasive drug use, and Hynde’s early inspirations, Jeff Beck, guested on the track two days later, Honeyman-Scott was found dead in his apart­ “Legalize M e,” on Viva El Amor! ment from an overdose. Sadly, Farndon would follow Jimmy Over the twenty-five years since their exciting debut sin­ eight months later, expiring in his bath in April 1983. gle, the Pretenders have upheld their early promise: They’ve It takes an almost otherworldly strength to come preserved their fierce integrity, eccentric sense of rhythm, through so much pain, but Hynde and Chambers decided haughty eclecticism, austere sexuality, and propulsive rock 62? it would be a travesty not to continue the band that meant roll — still inhabiting that uncertain terrain between pleasure so much to them all. W ith former guitarist Billy and pain, with a blunt honesty through it all. And you can’t Bremner and bassist , they recorded ask for more than that. • yi From Writers to R ockers By the author, pictured below

It is possible to slide between writing about rock & roll and making it. M uso scribes play it both ways

ondon, 1975. In the stockroom of a record Ghrissie’s caustic journalistic comments had already company near Hyde Park, a lithe girl in a caused quite a stir in the rock weekly J^ew Musical Express, black leather miniskirt and tight torn T-shirt and not just because of her much discussed liaison with efficiently shuffled through shelves of al­ lanky , then the bad boy of British journalism - bums, grabbing as many as she could carry our own Keith Richards. Like his hard-rockin’, hard-livin’ without toppling over in her black patent guitar hero, Kent was unfailingly courteous and gentle' Lstilettos. W ay before the Pre­ manly, even while swaying like a tenders, Chrissie Hynde was avail­ palm in a hurricane as he analyzed ing herself of the old perk of being Little Feat’s latest. W ith Chrissie the rock 62? roll journalist she briefly In ou r m ultitasking at his side, they were a reigning was: free albums you could sell to rock power couple - but Chrissie compensate for the pathetic pay. times, the membrane treated that prospect with as much “W ant some?” she offered gener­ between artist and disdain as she did her music writing. ously and moved aside to let me take (A shame, that, in aw ay — she writes my pick. A n utter novice, I was shy uniter has eroded really well.) No, glam romance and and didn’t want to appear greedy. nights at the IBM “golf-ball” type­ Although I’d only just met her, it writer were both very secondary was obvious that Chrissie’s sassy to her overriding obsession - leav­ smile could whisk her past security guards, even when ing behind crap bands like the Moors Murderers (with she was waltzing out with the label’s entire summer re­ whom she posed in a black garbage bag) and getting to­ lease schedule. Seeing her pluck albums like apples from gether her own group. a loaded branch, I made up my mind. Quickly, I started They were going to call themselves the Rhythm Method stuffing my satchel with vinyl. but ultimately became the Pretenders, and as several plat­ inum and gold discs prove, journalism’s loss was pop music’s ◄ Recent Ohio transplant Chrissie Hynde with U.K. rock scribe Nick Kent big score. In all her years of superstardom, motherhood, and A DJ Spooky, a.k.a Paul D. Miller, makes radical mixes and writings.

▼ “ before,” as rock journalist at ‘’ (left) and “ after,” as one-half of the (pictured here without shades)

social activism, the singer has seemingly never been tempted ling Shits. I recall one scurrilous little ditty about Sex Pistols to turn scribe again — though I still hope for more crisp manager Malcolm McLaren and his wife, designer Vivienne Chrissie prose. W estwood - something rather bizarre, involving closets Twenty-five years on, a plethora of media have made it and talcum powder, all rubbish, of course. Us muso scribes more normal for people to shift between gigs. In our multi­ expected, and got, no favoritism. Punk journalist Julie tasking times, the membrane between artist and writer has Burchill once compared my singing to Joni Mitchell, and eroded, or perhaps just become more thought she was dissing me. elastic. Rock journalist Ira Kaplan A t my Hampstead high school, you doubles as part of the long-running in­ could be arty, athletic, or academic, die success Yo La Tengo, and I fyou flex a lesser-used and no deviation was permitted. I was writes a kabalistic kid’s book. It’s chic filed under bookworm. But in the zany to shape-shift. Perhaps the artist to bit o fyour brain and anarchy o f the punk scene, when pen­ swing both ways with most aplomb work all your the niless punks were known to crash on was Neil Tennant, who revolution­ rock writers’ floofs (like Chrissie did ised pop crit with the unpretentious unitfunctions better on mine, and what great laughs we gloss o f Smash Hits in the 1980s, then had), interviewing and also knocking seamlessly drifted into megastardom around with the Sliti' and the Rain­ with the Pet Shop Boys. coats emboldened me. I became a Fly­ But it was punk’s “do it yourself” ethos that first set us ing Lizard, writing and singing on the first album by David free. Boundaries were there to be broken, and writers at Cunningham’s new-wave avant-electro collective, best S o u n d s and J^ew Musical Express were always forming bands known for our cover of the Barrett-Strong classic “Money,” with no perceived breach of journalistic integrity. Charles which charted at Number Four in Britain. More musical ad­ Shaar Murray’s alter ego w as Blast Furnace of the Heat­ ventures included singing reggae backup harmony for dub waves. Our charming art editor, Dave Fudger, and the late producer Adrian Sherwood and a mix I wrote, sang, Giovanni Dadomo, w ith his rakish grin, founded the Snivel­ and coproduced with John Lydon, the recently reissued r t * il u fyudm ue o oe # lose. you muse, a dump if you but cial, verse, Kaye never abandoned his literary bent. T h e erudite erudite e h T bent. literary his abandoned never Kaye verse, nated last year for a Grammy! The subtext: Creative focus is cru­ nomi­ focus was it Creative hen subtext: w The a surprise Grammy! for a last t year nated a h W Fun.” f o “For remix Hargrove, Bacchus’s Brian Roy producer SoulFeast on backup sing to since I’d been in a studio when I was enlisted, quite by chance, chance, by quite enlisted, Iwas when studio a in been I’d since outh M all your skills, the whole unit functions better. It had been years years been had It better. functions unit ork whole the w and skills, brain all your f your o bit used a lesser flex can If you text. and Book o f the Year selection in Britain’s Britain’s in selection Year f the o Book tw o mistresses is DJ Spooky, a,k.a. Paul D. Miller, whose mixes mixes whose Miller, D. Paul a,k.a. Spooky, DJ is mistresses o tw tarist, Lenny Kaye. Like his muse, w ho w rote the play play the rote w ho w muse, his Like Kaye. Lenny tarist, breed. Before becoming the w ild bard o f her generation, Patti Patti generation, f her o bard ild w the becoming Before breed. rocker’s most recent w ork is is ork w recent most rocker’s are as radical as his recent conceptual book, book, conceptual recent his as radical as are D avid Byrne, set it apart from London’s laddish, pub-spawned pub-spawned laddish, y b London’s from prodded apart it and set arhol, Byrne, y W d avid n D y A b nurtured Hell, Richard poet Smith contributed review s to to s review contributed Smith scene, christened the Blank Generation b y the Voidoids’ punk punk Voidoids’ the y b Generation Blank the christened scene, “Launderette,” described b y y b described “Launderette,” lil’ dub song about dating and washing.” B ut the laptop beck' beck' it. ith laptop w the stick ut B didn’t I and oned, washing.” and dating about song dub lil’ Nowadays, the same keys operate the construction o f music f music o construction the operate keys same the Nowadays, T h e com parative intellectualism o f the N e w York punk punk York w e N the f o intellectualism parative com e h T Unlike another w riter turned rocker, Patti Smithv Patti rocker, turned riter w another Unlike w ith Sam Shepard and has published several books o f f o books several published has and Shepard Sam ith w You C a ll ll a C You lng one, n to S g llin o R laeVoice o V illage V It It uardian G adness. M htm ince, cien S Rhythm.

as “a disarming disarming “a as as did her gui- gui- her did as

newspaper.

A lso serving serving lso A o boy Cow

a a

T Richard Hell scribbled verse and eventually wrote the novel ‘Go Now.’ ‘Go novel the wrote eventually and verse scribbled Hell Richard T ▲ Sam Shepard and lite ra ry pal Patti Sm ith, circa 1971 circa ith, Sm Patti pal ry ra lite and Shepard Sam ▲ 4 Pretender Chrissie Hynde put down the pen and picked up the guitar. the up picked and pen the down put Hynde Chrissie Pretender