- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of South Florida and help keep the future of New Times free.
There are few stories of talent, luck, and looks combining in as serendipitous a way as they have for the Pretenders' lead singer, Chrissie Hynde, and today we celebrate the raven-haired high priestess of fem-rock's 60th birthday.
The native of Akron, Ohio, attended Kent State University,
where she was witness to the infamous shootings that occurred amid
Vietnam protests there and inspired the CSNY song "Ohio." Though she
never completed her art degree at Kent State, she did find the time to
perform in a band with soon-to-be Devo founder Mark Mothersbaugh. In
1973, she picked up and moved to the U.K., where she accidentally managed
to land a gig at NME magazine, the periodical that had served as a major
catalyst in her jumping the pond.
She then reportedly worked at Vivienne Westwood's
boutique, SEX; solicited Sid Vicious' hand in marriage as means to stay
in the country; played in a band with members of the Damned before they
were the Damned; had "Philthy" Phil Taylor of future Motörhead fame on
drums for the first sessions that would become the Pretenders; and had a
child with both Ray Davies of the Kinks and Jim Kerr of Simple
Minds. Some claim portions of her backstory to be embellished upon or
twisted about for the sake of public perception. However, the fact
remains that if even a fraction of her backstory is the truth, this is a
woman undeniably imbued with the history of rock music.
Probably their best-known song, here's "Brass in Pocket" from the debut album by the Pretenders.
features what may be the best example of the late James Honeyman-Scott's
guitar playing.
real attention and also happens to have been penned by Chrissie's baby
daddy Ray Davies.
Follow County Grind on Facebook and Twitter: @CountyGrind.
Keep New Times Broward-Palm Beach Free... Since we started New Times Broward-Palm Beach, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering South Florida with no paywalls.