Chrissie Hynde

Tough, uncompromising, controversial and supremely talented, Chrissie Hynde led The Pretenders to a string of classic new wave pop hits in the 1980s including “Brass in Pocket”, “Precious”, “Kid”, “2000 Miles”, and “Don't Get Me Wrong” as she became one of the most iconic women in rock. Born Christine Ellen Hynde on September 7, 1951 in Akron, Ohio, Hynde followed her rock and roll dreams to London where she wrote for the New Musical Express and found herself in the middle of the punk explosion, hanging out with Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols. She was briefly in a variety of bands (including an early incarnation of The Damned) before forming The Pretenders in 1978. They hit number 1 in the UK with “Brass in Pocket” just over a year later with a sound that mixed post punk attitude and Phil Spector-melodies and heralded a sharp new beginning at the start of the 1980s. The band went on to have a career that stretched over 30 years, while Hynde went on to have a varied solo career. She topped the UK singles charts by collaborating with UB40 on “I Got You Babe” and with Cher, Eric Clapton and Neneh Cherry on the Comic Relief charity record “Love Can Build a Bridge” in 1995. She also recorded with a varied selection of artists, including Frank Sinatra, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Willis, Ringo Starr, Emmylou Harris, Morrissey and Brazilian Merino Veroso. In 2010 Hynde formed a new band with Welsh performer JP Jones, called JP, Chrissie & the Fairground Boys, releasing their debut album Fidelity! the same year. In 2014 she finally released her first official solo album Stockholm, a number 22 album that featured guest appearances from Neil Young and ex-tennis star John McEnroe. Her versatility was rewarded when 2019’s Valve Bone Woe topped the UK Jazz/Blues album chart. She returned to the top 50 of the UK albums chat in 2021 with the LP Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan. Still with Pretenders for their eleventh album Hate for Sale (2020) and a show at Glastonbury Festival in 2022, Hynde released her third solo full-length, Duets Special (2025), featuring covers recorded with k.d. Lang, Dave Gahan, Lucinda Williams, Cat Power, Carleen Anderson, Rufus Wainwright, Brandon Flowers, Julian Lennon, Deborah Harry, Alan Sparhawk, Shirley Manson, Dan Auerbach, and the late Mark Laneagn.