The Pretenders - Learning to Crawl
- FaceOff - עימות חזיתי
- Jan 13
- 6 min read
Written By: Moti Kupfer
Release date - 13.01.1984
This is a story that should be taught in every moment of despair. When things are hard, when nothing seems to work, when everything around you feels grey and the goals you set for yourself seem further away than ever, think about Chrissie Hynde.
Chrissie Hynde is a songwriter, a musician and above all a fighter who never gives up until she reaches her goals. A founding member of "The Pretenders", she stood at the center of the band’s third album, "Learning to Crawl", released on January 13, 1984.
Hynde was born in September 1951 in Akron, Ohio. She later described her school years as a complete waste of time. “I was never too interested in high school... I mean, I never went to a dance, I never went out on a date, I never went steady” she recalled. From a very young age, she was drawn to live shows and bands.“I used to go to Cleveland just to see any band.”
From an early age, Hynde had a very clear ambition. To form a band, to stand on that side of the stage and perform. The men who fascinated her were Brian Jones and Iggy Pop.
Right after high school, she enrolled at the art school of Kent State University. At the same time, she joined her first band together with Mark Mothersbaugh, who would later become a member of "Devo".
During her time at Kent State, the tragic event known as the "Ohio Kent State shootings" took place. Later referred to as the Kent State massacre, 29 National Guard members fired approximately 67 bullets in just 13 seconds at students protesting against the American government, its Vietnam War policy, and the expanding involvement in Cambodia. Four students were killed, among them Jeffrey Glenn Miller, whom Chrissie Hynde knew personally.
After finishing her studies at Kent, Hynde flew to London. She found work at an architecture firm, but her true goal lay elsewhere. She moved between jobs as a writer for the music magazine "NME", and later as an employee at the clothing shop run by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood.
After forming another short lived band, Hynde returned to London and tried relentlessly to secure a work visa in the UK. The situation escalated to the point where she nearly entered a fake marriage with Johnny Rotten, with Sid Vicious involved, all in an attempt to obtain that long awaited visa.
By 1978, Hynde’s experience playing guitar in various lineups began to show. She became the kind of guitarist any band would want by its side. With renewed confidence, she attempted to form a band with Mick Jones of "The Clash". When that attempt also failed, she recorded a demo and handed it to Dave Hill, owner of the label "Real Records", who immediately recognized her potential and began managing her.
Hynde formed a lineup consisting of herself, Pete Farndon on bass, James Honeyman Scott on guitar and keyboards, and Jerry McIlwaine on drums. Not long after, one of her musical heroes and a true embodiment of rock and roll, Lemmy Kilmister of "Motörhead", introduced her to drummer Martin Chambers, who replaced McIlwaine. The band took the name "The Pretenders", inspired by the song "The Great Pretender" by "The Platters".
The debut single by "The Pretenders", "Stop Your Sobbing", a cover of "The Kinks", was released in January 1979. Ten months later, the band achieved major success with their third single "Brass in Pocket", which topped the charts in the UK, Sweden, Ireland and South Africa, and reached number 14 on the US chart.
After two albums that enjoyed considerable success, cracks began to appear. The familiar trap of drugs, which so many musicians fall into, started to take its toll on the band.
Everything came to a head in June 1982. Bassist Pete Farndon was fired from the band by Hynde herself due to excessive drug use. He later died as a result of his addiction after drowning. As if that were not enough, just two days later guitarist James Honeyman Scott died in his sleep from heart failure caused by cocaine intolerance.
Watching the life’s work she had built fall apart, Hynde refused to give up. She temporarily recruited guitarist Billy Bremner of "Rockpile" and bassist Tony Butler of "Big Country" to record the successful double A side single "Back on the Chain Gang" and "My City Was Gone".
Hynde, a strong minded and mentally resilient woman, refused to let her spirit break even when the father of her newborn child, Ray Davies, the frontman of "The Kinks", abandoned her. As her daughter began to “learn to crawl” step by step, Hynde taught herself, together with the new lineup of "The Pretenders", featuring Robbie McIntosh and Malcolm Foster, how to slowly create continuity out of nothing. Out of fracture and loss, new life gave her the strength needed to deliver the band’s third and masterful album, "Learning to Crawl".
The album bursts open at a frantic pace with "Middle of the Road". Hynde wrote the song while confronting a midlife crisis and the approach of middle age. The lyrics reflect on the contrast between wealth and poverty, while also revealing autobiographical details, including her age at the time, 33. As the song unfolds, Hynde unleashes one of her most famous wails, closing the track with a stunning harmonica solo. Interestingly, the album itself does not credit anyone for playing that harmonica part.
After an opening at a fast pace, the album continues with an equally impressive track, "Back on the Chain Gang", which opens with a tribute that can be interpreted either as a nod to Ray Davies or as a homage to guitarist James Honeyman Scott, who died unexpectedly following his struggle with drug addiction. The hammer like sounds and the chain gang style chorus draw inspiration from the song "Chain Gang" by soul singer Sam Cooke from 1960.
The album’s momentum continues with "Time the Avenger", a song that tells the story of a successful businessman with a wife and children who embarks on an affair with a foreign woman. The relationship leads to his personal collapse and the loss of his marriage. He loses his sense of balance and slips into alcohol addiction, which becomes part of the problem. In the end, he leaves his home with nothing but a bag of belongings. The song serves as an indictment of people’s inability to be satisfied with what they have, a flaw that can ultimately leave them losing everything on all fronts.
In "Show Me", Chrissie addresses for the first time her new role as a mother and the love she feels for her young daughter. She wonders whether love can survive and flourish in such a chaotic world, yet she still hopes that it can. On one hand, she expresses her devotion to her child, while at the same time revealing a desire to find love within her own romantic relationship.
With "Thumbelina", Hynde continues to explore themes connected to her daughter and the child’s father. The song takes the form of a country rock story about a mother and daughter traveling across America, with the final line hinting that the mother is leaving her husband.
The seventh track on the album, "My City Was Gone", is the flip side of the single "Back on the Chain Gang" and was written and recorded in October 1982. The song reflects Hynde’s growing concern with environmental and social issues. When she returns to her childhood home in Ohio, she discovers that the “pretty countryside” of her youth has turned into an ugly city. The lyrics include several specific references to locations in and around Akron. In the United States, the song became known as “the Ohio song”.
In "Thin Line Between Love and Hate", the delicate boundary between love and hatred is crossed. A man returns home at five in the morning after cheating on his wife. She ignores the suspicious hour and simply asks if he is hungry. Almost immediately, however, comes the warning: do not think you can keep breaking your wife’s heart. Indeed, she apparently takes revenge, as he later finds himself wrapped in bandages from head to toe in a hospital. This is the only cover song on the album, originally by the New York band "The Persuaders". On keyboards and backing vocals, one can hear Paul Carrack, known for his work with "Ace", "Squeeze", and "Mike and the Mechanics".
The album closes with "Two Thousand (2000) Miles", whose iconic opening riff was conceived by guitarist Robbie McIntosh. The song went on to become a popular Christmas track in the UK. Its lyrics focus on two lovers in a long distance relationship, missing each other during the Christmas season. As a result, it became a song that is played with especially high frequency during the holiday period.
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music
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