Saw these guys in '80 when this was all the material they had (1st album). Little college venue (The Barn at Rutgers). I was blown away. Still a big fan of C.H. Ultimate R&R chick. She's got the looks, attitude and all around artistic chops.
@waynesworldwaniac Thats a tall order to fill,Its a great tune that really inspired alot of the "ALTERNATIVE" 80s bands,not hard enuff to be called punk rock but def had enuff balls for any genre',but COME ON' top ten best ever ? but its your opinion.
This was shot in my friend Rob Wilson's rehearsal studio, I seem to remember it was originally for Canadian TV and that there was a guy in a tutu. The track from the first album Space Invaders was written because there was one of the table type games on the upper level in this place and they all played it.
Whatta kick-ass song, packing as much punch as the first time I heard it. "Changin' tires? Upstairs, bro! I shot my mouth off and you showed me what that hole was for. Hah!" -- those lyrics kill me to this day. Love Miss Chrissie
Back then, the bass player would have been considered 1950's retro. If someone dressed like that today, they would be considered 1970's retro. Everything new is old again.....
Back then, the bass player would have been considered 1950's retro. If someone dressed like that today, they would be considered 1980's retro. Everything new is old again.....
Back then, the bass player would have been considered 1950's retro. If someone dressed like that today, they would be considered 1980's retro. Everything new is old again.....
~October 1984 I took this incredible close-up of Elvis Costello (Dane County Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin) with my zoom lens. This kid in his late teens was getting kind of pushy. As I'm trying to remain still to snap the shot, I told him "you're gonna make some plastic surgeon a rich man..." (2:39 here) When he said, "not me, baby- I'm precious!" we both laughed it off and I took the shot. Memories of great '80s music...
@ColorsBright This video has a long intro with each member being introduced by an old guy sitting in a chair. It's longer than the actual video of the song.
@bitchslap666, the first album is a classic. The second one is not quite as strong but good. Then Honeyman-Scott died and they were never quite the same, but the 3rd album (the one with Back in the Chain Gang and Middle of the Road) is really good too.
Honeyman-Scott was a phenomenal guitarist. It's so sad that we missed out on 30 more years of his playing.
i like this SO much more than their later, softer, poppier stuff. Can someone recommend me more of their punky, harder earlier stuff? I'd greatly appreciate it.
@parttimeuser if your a teenager and this song didnt speak to you, in its rawness its energy and its vibrance then there has to be something wrong with you. Its guarenteed that any teen should love this.
such naughty lyrics. makes me wish i was th 1 she shot her mouth off @. such punk attitude. the movement would not have been th same without them. music would not hav been th same without them. me thinks i'll hav anothr
Love the Pretenders. She is another one of the great original, innovative chicks from rock and roll. she was like both masculine and feminine at the same time. this is like one of my favorite songs from them.
If there was one thing this debut was NOT, it's "all very run-of-the-mill" -- some of the best lyrics in rock, some of the best inspired playing -- you knew it would end soon, when your great lead guitarist plays for smack, so you had to enjoy it when you could -- Fun Fact: Play Space Invader at 45 speed... Poof! Instant moshing rave-up!
very late 70s? can't recall exactly which year it was here in NZ - but that stunning first album, incl those old vid intros that I remember too, the amazing songs and energy ...I'll be forever grateful. So a big cheers! for the talent of Chrissie Hynde and this band, its so nice to see this old vid and I wish there was more Pretenders on YouTube!! ... I even found the Ziggy Stardust album here last night, am like a pig in shite at the moment :)
This lineup, Chrissie Hynde,along with James Honeyman-Scott,Pete Farndon and
Martin Chambers, was EXCELLENT. For a brief moment in time. The Pretenders
ruled the Rock n' Roll world! One of the greatest debuts in music history.The second
album was just as good. Sadly,it was too good to continue. The deaths of Honeyman-Scott and Farndon proved too fatal for this band. True .Chrissie Hynde is a icon,but
Saw the Fairfield Show as well (brought my guitarist daughter ... to learn what a powerful musician this woman is) ...
I was disappointed ONLY because they did not play this song, or The Wait, my two favorite songs from them.
The Pretenders blew into Alternative Radio like a freekin tornado with this album ... and tarried there for years ... This song was an example of why .... Thanks ....
Classic! news flash Chrissie is sounding better than ever and her band with original drummer, the great Martin Chambers, is also sounding better than ever, I just saw a DVD of a London show from just a couple of years ago and the band was smoking and she was on Fire! Go Chrissie!
@BillWalkerGuitar I've seen The Pretenders several times since the mid-’80s, and the best show of all was last August in Troutdale, Ore. Her current lineup with James Walbourne channeling James Honeyman-Scott on guitar rivals the original cast. Chrissie's vocals left me speechless. She never sounded better. The Live In London DVD really captures the essence of one of the best, if not the best, live rock band today.
A Pretenders classic...Chrissie Hynde was an absolute badass! I remember this was on MTV back in the day and my parents had a cow when they heard the last line of the second verse...LOL!!!
Fantastic song and video from an album I played constantly for six months when it came out. Chrissie was the best, dare I say "ballsiest" singer back then, and she could be so tender as well. Love the guitar solo, with James Honeyman-Scott referencing the Who, and just the raw energy of the playing. When this clip was first shown there were some cute vid intros to the band members with Pete Farndon on a Triumph motorcycle and Chrissie in the laundromat tossing her panties into the machine!
@chrisharro ditto, I was in a band with a female lead singer and she came in with this album when it came out, we ended doing most of the tunes on it, just blew us away
this is it-this is the song, the vid that got me into punk rock-no more Boston or Heart or ELO or YES-(to name a few) this got me off the long haired, flowing robes, light shows, synthesizer music that was so predominant back in the late 70's-that's what they fed us and that's what we were into-until i saw this-and my acceptance started to grow
@bigjimsteelrod My sis gave me the first Pretenders tape back in 79 and I was convinced of the power and style that Chrissie possessed. Pure energy and performance.
I saw this video exactly once on TV back in the 70's when The Pretenders just came out. It made an impression on me that lasted 30 years, until I decided to look it up on Youtube.
This is one of the greatest live performance-based videos ever made. One look at the drummer and you can tell that the bulk of this video is from a single run-through of the song, and that they were killing it,
Some music trivia geek surely knows more than I do, but it's the impression that I get watching it now.
man, that's some serious sweat on fardon's face @ 1:30. hard to believe that both he and honeyman-scott would be dead within a few yrs
ritter89 1 week ago
Saw these guys in '80 when this was all the material they had (1st album). Little college venue (The Barn at Rutgers). I was blown away. Still a big fan of C.H. Ultimate R&R chick. She's got the looks, attitude and all around artistic chops.
GemTones 3 weeks ago
You Are THAT!
MsVOICES1 3 weeks ago in playlist The Pretenders
RIP - James Honeyman Scott.
MrQuestionAuthority 3 weeks ago
Just how gay does one need to be to hate this?
89grand 1 month ago
This song was ahead of it's time!
mrgutchman 2 months ago
it's strange how this song was not a radio single, unlike "stop your sobbing", "kid", and "brass in pocket", yet it has a music video for it.
mrgutchman 3 months ago
@mrgutchman Listen to the lyrics, it's not that surprising =P
Superstar12inch 3 weeks ago
have to play in I tunes while I watch the video.
ryodistributor 4 months ago
Just plain dirty. Umm!
treesloth9 4 months ago
Changin' tires
upstairs with a brogue
I shot me mouth off
and you showed me what that haal was faar
bt2tags 4 months ago
Great song despite its disturbing lyrics
JanetEsq 5 months ago
Comment removed
mcul2112 5 months ago
fucking AWESOME !!! - cheers
Hunsruck 5 months ago
the only (originally) "punk" band i'll ever love.
RockAndFunk 5 months ago 3
is it just me or does Christy hyans sounds a bit like Tom Petty on this song. I sometimes concider a female knock off of Tom Petty
cstory72 6 months ago
@cstory72 I think it's just you bro.
waynesworldwaniac 6 months ago
Who's that old guy with the black bow-tie holding a jack-russel terrier during the first half second on this video??
waynesworldwaniac 6 months ago
This song is the best Pretenders song! And it's in the top 10 best rock songs ever, in my opinion!
waynesworldwaniac 6 months ago
@waynesworldwaniac Thats a tall order to fill,Its a great tune that really inspired alot of the "ALTERNATIVE" 80s bands,not hard enuff to be called punk rock but def had enuff balls for any genre',but COME ON' top ten best ever ? but its your opinion.
cottonfever1221 6 months ago
awesome song !!
LOPEZFARVE91 7 months ago
This was shot in my friend Rob Wilson's rehearsal studio, I seem to remember it was originally for Canadian TV and that there was a guy in a tutu. The track from the first album Space Invaders was written because there was one of the table type games on the upper level in this place and they all played it.
johnwallis42 7 months ago
i love my tattoo'd love boy!!!!!!
SarahSmilesFilms 7 months ago
Whatta kick-ass song, packing as much punch as the first time I heard it. "Changin' tires? Upstairs, bro! I shot my mouth off and you showed me what that hole was for. Hah!" -- those lyrics kill me to this day. Love Miss Chrissie
BYODDC 8 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Back then, the bass player would have been considered 1950's retro. If someone dressed like that today, they would be considered 1970's retro. Everything new is old again.....
ErikMCMLVX 8 months ago
Back then, the bass player would have been considered 1950's retro. If someone dressed like that today, they would be considered 1980's retro. Everything new is old again.....
ErikMCMLVX 8 months ago
Back then, the bass player would have been considered 1950's retro. If someone dressed like that today, they would be considered 1980's retro. Everything new is old again.....
ErikMCMLVX 8 months ago
I never get tired of this song . . . I miss this sound and this band.
ChestertonsBulldog 9 months ago 2
1:45 sounds like 'radioactive' by KoL
AObasiolu14 9 months ago
paramore of the 80's
ChristianKurtYuson 9 months ago
All I can say is this song rules!
mopardan100 9 months ago
she rocks i love her..i always loved the pretenders...
americanwomansms 10 months ago
~October 1984 I took this incredible close-up of Elvis Costello (Dane County Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin) with my zoom lens. This kid in his late teens was getting kind of pushy. As I'm trying to remain still to snap the shot, I told him "you're gonna make some plastic surgeon a rich man..." (2:39 here) When he said, "not me, baby- I'm precious!" we both laughed it off and I took the shot. Memories of great '80s music...
ArtsPatron2008 10 months ago
old man and it looks like a beagle
RTVLEGOMAN 10 months ago
WOWOWOWOWW !! YOU are that !!!
purplelady56 10 months ago
HEYYY. & I want her hair!!
had that when it came out - the album - rocked then. still does now. as do I ;-)
s1ndydoll 11 months ago
god *how* cool is that - STILL. LOUDER. hot hot hot.
s1ndydoll 11 months ago
pause at 0:00 ... hidden message!
ColorsBright 11 months ago 2
@ColorsBright This video has a long intro with each member being introduced by an old guy sitting in a chair. It's longer than the actual video of the song.
BunnymanVids 11 months ago
That first Pretenders album was killer.
theseether 1 year ago 6
@bitchslap666, the first album is a classic. The second one is not quite as strong but good. Then Honeyman-Scott died and they were never quite the same, but the 3rd album (the one with Back in the Chain Gang and Middle of the Road) is really good too.
Honeyman-Scott was a phenomenal guitarist. It's so sad that we missed out on 30 more years of his playing.
gkctex 1 year ago 2
i like this SO much more than their later, softer, poppier stuff. Can someone recommend me more of their punky, harder earlier stuff? I'd greatly appreciate it.
bitchslap666 1 year ago
GOD I love this song! I'm 49 and I still play it every chance I get. I even got my teens to love it.
parttimeuser 1 year ago 3
@parttimeuser if your a teenager and this song didnt speak to you, in its rawness its energy and its vibrance then there has to be something wrong with you. Its guarenteed that any teen should love this.
subculturenerd 1 year ago
@parttimeuser DAMN straight. unbelievably effing cOOl. (i'm only 44 :-) )
s1ndydoll 11 months ago 2
Adoro jogar esta musica no guitar hero.
TheAndrewOlimpio 1 year ago
awesome!!!
slippydogg 1 year ago
morning drive to work song
itubeyoublah 1 year ago
I've loved this song and album for about 30 years now. Great stuff!
ToddSweeneyOnce 1 year ago
such naughty lyrics. makes me wish i was th 1 she shot her mouth off @. such punk attitude. the movement would not have been th same without them. music would not hav been th same without them. me thinks i'll hav anothr
batfrend 1 year ago
I shot my mouth off and he showed me what the hole was for! (No greater line ever written in a song...ever...in the history of man...)
arkady714 1 year ago
the energy.. goddamn...the energy required to play this tune..sublime
1bayne1 1 year ago
Love the Pretenders. She is another one of the great original, innovative chicks from rock and roll. she was like both masculine and feminine at the same time. this is like one of my favorite songs from them.
theseether 1 year ago 2
If there was one thing this debut was NOT, it's "all very run-of-the-mill" -- some of the best lyrics in rock, some of the best inspired playing -- you knew it would end soon, when your great lead guitarist plays for smack, so you had to enjoy it when you could -- Fun Fact: Play Space Invader at 45 speed... Poof! Instant moshing rave-up!
Th3B4nsh33 1 year ago 2
What a graet song.
dwbangdc 1 year ago
i didn't know Steve Zahn was a drummer!
thegei 1 year ago
Wish this video were LOUDER.
MsAppassionata 1 year ago 24
@MsAppassionata
you have a volume knob for a reason, turn that shit up:p
actually it is better if a record is recorded less loud, but indeed, it's a little extreme here
Guitarvirtuoso666 9 months ago
@Guitarvirtuoso666 Lol. I already did that. It still aint loud enough.
MsAppassionata 9 months ago
God, what a kick ass band. I love the toggle switch trick at the end of solo.... WHIRRRRRR DUT DUT DUT DUT!
JuanDeSoCal 1 year ago
love this song, punk rock attitude all the way through
weightlifterf2 1 year ago
Comment removed
amhellbent 1 year ago
@amhellbent 1979, that was the year of The Pretenders' debut
AnnaAnnaYes 8 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
very late 70s? can't recall exactly which year it was here in NZ - but that stunning first album, incl those old vid intros that I remember too, the amazing songs and energy ...I'll be forever grateful. So a big cheers! for the talent of Chrissie Hynde and this band, its so nice to see this old vid and I wish there was more Pretenders on YouTube!! ... I even found the Ziggy Stardust album here last night, am like a pig in shite at the moment :)
amhellbent 1 year ago
Comment removed
amhellbent 1 year ago
Comment removed
amhellbent 1 year ago
One of the greatest debut albums of the 80's. In my book, EVERY single song on it is a winner!!!
CANDOKNOWHOW 1 year ago 4
This lineup, Chrissie Hynde,along with James Honeyman-Scott,Pete Farndon and
Martin Chambers, was EXCELLENT. For a brief moment in time. The Pretenders
ruled the Rock n' Roll world! One of the greatest debuts in music history.The second
album was just as good. Sadly,it was too good to continue. The deaths of Honeyman-Scott and Farndon proved too fatal for this band. True .Chrissie Hynde is a icon,but
what might have been.....
AnnaAnnaYes 1 year ago 2
Saw the Fairfield Show as well (brought my guitarist daughter ... to learn what a powerful musician this woman is) ...
I was disappointed ONLY because they did not play this song, or The Wait, my two favorite songs from them.
The Pretenders blew into Alternative Radio like a freekin tornado with this album ... and tarried there for years ... This song was an example of why .... Thanks ....
TrajanGregory 1 year ago
Classic! news flash Chrissie is sounding better than ever and her band with original drummer, the great Martin Chambers, is also sounding better than ever, I just saw a DVD of a London show from just a couple of years ago and the band was smoking and she was on Fire! Go Chrissie!
BillWalkerGuitar 1 year ago
@BillWalkerGuitar I've seen The Pretenders several times since the mid-’80s, and the best show of all was last August in Troutdale, Ore. Her current lineup with James Walbourne channeling James Honeyman-Scott on guitar rivals the original cast. Chrissie's vocals left me speechless. She never sounded better. The Live In London DVD really captures the essence of one of the best, if not the best, live rock band today.
Tynorman10 1 year ago
Wow,
good too see this again, thanks for posting!!!
lycanthrope1962 1 year ago
A Pretenders classic...Chrissie Hynde was an absolute badass! I remember this was on MTV back in the day and my parents had a cow when they heard the last line of the second verse...LOL!!!
IntegraRType 1 year ago
It does NOT get any better than THIS. THIS is rock and roll in its PUREST FORM.
tdsafff 1 year ago 2
One of the greatest debut albums ever. It consumed my summer of 80!
THELXP 1 year ago 3
@THELXP Hell yeah! Burned out 3 cassettes, 4 vinyls an 8-track tape and wore out a few styluses with this record!
RubHerSoul1 1 year ago 2
Love the attitude in this song.Good job Chrissy!
mrbrianmccarthy 1 year ago
Fantastic song and video from an album I played constantly for six months when it came out. Chrissie was the best, dare I say "ballsiest" singer back then, and she could be so tender as well. Love the guitar solo, with James Honeyman-Scott referencing the Who, and just the raw energy of the playing. When this clip was first shown there were some cute vid intros to the band members with Pete Farndon on a Triumph motorcycle and Chrissie in the laundromat tossing her panties into the machine!
chrisharro 1 year ago 18
@chrisharro Yes I remember those intros the first time I saw this video on a pre-MTV music-video show but I'm afraid that I don't have them :(
BunnymanVids 1 year ago 4
@chrisharro ditto, I was in a band with a female lead singer and she came in with this album when it came out, we ended doing most of the tunes on it, just blew us away
905Alive 1 year ago
@chrisharro Agreed.. One of those albums where every song is good.. pre popular Pretenders.. punk sound.. raw and rocking
moovgirl 1 year ago 4
@moovgirl Total agreement!! Talk about high energy, that album had it.
marinman39 1 year ago
@chrisharro -one of the greatest , but underrated, guitar solos in rock history.
ckbennetttn 1 year ago
this is it-this is the song, the vid that got me into punk rock-no more Boston or Heart or ELO or YES-(to name a few) this got me off the long haired, flowing robes, light shows, synthesizer music that was so predominant back in the late 70's-that's what they fed us and that's what we were into-until i saw this-and my acceptance started to grow
bigjimsteelrod 1 year ago
@bigjimsteelrod My sis gave me the first Pretenders tape back in 79 and I was convinced of the power and style that Chrissie possessed. Pure energy and performance.
scottmanduzy 1 year ago
this is brilliant!
Vinneholly 1 year ago
love the set and the lighting - they made the most of a low budget
powerkor 1 year ago
I saw this video exactly once on TV back in the 70's when The Pretenders just came out. It made an impression on me that lasted 30 years, until I decided to look it up on Youtube.
This is one of the greatest live performance-based videos ever made. One look at the drummer and you can tell that the bulk of this video is from a single run-through of the song, and that they were killing it,
Some music trivia geek surely knows more than I do, but it's the impression that I get watching it now.
johnydynamic 1 year ago
Thanks to BunnymanVids for providing this classic. Always difficult to track down! Incredible raw energy, stripped down.
moondougie14 1 year ago
Such an amazing band when they had the original members!
zane5153 1 year ago