Tag: James Honeyman-Scott

Pretenders – Brass In Pocket

Sometimes a band’s biggest hit isn’t the song that best represents them, and I think that’s true here. If you explore The Pretenders’ catalog, you’ll find songs with more bite and emotion. But this one was the perfect introduction. It made me want to hear more, and that’s exactly what a great first hit should do. Even if Chrissie Hynde has had mixed feelings about it, I’m glad she still plays it. Some songs become bigger than the artist’s opinion of them, and this is definitely one of those.

When The Pretenders released their debut album in 1980, few people knew what to expect. Led by Chrissie Hynde, the band mixed rock, punk, pop, and new wave into a sound that was all their own. While the album was packed with strong songs, it was this song that introduced millions of listeners to the band and turned them into stars.

The song was written by Chrissie Hynde and guitarist James Honeyman-Scott during an early rehearsal. Musically, it has a relaxed groove with a touch of soul that was inspired by Stax and Motown records. Hynde later admitted she wasn’t crazy about the song and didn’t think it represented the band very well. She even resisted releasing it as a single. The record company disagreed, and history proved them right.

One of the things that has always made the song memorable is its unusual lyrics. The phrase “brass in pocket” is old British slang for having money in your pocket. Even though Hynde has said over the years that it isn’t one of her favorite songs, she also understands what it means to fans. It’s still a regular part of the Pretenders’ concerts because she knows audiences want to hear it.

This was the song that introduced me to The Pretenders. Looking back, it’s interesting because it doesn’t really sound like much of what came later. Their music would become tougher, sharper, and more guitar-driven.  But this song has a warmth and bounce that makes it stand on its own. It may not be their best song, but it is certainly one of their catchiest, and after all these years, it’s still the first one that comes to mind when I think about discovering the band.

The song peaked at #1 in the UK, #14 on the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, and #25 in New Zealand in 1979.

Brass in Pocket

Got brass in pocket
Got bottle, I’m gonna use it
Intention, I feel inventive
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Got motion, restrained emotion
Been driving Detroit leaning
No reason, just seems so pleasing
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

[Chorus:]
Gonna use my arms
Gonna use my legs
Gonna use my style
Gonna use my side step
Gonna use my fingers
Gonna use my, my, my imagination

‘Cause I gonna make you see
There’s nobody else here
No one like me
I’m special so special
I gotta have some of your attention give it to me

Got rhythm I can’t miss a beat
Got new skank it’s so reet
Got something I’m winking at you
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

[Chorus]

‘Cause I gonna make you see
There’s nobody else here
No one like me
I’m special, so special
I gotta have some of your attention
Give it to me
‘Cause I gonna make you see
There’s nobody else here
No one like me
I’m special, so special
I gotta have some of your attention

Give it to me

Pretenders – Kid

I’ve been a Pretenders fan since I heard Brass in Pocket when it was released. Although I would spend a long time tracking down the name of it. In the 1980s, you could count on them to release something good and not the standard top 40 music. Chrissie Hynde had more grit in her singing than most of her male and female peers. She wasn’t here to sing you a pretty song; she meant business.

The original band was something special. The members were James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Martin Chambers (drums, backing vocals, percussion)…and of course Chrissie Hynde. To convince guitarist James Honeyman-Scott to join The Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde hired one of his favorite recording artists, Nick Lowe, to produce the song Stop Your Sobbing, an album cut of The Kinks. Chris Thomas would go on to produce all the other songs on the album.

When the Pretenders burst onto the scene in 1979, they didn’t arrive with punk guitars (although the spirit was there). They were armed with mostly Hynde’s melodic songs. Chrissie Hynde was a new kind of female rock vocalist, vulnerable and dangerous all at once. She was/is a badass but still relatable. This song was the band’s second single in 1979 and was included on their 1980 debut album. It is a great slice of power pop that blends jangly guitars, melodic melancholy. I love James Honeyman-Scott’s intro guitar run; it makes the song for me. It’s very obvious why Chrissie wanted him in the band.

Hynde has stated the song is about a woman who works in “the game” (prostitution) to get by, and her sadness when her child learns the truth about what she does. Following the 1981 Pretenders album Pretenders II, two of the four band members, Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott, died of drug overdoses, leaving just Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers, who remained the mainstays in the band amongst a rotating cast of guitarists and bass players through the 1980s.

The song peaked at #33 in the UK in 1979.

Kid

Kid, what changed your mood?You got all sad, so I feel sad tooI think I knowSome things you never outgrow

You think it’s wrongI can tell you doHow can I explainWhen you don’t want me to?

Kid, my only kidYou look so small, you’ve gone so quietI know you know what I’m aboutI won’t deny it

But you forgetYou don’t understandYou’ve turned your headYou’ve dropped my hand

All my sorrowAll my bluesAll my sorrow

Shut the lightGo awayFull of graceYou cover your face

Kid, precious kidYour eyes are blue, but you won’t cry, I knowAngry tears are too dearYou won’t let them go

Pretenders – Back On The Chain Gang

The “picture of you” Chrissie Hynde sings about is a picture she found in her wallet of Ray Davies, lead singer and songwriter of The Kinks. Hynde and Davies were a couple and had a daughter together. This song started off about him, but the meaning changed when Honeyman-Scott died.

The song turned into a tribute to James Honeyman-Scott, the Pretenders guitarist who died of a drug overdose in 1982 at age 26. Scott’s death was followed by bass player Pete Farndon’s 10 months later. Farndon had been kicked out of the band because of his drug problems and died of an overdose.

The song peaked at #5 in the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, #14 in New Zealand, and #17 in the UK in 1983.

 

From Songfacts

This is a very emotional song. Chrissie Hynde would sometimes tear up when performing it.

A Chain Gang is a group of convicts who are chained together while they do manual labor, usually outside.

This was the first Pretenders single featuring Billy Bremner and Tony Butler, who replaced Farndon and Honeyman-Scott.

This was released as a single almost two years before the album came out.

Back On The Chain Gang

I found a picture of you, oh oh oh oh
What hijacked my world that night
To a place in the past
We’ve been cast out of? Oh oh oh oh
Now we’re back in the fight
We’re back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang

A circumstance beyond our control, oh oh oh oh
The phone, the TV and the news of the world
Got in the house like a pigeon from hell, oh oh oh oh
Threw sand in our eyes and descended like flies
Put us back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang

The powers that be
That force us to live like we do
Bring me to my knees
When I see what they’ve done to you
But I’ll die as I stand here today
Knowing that deep in my heart
They’ll fall to ruin one day
For making us part

I found a picture of you, oh oh oh oh
Those were the happiest days of my life
Like a break in the battle was your part, oh oh oh oh
In the wretched life of a lonely heart
Now we’re back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang