6/11/2023 0 Comments The pretenders new song![]() Though their last major hit, the #16 “I’ll Stand By You” has also been a big favorite seeing many people cover it and utilize it for shows. Even in their time, “Brass in Pocket” only reached #14 with their biggest hit “Back on the Chain Gang” from 1982 peaking at #5. The Pretenders are one of those acts I’ve never been exposed to a lot and in the US don’t seem to be too well known. I’ll say the UK transition into the ‘80s is better than the US with Rupert Holmes’ “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” being the final #1 of the ‘70s and KC & The Sunshine Band’s “Please Don’t Go” being the first #1 of the ‘80s. In previous decades, the first number one singles have been perfectly pleasant pieces of pop (Michael Holliday’s ‘Starry Eyed’ in 1960, and Edison Lighthouse’s ‘Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)’ in 1970) with little indication of where popular music is heading at that moment, but ‘Brass in Pocket’ actually sounds like a statement of intent… Chrissie Hynde, meanwhile, will have another #1 under her own steam (sort of).Īnd so, with this short, sharp little record – that manages to be both clever and catchy – the eighties have kicked off. They would never return to the top of the charts (though a cover of one of their songs will…) but they managed impressive longevity: a handful of Top 10 hits spread out over fifteen years. This was The Pretenders breakthrough hit from their debut album – they had only been a band for just over a year. Either way, Hynde sums it up: “The tradition of ‘Brass in Pocket’ is that you’re cocky, and sure of yourself.” You know, like dancing, or… There has been some discussion over whether the song is actually about The Pretenders’ first ever concert, or about the singer’s first sexual experience with a new partner. Got new skank, So reet… I thought it was a drug reference, but apparently it’s about moving your body. In the second verse, she’s a little more explicit about how she may be getting her ‘brass’. And the music is more British post-punk – Police-like chiming guitars and a bouncing, reggae-ish beat – than Blondie’s spiky, New York sound. Hynde sounds nothing like Debbie Harry, but her voice still drips with the same kind of attitude. The obvious comparison to make – a female lead singer in an otherwise male new-wave band – is with Blondie. These days people’d call her a Boss Bitch. Since punk, women can be bad-ass singers of rock ‘n’ roll bands. Give it to me! Probably helps that it’s a woman singing these lines. I’m special, So special, Gotta have some of your attention… This could come across as wildly obnoxious, but it doesn’t, somehow. She’ll use her arms, her legs, her style and her sidestep, and in the space of three minutes the capital will have fallen. Gonna make you, Make you, Make you notice! Picture Chrissie Hynde, stepping off the bus in London town, and picturing just how she’s going to make it BIG. I got brass, In pocket, I got bottle, I am gonna use it… This one’s all about the hustle. Brass in Pocket, by The Pretenders (their 1 st and only #1)Īnd what a cool way to start the decade.
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