On Monday night the ex-Punks were treated to a great Billy Idol set in the International Arena with his polished Las Vegas style Punk Rock greatest hits show. There were no greatest hits in evidence at the Globe on Tuesday night with Chrissie Hynde. Instead, we were treated to a non-stop barrage of old-fashioned Rock n Roll fused with Punk Rock edge and Akron, Ohio chutzpah.
Fresh(ish) from the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert at Wembley - Chrissie had set expectations beforehand that these intimate dates would not go down the well-trodden path of Pretenders hits, but instead the short set would be littered with tracks from the later (but lesser known) Pretenders albums, her 2014 solo album “Stockholm” but still with treats like the “Adulteress” from Pretenders II slotted in for good measure. Nobody looked in the least bit disappointed and Chrissie herself (in contrast to her last Cardiff appearance at St David’s Hall) looked like she was enjoying herself.
The band were tight, the newer songs still had the hooks, the voice was spot on and the sound was fantastic. In particular, James Walbourne on the guitar made the men in the audience want to be him and the ladies to be with him. The night belonged to Chrissie Hynde though. If anyone deserves legend status – it’s her. From the days in the in the 70s working in SEX with Malcolm McLaren, hanging out with the embryonic Sex Pistols (see Disney Channel) cementing her status in the Rock n Roll hall of fame, fighting for Animal Rights and being able to call a Beatle a friend – she’s seen (and probably done) it all.-