The Pretenders Acceptance Speech at the 2005 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

[@madeleinehague3247]

Martin Chambers. What a beautiful speech.

[@moochercat]

The original Pretenders lineup was great. Those first two albums (Pretenders I&II) are two of the best albums of that era. Still tops on my playlist after all these years.

[@stevenmorello2551]

word.

[@brianmallen8887]

You know what was the best thing about Pretenders 1. The way each song introduced the next. Seamless. For debut albums I'd put it up there with Boston & "Appetite For Destruction."

[@reemclaughlin4260]

Same!

[@willieluncheonette5843]

add their third also

[@leonidlerner1381]

Such a humble speech from Chrissy. Where are people like that now?

[@panicandfreakout-]

Saw them twice in SF at the beginning of their first tour pushing the 1st album and at the end of that tour. Same setlist for both shows but at the end of the tour they were so tight it was ridiculous. Probably the greatest female frontman band of all time.

[@MarceloRomero360]

It is nice to hear her admit today's Pretenders is a tribute band.

[@brianmallen8887]

You can kind of see the story of the Pretenders in their videos. With the degeneration of Pete Farndon. The first one, "Stop Your Sobbing," Chrissie seems shy, Pete is the camera hog; him and guitar virtuoso James Honeyman-Scott looking whip lean and cocky. With each video Farndon looks worse, he's the one having the relationship with Crissie H.. But he's unraveling due to........Anything beyond that is their personal business. I did notice on the last videos James H.S looking a little blurry eyed.

[@MarceloRomero360]

@@brianmallen8887 Saw them in 1981 at the Palladium theatre in NYC. Pretenders II tour.

[@brianmallen8887]

@@MarceloRomero360 When you got guys and girls in the band and they start banging, a la Fleetwood Mac and Heart, No Doubt, Jefferson Airplane ect. things can't stay the same. If the lead singer is a girl and she don't write songs then it can be dicey. If the singer writes the songs, plays an instrument then it's pretty much her band. I bet Pete Farndon felt that preasure, seeing Chrissie taking up with Ray Davies.

[@brianmallen8887]

Last comment about The Pretenders. The band shoulda called it quits after the second guy died. Sure they fired Pete before he o.d in the bathtub. But still the had to hope he'd cleaned up if he didn't burn too many bridges. Losing Chrissie personally and James had to be crushing to Pete F. Even if he was fucking up there's no Pretenders 2 without him. On Pretenders 1 P.F. shows what a base virtuosic sounds like, he's the rocket fuel that powers the ship. You got two guitar players in a band, there chemistry is vital. The Pretenders had that. You figured that the real spectacular licks had to be J.H-S. and that is probably right. But C.H. blended well with J. H-S and P.F. ...Yeah, this is a band that soulda quit in '81, Chrissie goes solo, "Back On The Chain Gang" and that "I'm Turning 33" song were all her anyways. "The Chrissie H. Experience."

[@johnayres2303]

It’s very modest and respectful of her to say that. The pretenders have continued to create great original music so for me, they have to be the greatest tribute band of all time.

[@ga3124]

A great band; unique and melodic with a few quirks and Chrissy's sweet voice!

[@markrodriguez5440]

Chrissie is one bad ass rock 'n' roll front man- Pretenders music still holds up! Glad to see Neil Young giving it up, another hero- Pioneers- Long live rock 'n' Roll! Man, did it get me through some shit

[@johnayres2303]

An honest comment from Chrissie, ‘without us they might have been here’. We don’t know where the path leads. Fame and fortune does not always lead to happy endings.

[@kevinjoseph517]

i take that to mean she gave them drugs.

[@sarahm.5356]

​​@kevinjoseph517 no it's just the life

[@jeanetteheinen8562]

Great Tribute to the late Mick Green. RIP Mr. Green.

[@jamesbowen8960]

Robbie McIntosh is a phenomenal guitarist, what an excellent replacement for James Honeyman- Scott. They never missed a beat.

[@wegotlumpsofitroundtheback5065]

That line up with Malcolm was really good. Shame it only lasted for part of an album (think Tony Butler did most of the bass tracks on Learning to Crawl) and one tour.

[@robschachter-rj2uo]

Agreed. Robbie M was friends with JHS and he was supposed to join the pretenders

[@worldautocars8563]

❤️ Great woman!

[@reving19]

I am glad they mentioned James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon.

[@kmac1766]

The Pretenders bring attitude & danger-every single time. Thank God.🙏

[@brianmallen8887]

The Pretenders first album was one of those magical records in which every song was great. I was in late teens away from home for the first time living in a condo complex with everybody living there not yet 20. What the hell was new wave? I still don't know. I guess you knew it when you heard it. Chrissie Hynde, did anybody ever, wail or moan like her? Her voice was frankly a gift from God, no other way to describe it. And it was sexy, and she was sexy in that red leather or vinyle jacket on the album cover. Her lyrics were shocking to be honest. I can still picture two female friends of mine singing along "not me baby I'm too precious-fuck off." Her words went way, way beyond the rock n roll lifestyle. It had a rough edge I don't think even The Sex Pistols could match. To me the song that I wondered the most about was " Talk of the Town. "Who is this fucking masterpiece about? Sid Viscous, Pete Farndon, Ray Davies? She knew them all. The stories she told about strong iconoclastic guys in all her greatest songs made me hungry for aspiration, to measure up impossibly to what she admired in a guy. The Pretenders had insane chemistry between the four of them. Then I turn around and two of them were dead. Farndon's base playing on that first record- Godamn, he propels that album. Honeyman- Scott, the riff king virtuoso. Chambers- no frills drummer who beat the skins like his life depended on it. And Chrissie Hynde. The woman who witnessed the Kent State massacre. Who's life experiences informed her music, along with that incredible talent was the life blood and beating heart of the band.

[@MarceloRomero360]

Hey Brian, thanks fot sharing! Great story!

[@shawnuel]

And their 3rd album was almost as good. Considering what they had just gone through, that is a bit of a miracle. And Robbie McIntosh was a phenomenal replacement for Honeyman-Scott.

[@brianmallen8887]

Thanks Marcelo. If that third album had "Back on the Chain Gang" then yeah, well done. Obviously I'm not the kind of fan that takes a deep dive into anyone's music. "for breaking us apart.....whahh wha." Yeah that last chorus on "Chain Gang" gets to me. It's obviously her ode to Pete and Jimmy. Her fallen brothers. One of which Chrissie was intimate with who died in a bathtub with a needle in his arm. Since I lived "New Wave" meaning I tried to dress like it, and in my mind I was always trying to reconcile what the fuck it was, I knew The Pretenders were in there. "Talk Of The Town" captured new wave the best to me. I'm telling you this cause that's exactly what I thought the first time I heard it. Brand new. There was a real distant, existential vibe about that song. It's not meant to be understood. "You've changed...your place in this world." Yeah that song goes way beyond "New Wave," or "Punk Rock," "New Romantics,""post-punk" sensibilities. Or any other label. .In the 70's Chrissy Hyde was hangjng out with Johnny Rotten and Sid Viscous at that "Sex" boutique owned by Malcolm McLaren and Vivien Westwood. Where punk rock was invented. So Chrissy got around. Just like the way The Sex Pistols painted themselves into a corner with "Never Mind The Bollucks," I mean how do you follow that? The Pretenders certainly faced the same dilemma with Pretenders 1 & 2. .....Big time rock star pressure is something beyond labels that curses them all. After two seismic albums, even if Farnden and Honeywell Scott hadn't succumbed to drugs, there's no guarantee of future success. I think that pressure is what destroyed Pete and Jimmy.

[@reemclaughlin4260]

Happily I saw them so many times!

[@johnschannelonyoutube]

Yes 👍

[@jhull5870]

Great acceptance speech by Martin. He was very cool when Chrissie rudely interrupted him and He said, " Back away from the drummer." I think Chrissie realized that her acceptance speech was pretty weak.

[@TheSuperman691]

Thats good martin was there too

[@wftjet]

Awkward the feelings. Martin Chambers seems like a really decent soul and overlooked member of the band.

[@LuisHernandez-yf2no]

Funny Acceptance speech good stuff for a Great Band

[@TheUnsignedbands]

I’m surprised Johnny Marr wasn’t mentioned . 🎸

[@chrisb3976]

They couldnt name them all because there are so many but im sure hes included in the list.

[@YouzTube99]

Fun fact: Chrissie and Martin were born three days apart. Yes, she's the younger of the two. IMO, The Pretenders sound like pretenders unless he's in the band.

[@MsAppassionata]

Did you mean that The Pretenders DON’T sound like The Pretenders unless he’s in the band?

[@YouzTube99]

​@@MsAppassionata Yes, but you're right to ask because I didn't explain why. First, I'm not the only person to note this. Chrissie recalled that at the first rehearsal with Martin: "We plugged in and started playing 'Precious', and I remember clearly, I had to turn around and face the wall, I was laughing so hard, because as soon as Martin started playing with us, I knew this was it. We had the band." He was so important to the sound of the band that when he injured his hand in 1981, they postponed an entire tour rather than simply hiring a replacement. That cost a LOT of $$ and good will. And yes she rightfully sacked him in 1986 when his playing deteriorated over the inevitable depression he felt after his friends/bandmates Honeyman-Scott and Farndon died, but after he returned in 1994, she said, "We went through one song and it was the same buzz as when we first played together. No one has that swing and feel." Adam Seymour, who was playing lead guitar at the time said simply, "When Martin sat down, it began to feel like a real band."

[@kevinjoseph517]

@@MsAppassionata no he posted right....pretending

[@wisecracker1814]

Neil Young had a brain aneurysm the next day while still at the hotel in NY.

[@redcropuk]

Oh wow ! Really ?

[@wisecracker1814]

​@@redcropukRead his autobiography/memoirs. Great book

[@redcropuk]

@@wisecracker1814 Thank you. I will.

[@scottyh8494]

Chrissie actually hates the Rock n Roll hall of fame.

[@kevinjoseph517]

not that nite

[@monicasehuprt3298]

She doesn’t need the Hall of Fame she has self worth.

[@brettthebassist]

Back away from the drummer! LMAO!