‘Album Side Sunday’ Features The Pretenders ‘Learning To Crawl’

Have you heard The Pretenders 'Learning To Crawl' record?

On 'Your Sunday Brunch' this weekend, we'll be playing the first 5 songs from their 1984 release as our 'Album Side Sunday.'

It's the last Sunday of October, so at the beginning of the 8 o'clock hour we will feature side one of the Chrissie Hynde-led band's third album.

When Hynde was deciding on a title, her daughter, Natalie Rae Hynde was just learning to crawl so that became the name of the release.

It also describes the band's situation in 1984, they were just getting back on their feet after the loss of two founding members. Pete Farndon had been kicked out of The Pretenders because of his increasing dependence on heroine and days after a band meeting in 1982, where Farndon was fired, James Honeyman-Scott died of a cocaine overdose. Farndon passed away due to an overdose in 1983.

With half of the original band gone, Hynde and Chambers recruited Rockpile's guitarist Billy Bremner and Big Country's bassist Tony Butler to play on the 'Back on the Chain Gang' session.

They eventually hired guitarist Robbie McIntosh and bassist Malcolm Foster to round out the quartet.

Side one of 'Learning To Crawl' features 5 songs written by Chrissie Hynde:

1. 'Middle of the Road'

2. 'Back on the Chain Gang'

3. 'Time the Avenger'

4. 'Watching the Clothes'

5. 'Show Me'

I invite you to join me for October's 'Album Side Sunday' and let me know your suggestions for records to play in the coming months.