By Bob, Philadelphia, PA

Late 1979, early 1980 there was a lot of buzz about this new band from England called The Pretenders, and the radio was playing the single from their debut album, “Brass In Pocket”. I went to see them make their first Philly apperance at Emerald City in Cherry Hill, NJ. It was March 1980. Chrissie Hynde, James Honeyman-Scott, Pete Farndon, and Martin Chambers rocked the house with a jaw dropping set of original songs. They were joined on stage for their encore by Chris Spedding on “Mystery Achievement”. It was a really memorable night of music by an up-and-coming band that just burst onto the scene out of nowhere. Sadly, both James and Pete were to die just a few years later while still in their twenties. While Chrissie and Martin still front today’s Pretenders, they no way can duplicate that first US tour. I’m glad I got to see them then.