The Pretenders
By Hal Bienstock
Special to amNewYork
• The Pretenders are at Roseland Ballroom Friday, 8 p.m., $49.50.
To most people, Pretenders songs like “Brass in Pocket” and “Talk of the Town” are massive hits and staples of classic rock radio. Singer Chrissie Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers, the two remaining original members of the band, have a different name for them.
“We call those songs the unmentionables,” Chambers said with a laugh. “Sometimes, we’re like ‘Oh God. Are we really going to play this again?’”
Despite the sarcasm, Chambers knows that fans are coming to hear the hits and he says they’ve been given new life on the band’s current tour thanks to three new members who joined just before the recording of the band’s new album, "Break Up the Concrete."
“The hardest thing about being in a band for decades is that you can turn into a reproduction unit,” said Chambers. “But the new guys play everything a little differently, so it sounds fresh.”
Keeping things fresh has always been a hallmark of the Pretenders, with Hynde being the only member who has played on all of the band’s albums. Even though Chambers is on tour with the band, he wasn’t brought in to play on "Break Up the Concrete." While he was surprised by the decision, he long ago learned to put up with Hynde’s mood swings in the service of the band’s music.
“Chrissie isn’t the most subtle of people,” he said. “In fact, she can be absolutely horrible and devastating. But I’ll put up with the mental scars because ultimately it’s not that bad. I’m not working in a mine under the ocean. I play drums in a rock band. My whole job is to go on the road, turn up and show people a good time. It’s great fun.”
