He liked Rockpile, which I was in by that time. She asked me to produce her group because her guitar player, Jimmy Honeyman-Scott, was a fan of mine.
The band’s first single, a cover of the Kink’s “Stop Your Sobbing” was produced by Nick Lowe who agreed to do it, almost as a favor, but wasn’t especially excited by their songwriting or potential. If it weren’t for producer Chris Thomas, this landmark song may never have hit the airways. Finally, the song’s production perfectly manages all of these eclectic elements into one hit track. With its Motown-inspired background vocals, it nods to the past while remaining fresh and modern, even to this day. This interplay is surrounded by a groove that is invigorating without being overpowering. The call and response between Honeyman-Scott’s guitar riff and Hynde’s melody feels both natural and inventive. It blurs lines and pulls from diverse influences without resorting to cliches or gimmicks. However, so much of the song’s brilliance and appeal comes from its genre-crossing elements. “Was it pop? Motown? Rock? It didn’t seem to know what it was” – she explains. Hynde also struggled with the song’s refusal to fit within clear genre lines. After 6 months in the spotlight, Robert Hilburn declared in the Los Angeles Times: “Hynde is one of the most alluring and provocative female rock singers ever and this sensual plea for attention has an irrestitible chorus.” In spite of this, it took the singer a long time to come to terms with the song saying: “I used to cringe when I heard my voice on those early Pretenders recordings, and then that fucker went to number one! I remember walking around Oxford Circus hearing it blasting out of people’s radios. Audiences adored the singer’s sultry expression and clever songwriting. The phrase kicks off Hynde’s vocal part with a swagger of strength and confidence. Being from the US I hadn’t heard it before.” “We were all having dinner together afterwards, and one of the guy’s in Strangeways had just picked up his trousers from the dry-cleaners…His bandmate asked him jokingly: ‘Was there any brass in the pockets?’ I suppose I just liked the turn of phrase. She had first heard the phrase while out with her bandmates and another local group, the Strangeways: He was playing that in the studio and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s awesome.’ And I just happened to have a little tape recorder and I taped it.” From there, Hynde added the melody and lyrics, including the song’s iconic (but enigmatic to American audiences) opening line and title. Hynde reminisced: “James had that little riff. Guitarist James Honeyman-Scott’s guitar riff certainly caught Hynde’s ear when she first heard it. It was the band’s first major hit record and propelled the Pretenders into the mainstream spotlight, crowning Hynde as one of popular music history’s most fierce and influential female rockers along the way.įrom the moment the song begins, “Brass in Pocket” captivates audiences with its catchy guitar riff, laid back groove and powerhouse vocals. With “Brass in Pocket,” the Pretenders bottled pop’s infectious energy and optimism, with rock’s independence and swagger. Despite her initial protestations, the song was released in November as a single, just ahead of the band’s self-titled, debut album, and rang in the new decade at the top of the charts. The Pretenders had just recorded their newest track “Brass in Pocket” at Wessex Studios in London and the lead singer and songwriter “hated” it. “This goes out over my dead body,” Chrissie Hynde told producer Chris Thomas in the fall of 1979.
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