ShareThe Pretenders performing at The Rescue Rooms Nottingham on Saturday 13th May 2023.
Review by Kevin Cooper
At the Rescue Rooms on Saturday night The Pretenders were on another night of their tour of intimate clubs in support of Independent Venues, and there wasn’t a single standing place to be had.
At aged 71 Chrissie Hynde is still the epitome of an iconic rock star, and with her unique female rock voice, she was still able to carry the heavier songs with real grit as well as providing a gentleness where necessary.
Opening with new song Losing Sense which went down a storm, A Love and Domestic Silence from their upcoming album Relentless received their debut ahead of the album release later in the year.
Comprising now of guitarist James Walbourne, bass player Dave Page, drummer Kris Sonne and of course Hynde, the small stage looked packed out, but they still managed to power through a set list of the band’s past hits and new material.
Whilst there was no Brass In Pocket or I’ll Stand By You, there were fans favourites and huge classics such as Message Of Love, Back On The Chain Gang, Don’t Get Me Wrong and the sublime Talk Of The Town, all of which had the crowd shouting for more as they sang along to the well versed words.
To the delight of the crowd there were tracks from eight of their previous albums, such as Turf Accountant Daddy from 2020’s Hate For Sale, Time The Avenger from 1984’s Learning To Crawl and Don’t Cut Your Hair from 2008’s Break Up The Concrete.
As they finished the main set with new song Let The Sun Come In, The Pretenders had proved that very little had changed from those early 80’s heydays. For the encore there was a cover of Morrissey’s Everyday Is Like Sunday, Hate For Sale and Junkie Walk, a new song that suggested that Hynde’s song writing skills are still on point.
