Rhino Expands First Two Pretenders Albums 
Chrissie Hynde
Expanded versions of the Pretenders' first two albums, "Pretenders" and "Pretenders II," will be released via Rhino on Oct. 3. Both reissues feature bonus discs with live cuts, demos and previously unreleased tracks.
The bonus disc included with the band's 1980 debut features unreleased songs such as the 1978 demos of album tracks "Brass in Pocket," "The Wait," "Kid," "The Phone Call," and "Stop Your Sobbing." The set also includes live performances of "Precious," "Tattooed Love Boys" and "Sabre Dance."
The second disc of "Pretenders II," originally released in 1981, features several songs that were originally included on the promo-only release of "Pretenders Live at the Santa Monica Civic," such as "Talk of the Town," "Birds of Paradise," "Message of Love," and "Bad Boys Get Spanked." The set also includes an unreleased demo version of "Talk of the Town," the guitar version outtake of "I Go To Sleep," and the radio mix outtake of "Pack It Up."
"Pretenders" and "Pretenders II" were the only albums to feature the original quartet of vocalist Chrissie Hynde, guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, bassist Pete Farndon and drummer Martin Chambers. Farndon was booted from the band in June 1982 while struggling with drug addiction, and Honeyman-Scott died of a drug overdose two days later. Farndon himself died in 1983.
CM8ShowAd("Middle");As previously reported, the latest incarnation of the Pretenders will be honored on the next episode of VH1 Classic's "Decades Rock Live," where the group will perform as well alongside Iggy Pop, Garbage's Shirley Manson, Incubus and Kings of Leon. The show will be taped on Aug. 11 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J.
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