“All my old favourites seem tired and old,” sings Chrissie Hynde, performing the Pretenders’ new song Losing Sense for the very first time. As far as opening salvos go, it amounts to a manifesto of what not to be – and during the 80 minutes that follow, they sound and look anything but worn out or jaded. Hynde is 71, but with her piled up hair, trademark kohl eyeliner, black faux leather waistcoat and guitar strapped on like a rifle, she’s still the epitome of an iconic rock star, a visible role model to the young women in the crowd who have copied her look wholesale.
Over their 44-year career, the Pretenders have never chased trends or followed fashions to stay relevant. But they didn’t need to. Their influential jangling sound – helpfully described on their T-shirts as “two guitar, bass and drums” – has become timeless. It’s also still the perfect vehicle for Hynde’s voice, an instantly recognisable mix of sand and honey, attitude and yearning which sounds all the more remarkable in such intimate surroundings.
