“I don’t like how much this story is influenced by them,” opines Chrissie Hynde about drugs well into her musical memoir, but “in the end, this story is a story of drug abuse.” The perennial Pretender, ace songwriter, powerful rhythm guitarist, and possessor of one of rock & roll’s finest voices has more to share, thankfully. Life begun in mid-American splendor, she was absorbed into rock & roll gypsydom after the violence visited upon her classmates at Kent State. Seeking out London’s formative punk scene, she then becomes “that loud-mouthed American” while coalescing the classic Pretenders lineup into one of punk’s most accomplished and commercial bands. Prickly with the occasional poetic grace note, the only fault with this thrilling book is it ends with the overdoses of bassist Pete Farndon and guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, as if the rest of her life past those first two LPs were too dull to recount.

Reckless: My Life As A Pretender

by Chrissie Hynde
Doubleday, 336 pp., $26.95

This article appears in December 11 • 2015.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

Tim Stegall contributed to The Austin Chronicle 1991-1995, and was a staff writer 1995-1997. He returned as a contributor in 2013. He has also freelanced for publications ranging from Flipside to Alternative Press to Guitar World. He plays punk rock guitar and sings in the Hormones.