After some 30 years of on – and off – togetherness, Pretenders drummer Martin Chambers is circumspect about his relationship with the band’s iconic frontwoman, Chrissie Hynde.
Love-hate doesn’t quite sum up their complex bond, which has survived the early ’80s drug-related deaths of founding members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, as well as Chambers being “canned” – his words – by Hynde for a time in the mid-’80s and early ’90s.
Apparently, all has been forgiven, if not quite forgotten, as Chambers, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Hynde and their deceased colleagues in 2005, once again is going out on tour with the band.
The tour is in support of The Pretenders’ ninth album, “Break Up the Concrete” (Shangri-La Music).
The record features an all-new supporting cast of musicians behind Hynde, including a different drummer, veteran session player Jim Keltner (John Lennon, Steve Miller Band).
Martin talked to the Atlantic City’s “At the Shore” while in town to perform at the Borgata Casino…
