And The Band Played On...

The Pretenders' debut album, with Farndon (far left) and Honeyman-Scott (far right)

Many a band has found success after firing one of its members.  80s bands such as Van Halen (who fired David Lee Roth) and Survivor (who fired "Eye of the Tiger" vocalist Dave Bickler) went on to continued success after the firing.  Likewise, many successful bands have had members die, and continued to find success afterward.  80s bands such as Metallica (original bassist Cliff Burton) and Red Hot Chili Peppers (original guitarist Hillel Slovak) became even bigger after the deaths.

The Pretenders fit into both of these categories, and the two events happened in the same week!  After appearing on the scene in 1978, the Pretenders found success on both sides of the ocean with their first two albums, Pretenders and Pretenders II.  Original bassist Pete Farndon was working on forming a band of his own outside the Pretenders, and was fired from the group on June 14, 1982.  Two days later, on June 16, 1982, original guitarist James Honeyman-Scott died of a cocaine overdose.  The once successful 4-piece band was now reduced to a duo.

Learning To Crawl album, with original members Chambers (far left) and Hynde (2nd from left)

In late 1982, remaining members Chrissie Hynde and Martin Chambers would record a single with fill-in bass and guitar players:  "Back On The Chain Gang" would go on to be the band's biggest hit, peaking at #5 in the US in 1983.  Permanent bass and guitar players would be added to the band to record the subsequent album Learning To Crawl.  The band, still with founding members Hynde and Chambers, continues to record and play today.

As a sad footnote, Pete Farndon, fired from the band on June 14, 1982, would die of a heroin overdose less than a year later on April 14, 1983.  "Back On The Chain Gang" had just finished its run in the US Top 10 when Farndon died.