Chrissie Hynde has pretty much been The Pretenders for decades. She is the voice of such classic tracks as “Middle of the Road,” “Brass in Pocket,” and “Don’t Get Me Wrong.” So for Chrissie Hynde to do something that could be termed a “solo” album seemed odd to even her. It’s kind of like Tom Petty doing solo albums, when you know good and well he’ll still bring along at least half The Heartbreakers for the ride.
“It’s a goddam awful phrase [solo album]. I never wanted to be solo, and I said a thousand times I never would, so it gives me a cold chill to see my name out there on its own,” Hynde said back in June when the album was about to drop.
But drop it did. The album is called Stockholm, and Hynde has been touring behind it. Recently she hit Akron, Ohio. That was a bit of a homecoming for Hynde, who was born in Akron in 1951 and graduated from Firestone High School there. Although she lives in London, and has for 40 years, she keeps an apartment in Akron.
At the concert, she called Akron “the city that spit me out.”
Chuck Yarborough of the Cleveland Plain Dealer describes Hynde as someone who “could kick my behind.”
Hynde has done songs about Akron, including “My City Was Gone” with The Pretenders.
I went back to Ohio
But my pretty countryside
Had been paved down the middle
By a government that had no pride
The farms of Ohio
Had been replaced by shopping malls
And Muzak filled the air
From Seneca to Cuyahoga falls
Said … way to go Ohio
The people of Akron take the criticism in stride. They know that things are getting paved over. But they don’t see Hynde as an outsider, despite the 40 years of primary residence elsewhere.
Chrissie Hynde returned to her hometown and was in good form for a 90-minute set. Review: http://t.co/3g9epgEBZc pic.twitter.com/HEhJboJQaM
— ohiodotcom (@ohiodotcom) November 14, 2014
At one point, Hynde even tried to get a chain of vegan restaurants going in Akron and other cities in Ohio. Apparently that didn’t work out well.