Message of Love

The Zoo Crew is spinning the infectious "Message of Love" by The Pretenders from their 1981 album Pretenders II, and the Zoo Freaks are surely vibing to its raw energy. This song, a standout track, was largely born in the studio, a rare spontaneous creation for the band. Drummer Martin Chambers revealed in an interview that, unlike their usual process where Chrissie Hynde would present a fully formed song, "Message of Love" came together from a rough sketch Hynde brought to the Pathe-Marconi studio in Paris. The band jammed it out, and within two hours, it was recorded, capturing a live, unpolished edge. Its stop-start rhythm and skittering snare fills, as noted by AllMusic’s Stewart Mason, give it a driving yet paradoxical groove that hooked listeners, hitting number 11 on the UK charts and number 5 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.

Lyrically, "Message of Love" carries a supportive tone, with lines like “Now the reason we’re here / Every man, every woman / Is to help each other / Stand by each other,” reflecting a universal call for unity. Chrissie Hynde, who penned the song, was inspired by her personal life at the time, particularly her relationship with Ray Davies of The Kinks, with whom she later had a daughter. The song also quotes Oscar Wilde’s play Lady Windermere’s Fan with the lyric, “We are all of us in the gutter / But some of us are looking at the stars,” adding a poetic layer. Posts on X from @ThePretendersHQ highlight its enduring appeal, noting its release in February 1981 alongside the B-side “Porcelain” and its inclusion on the Extended Play EP before Pretenders II. The bare-bones music video, filmed in a studio, was among the early videos aired on MTV when it launched in August 1981, making it a cultural touchstone for the era.

The Pretenders were formed in 1978 by Chrissie Hynde, a fiercely determined musician from Akron, Ohio, who moved to London in 1973. Hynde immersed herself in the city’s vibrant punk scene, rubbing shoulders with early members of the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Damned. After years of hustling, including stints as a music journalist for NME and working at Malcolm McLaren’s boutique, she assembled the original lineup: Hynde on vocals and rhythm guitar, James Honeyman-Scott on lead guitar, Pete Farndon on bass, and Martin Chambers on drums. Named after The Platters’ song “The Great Pretender” (with Sam Cooke’s version in Hynde’s mind), the band’s debut single, a cover of The Kinks’ “Stop Your Sobbing,” produced by Nick Lowe, hit number 33 in the UK charts. Their 1980 self-titled debut album soared to number one in the UK, blending punk, new wave, and rock with Hynde’s distinctive voice and songwriting, cementing their place in music history.

Despite tragic losses—Honeyman-Scott and Farndon died in 1982 and 1983 due to drug-related causes—Hynde kept The Pretenders alive, evolving their sound through lineup changes while maintaining their guitar-driven core. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, the band continues to tour and release music, with their latest album Relentless dropping in 2023. Fans can stay connected through thepretenders.com, Facebook, Instagram, and X. For Zoo Freaks looking to dive deeper, fan communities thrive on platforms like The Pretenders Fans Facebook group and Reddit’s r/ThePretenders, where devotees share stories, rare tracks, and concert experiences, keeping the band’s legacy alive.