Pete Farndon
Pete Farndon (June 12 1952 – April 14 1983) was an English bassist and founding member of the rock band The Pretenders. In addition to playing bass with the group, Pete sang backup vocals and co-wrote two of the groups songs ('The Wait' and 'Space Invader'), before being dismissed from the group on June 14 1982 (Uncut, 1999).
Pete and fellow bandmates James Honeyman-Scott (guitar / vocals / keyboards), and Martin Chambers (drums / vocals / percussion) hailed from Hereford, Herefordshire, England, UK. Prior to Joining the Pretenders, Pete played with a group called Cold River Lady until the summer of 1976, and then toured with Australian folk-rock band The Bushwackers prior to joining the Pretenders in 1978 (Melody Maker 1979; Rolling Stone 1980). Pete's musical influences included Stanley Clarke and Jeff Beck (Rhino Entertainment Group, 2006a).
Pete joined the Pretenders in the Spring of 1978, and was the first member of the 1978-82 lineup to be recruited by Chrissie Hynde. Farndon recalled their first rehearsal: "I'll never forget it, we go in, we do a soul number, we do a country and western number, and then we did 'The Phone Call' which is like the heaviest fuckin' punk rocker you could do in 5/4 time. Impressed? I was very impressed." (Rolling Stone, 1980). A guitarist was still needed, however, and Pete recruited lead guitarist James Honeyman-Scott into the group that summer (Rolling Stone, 1980; Uncut, 1999).
Martin Chambers worked with Pete to adjust to Chrissie's timing: "Pete and I did a fair amount of work on our own, in terms of the rhythm section being able to play Chrissie's odd timing things. So Pete and I would come in a couple of hours ahead of the others and baby talk our way through the songs. You know, 'da dad da, boom boom.' She didn't count in the traditional way so we had to reinterpret the counts. Once we made the adjustment and learned to go with her flow, so to speak, it became second nature. It's the bedrock of Pretenders music" (Rhino Entertainment Group, 2006b)
Pete played a large role in shaping the Pretenders' tough image, often wearing his biker clothing, or later, samurai gear onstage. Hynde later acknowledged that two Pretenders songs, "Biker" and "Samurai" had "references to a Pete Farndon type of character" (Uncut, 1999). As a performer, Chrissie recalled that "Pete was fantastic. Pete was blagging it a lot because technically he wasn't any kind of great musician. But he had real heart, like in boxing terms, he could win the fight on heart alone. And he had a great energy, borne of a kind of desperation." (Rhino Records, 2006).
Pete's distinctive bass guitars also played a role in shaping his image and included a Fender Precision Bass, Rickenbacker, and at least three Hamer guitars. The first Hamer was a double cutaway model in 50's pink. Later Farndon switched to the Hamer 'Cruisebass' model, including one with a distinctive Japanese "Rising Sun" battle flag graphic (Dantzig Design Group, 2006).
By 1982, Pete caused increasingly strained relations with his bandmates due to his heroin use. He became increasingly belligerent, and according to Chrissie Hynde "He was in bad shape. He was really not someone you could work with." (Uncut, 1999). He was fired on June 14 1982, two days before guitarist James Honeyman-Scott was found dead of heart failure caused by cocaine intolerance. Pete was in the midst of forming a new band with former Clash drummer Topper Headon - who coincidently also was battling heroin abuse and left the band unable to cope with it - when he was found dead on April 14 1983 after passing out and drowning in his bathtub after a heroin overdose.
Pete Farndon is buried at St.Peter's Church, Withington, Herefordshire, England.
Sources
- Dantzig Design Group, 2006, Pete Farndon of the Pretenders. Hamer Unofficial Artist Archives. Accessed July 29 2006, at [1]
- Melody Maker, 1979, Say a Prayer for the Pretenders, by Mark Williams, February 17, 1979.
- Rhino Entertainment Group, 2006a, "The Wait", performed live December 7 1980 for "Alright Now" TV show. Video from Pirate Radio box set DVD.
- Rhino Entertainment Group, 2006b, This is Pirate Radio, by Ben Edmonds. Article from Pirate Radio box set booklet.
- Rhino Records, 2006, Interview (Part II) with the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde. RhinoCast show no. 037, June 6 2006. Accessed July 29 2006, at [2]
- Rolling Stone, 1980, The Pretenders Leather Love Songs by Kurt Loder. Rolling Stone, vol. 318, May 29 1980. Accessed July 29 2006, at [3]
- Uncut, 1999, Rock and Roll Heart, by Allan Jones. Uncut, v. 25, June 1999.