Round and round it goes . . . . . . .  and the music comes out here . . . . . great song and just what we needed on a damp day in rural Oxfordshire is some Chrissie Hynde . . .check the sound on the guitars here . . . . . wonderful stuff

On this day in music history: August 15, 1981 - “Pretenders II”, the second album by The Pretenders is released. Produced by Chris Thomas, it is recorded at Wessex Studios in London and EMI Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris, France from Late 1980 - Mid 1981. With the major success of their self-titled debut album, The Pretenders feel palpable pressure from their record label to quickly follow it up with another album. But the band are unable to comply due to the lack of having new songs written. Work begins on their sophomore effort in late 1980, with much of the material being written while the band is touring in support of the previous album, recording during breaks in their busy schedule. The twenty month gap between albums is filled by the release of the stand alone singles “Message of Love” and “Talk of the Town” in the UK, which are also both included on a five track EP titled “Extended Play” in the US (released in March 1981). The album is reissued in 2006 as two CD edition with a remastered version of the original album on disc one, with the second disc containing live versions of several songs, demos and alternate takes. The album is remastered and reissued by Rhino Records in 2006 as a double CD set, with the second disc containing a live concert recorded at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on September 4, 1981. Audiophile label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab also releases the album as a hybrid SACD in 2010. Out of print on vinyl since the late 80’s, it is remastered and reissued as a 180 gram LP by Demon Records in 2015. “Pretenders II” peaks at number ten on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

"we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."