Originally released in 1980, in 2003, the album was ranked number 155 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 1989, the same magazine ranked it the 20th best album of the 1980s. In 2006 the album was remastered & re-released and includes a bonus disc with outtakes, BBC sessions, and previously unreleased demos and live gems. An extensive booklet contains additional photos and new liner notes by James McNair.

“

Few rock & roll records rock as hard or with as much originality as the Pretenders' eponymous debut album. A sleek, stylish fusion of Stonesy rock & roll, new wave pop, and pure punk aggression, Pretenders is teeming with sharp hooks and a viciously cool attitude. Although Chrissie Hynde establishes herself as a forceful and distinctively feminine songwriter, the record isn't a singer/songwriter's tour de force — it's a rock & roll album, powered by a unique and aggressive band. Guitarist James Honeyman-Scott never plays conventional riffs or leads, and his phased, treated guitar gives new dimension to the pounding rhythms of "Precious", "Tattooed Love Boys", "Up the Neck", and "The Wait", as well as the more measured pop of "Kid", "Brass in Pocket", and "Mystery Achievement". He provides the perfect backing for Hynde and her tough, sexy swagger. Hynde doesn't fit into any conventional female rock stereotype, and neither do her songs, alternately displaying a steely exterior or a disarming emotional vulnerability. It's a deep, rewarding record, whose primary virtue is its sheer energy. Pretenders moves faster and harder than most rock records, delivering an endless series of melodies, hooks, and infectious rhythms in its 12 songs. Few albums, let alone debuts, are ever this astonishingly addictive. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, all media guide

”

Disc 1 - Original Album, Remastered:

01. Precious
02. The Phone Call
03. Up The Neck
04. Tattooed Love Boys
05. Space Invader
06. The Wait
07. Stop Your Sobbing
08. Kid
09. Private Life
10. Brass In Pocket
11. Lovers Of Today
12. Mystery Achievement


Disc 2 - Bonus CD:

01. Cuban Slide
02. Porcelain
03. The Phone Call [Demo, late 1977]
04. The Wait [Regents Park demo, 12 April 1978]
05. I Can't Control Myself [Regents Park demo, 12 April 1978]
06. Swinging London
07. Brass In Pocket [AIR Studios demo, 6 February 1978]
08. Kid [Olympic Studios demo, 7 December 1978]
09. Stop Your Sobbing [Regents Park demo, 12 April 1978]
10. Tequila [Regents Park demo, 12 April 1978]
11. Nervous But Shy
12. I Need Somebody [Live on The Kid Jensen Show, BBC Radio 1, first transmission 17 July 1979]
13. Mystery Achievement Live on The Kid Jensen Show, BBC Radio 1, first transmission 17 July 1979]
14. Precious [Live at the Paradise Theatre, Boston, 23 March 1980]
15. Tattooed Love Boys [Live at the Paradise Theatre, Boston, 23 March 1980]
16. Sabre Dance [Live at the Marquee Club, London, 2 April 1979]

“

Pretenders was remastered and re-released in 2006 and included a bonus disc of demos, B-sides, and live cuts, many previously unreleased. "Cuban Slide" and "Porcelain" originally appeared as B-sides to "Talk of the Town" and "Message of Love," while "Swinging London" and "Nervous but Shy" both appeared on the flip side of "Brass in Pocket". The Regents Park Demo of "Stop Your Sobbing" was included initially as a flexi-single in the May 1981 edition of Flexipop magazine. The tracks "Message of Love", "Talk of the Town", "Porcelain" and "Cuban Slide" alongside a live version of the album's opening track Precious, were released on a follow-up EP entitled Extended Play soon after. "Message of Love" contains the Oscar Wilde line "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" from the play Lady Windermere's Fan. A shortened version of "Tequila" would turn up nearly fifteen years later on the Last of the Independents. "Sabre Dance" features Chrissie Hynde singing portions of "Stop Your Sobbing" over lengthy solos by James Honeyman-Scott and Martin Chambers' insistent drumming, making it a truly unique version.

”

Original Album Produced by Chris Thomas except "7" by Nick Lowe
Reissue Produced by Bill Inglot. Remastered by Bill Inglot & Dan Hersch

• Chrissie Hynde – lead vocals and rhythm guitar
• Pete Farndon – bass and backing vocals
• Martin Chambers – drums and backing vocals
• James Honeyman-Scott – lead guitars, keyboards and backing vocals

Additional personnel
- Chris Mercer – saxophone
- Henry Lowther – trumpet
- Jim Wilson – trumpet
- Geoff Bryant – horn
- Chris Thomas - keyboards, sound effects

Originally Released: January 19, 1980
Re-Release Date: October 3, 2006
Number of Discs: 2 (Digipak)
Format: Original Recording Remastered
Label: Rhino Entertainment Company
Catalog No.: 8122-74178-2