Pretenders

The Pretenders occupy a special place in the history of Rock Werchter. In the early days, the band, centred around charismatic frontwoman Chrissie Hynde, was organiser Herman Schueremans’ bête noire and simultaneously his obsession. He just couldn’t get them on stage. After cancelling twice, the Pretenders finally made it onto the bill in 1987, alongside Iggy Pop and Eurythmics. Exactly thirty years later, the Pretenders returned in all their glory to Werchter in 2017. With a familiar sound and a jukebox full of hits. ‘Brass in Pocket’, ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’, ‘Back on the Chain Gang’, ‘Kid’ and more. These absolute classics are combined with newer work of similar quality. Recent visits to Belgium have shown that Hynde – soon to be 73 – is in top form. Pure pleasure.