Talk of the Town (Pretenders song)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Talk of the Town"
Paris, France)[1]
Genre
Length3:14
Label
Songwriter(s)Chrissie Hynde
Producer(s)Chris Thomas
The Pretenders singles chronology
"Precious"
(1980) 		"Talk of the Town"
(1980) 		"Message of Love"
(1981)
Music video
"Talk of the Town" on
YouTube

"Talk of the Town" is a song written by

EP Extended Play, a slightly shortened version of the song was included on the band's 1981 album Pretenders II
.

Inspired by a London nightclub and a fan of the band, the song was a radio hit and reached number 8 in the United Kingdom. It has since been praised by critics as a highlight of Pretenders II.

Background

"Talk of the Town" was inspired by a fan Chrissie Hynde had encountered on the band's first tour. She explained in a

Kinks frontman Ray Davies, whom Hynde would date and have a child with.[2] The title itself was inspired by a London nightclub of the same name.[2][3]

"Talk of the Town", one of the first songs written following the Pretenders album, was recorded in Paris.[1] At the time of the creation of Pretenders II, Hynde found confidence in the song's radio success, saying "I knew that people still liked us and we were getting airplay with 'Message of Love', 'Talk of the Town', [and] 'I Go to Sleep'".[1]

Release

"Talk of the Town" was initially released as a single in March 1980. It was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, entering the charts at number 21 and peaking at number 8 in its third week on the charts.[4] The B-side of the single in most territories was "Cuban Slide", but in the United States it was the band's previous single, "Stop Your Sobbing".

The song was also released on the band's US release Extended Play in March 1981—alongside "Cuban Slide"—and later that year was included on the band's second studio album, Pretenders II.

Reception and legacy

"Talk of the Town" has generally received positive reception, often being singled out as a highlight from Pretenders II. Tom Carson of

Allmusic said, "Between the breezy melody and literate, confessional lyrics, this song is head and shoulders above what passed for a pop single at the beginning of the '80s, and remains a classic of Hynde's."[2]

Sean Murphy of

Pop Matters said that the song, along with fellow Pretenders II singles "Message of Love" and "Day After Day", "richly deserve their rotation on less imaginative DJ's play lists".[6] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune called it a "fine single" while Dennis Lim of Blender praised it as "tender".[7][8] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Matt Wardlaw rated it the Pretenders 5th greatest song."[9]

The song was referenced in the

royalties); Manson then wanted to send Hynde a copy of the song just to be safe, but Hynde sent a fax to Smart Studios giving her written consent before Manson could do so.[citation needed
]

Charts

Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 55
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 14
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 24
UK Singles (OCC)[13]
 8

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1101912232
    . Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Greenwald, Matthew. "Talk of the Town". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Talk of the Town". SongFacts. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Pretenders". Official Charts. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  5. ^ Carson, Tom (1 October 1981). "Pretenders: The Pretenders II". Rolling Stone. No. 353. Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2006.
  6. ^ Murphy, Sean (16 November 2006). "The Pretenders: Pretenders". PopMatters. Retrieved 16 November 2006.
  7. ^ Kot, Greg (12 August 1990). "The Best Of The Pretenders". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  8. ^ Lim, Dennis. "Pretenders: Pretenders / Pretenders II". Blender. Archived from the original on 19 October 2006. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  9. ^ Wardlaw, Matt (September 7, 2011). "Top 10 Pretenders songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
  10. ISBN 0-646-11917-6
    .
  11. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Talk of the Town". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  12. ^ "The Pretenders – Talk of the Town" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
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