Chrissie Hynde has announced new album, ‘Duets Special’, which will see her team up with artists like Brandon Flowers, Debbie Harry, Depeche Mode‘s Dave Gahan and more.
The new record from the Pretenders frontwoman is set for release on October 17 via Parlophone, and you can pre-save it here. Across the 13-track album, Hynde will join forces with a host of world-class collaborators, including the late Mark Lanegan, Dan Auerbach, Cat Power, Garbage’s Shirley Manson, Alan Sparhawk and more.
Speaking about the origins of the album, she said she’d “never thought” about doing something like it before. “I think the idea came about in 2023,” she said.
“I was talking to Jörn, Rufus Wainwright’s husband, on the phone. I think we were recommending novels to each other, and for some reason, I said, ‘Hey, maybe Rufus and I should do something,’ and quickly scribbled out 10 songs off the top of my head. So Jörn asked Rufus, who was up for it, and that’s how it started. A spontaneous and what I thought would be a fun thing.”
The tracklist for ‘Duets Special’ is:
‘Me & Mrs Jones’ (feat. k.d. lang)
‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ (feat. Mark Lanegan)
‘Sway’ (feat. Lucinda Williams)
‘Dolphins’ (feat. Dave Gahan)
‘First Of The Gang To Die’ (feat. Cat Power)
‘Always On My Mind’ (feat. Rufus Wainwright)
‘Every Little Bit Hurts’ (feat. Carleen Anderson)
‘I’m Not In Love’ (feat. Brandon Flowers)
‘It’s Only Love’ (feat. Julian Lennon)
‘Try To Sleep’ (feat. Debbie Harry)
‘County Line’ (feat. Alan Sparhawk)
‘Love Letters’ (feat. Shirley Manson)
‘(You’re My) Soul And Inspiration’ (feat. Dan Auerbach)
Over the years, Hynde has appeared on stage beside many of the collaborators on the new album, including at the star-studded gig out together in tribute to the late Mark Lanegan, where Dave Gahan – who also appears on ‘Duets’- was also in attendance.
Likewise, back in 2015 Brandon Flowers was joined by Hynde at a London gig that saw them take on ”Don’t Get Me Wrong’. The following year, The Black Keys’ Auerbach joined The Pretenders for a performance on The Late Show.
As for Hydne’s more recent gigs, she went to see one of the huge Oasis Live ‘25 reunion shows at Wembley Stadium in London earlier this month, alongside the former Smiths guitarist and his daughter Sonny, as well as Pretenders lead guitarist James Walbourne.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nme.com ’
