This had to be performed in time – there was no digital technology to create a sample and sequence it. The chorus uses the same "ooh – aah" prisoner chanting and the sound of a hammer striking metal, an effect derived from a studio technician banging together two 25lb weights that were normally used to steady orchestral boom microphones. The song has similarities to Sam Cooke's 1960 hit Chain Gang. "No one was really sure if the Pretenders would continue." The recording sessions were patched together the rhythm guitar was played by Robbie McIntosh (who later joined the group) and the memorable lead by Billy Bremner of Rockpile (the 70s rock outfit that had included Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe). "I don't think anybody really knew what state the Pretenders were in at that point," explained sound engineer Steve Churchyard. It was against a background of profound shock and tragedy that Back On The Chain Gang was recorded in July 1982. But I just couldn't turn my back on Jimmy." Unbelievably, the cop wanted his autograph. "There was a policeman there, and he kept asking me questions. Drummer Martin Chambers rushed to the scene. With the cruelest irony, his death was drug-related: heart failure due to cocaine intolerance. Whether events would have been different had he not returned we will never know, but two days later Honeyman-Scott was found dead in a London apartment. Jimmy Honeyman-Scott, the band's influential guitarist, flew back from the US for the meeting at which Farndon was dismissed from The Pretenders. By the spring of 1982, when the group was touring the Far East, relations between the bassist and the rest of the group reached breaking point. Irritable and antagonistic, and his playing increasingly "sloppy", group rehearsals were almost impossible. "He was the first guy I got into the band, and the band was probably the most important thing in his life." Although the group lived a little on the wild side at the time, Farndon's heroin habit was affecting his life and his music. "It was so bloody sad that it had come to that," lead singer Chrissie Hynde later recalled. It was hardly major news – on the same day Margaret Thatcher told the House Of Commons that the Falklands War was over and the World Cup in Spain had begun the day before – yet it would have a profound repercussions for the group. On Monday 14 June 1982, The Pretenders fired their bassist, Pete Farndon. UK picture sleeve, UK labels The Story Behind The Song
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