The Pretenders are still one of my all-time favorite bands.

Back when I was a healthy, idealistic young man, I was fortunate enough to see The Pretenders live, twice. Both of those times it was with the original lineup with Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott – before Pete got kicked out of the band and Jimmy died of an overdose [in 1982].

The Pretenders were hands down the best live band I’ve ever seen. They were utterly sublime, and mesmerizing to watch on stage. The first time I saw them was in September 1981 at the famous Santa Monica Civic Auditorium; one of the most iconic venues in rock music history: site of the legendary TAMI SHOW back in 1964, among many others. Hundreds of live recordings have been made there. It still stands today.

The band did a two-night stint on that tour – one of which was recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour on KLOS radio in Los Angeles. That show ended up as disc 2 of the Pretenders II reissue several years ago. I’m not sure if I was at that show or the one on the following night, but the band was on fire, and they were at the very top of their game. The evidence is on that CD.

The Pretenders were one of those rare bands that sounded better live than on the recordings, which was hard to do because they had one of the best producers in the business in Chris Thomas. Thomas had produced [and played on] sessions for the White Album with the Beatles, and he subsequently went on to produce many famous acts, including Wings, Roxy Music, Elton John and The Sex Pistols.

That show in Santa Monica was as close to ‘Pretenders-mania’ as I’m ever gonna get. The atmosphere was electric. I’d never seen anything like it. People were screaming at the top of their lungs and jumping up and down! There were no seats in the place and the crowd was hot, sweaty and riotous. My friend Rachel came to the show with me that night and I recall she spent a lot of the time sitting on my shoulders.

To be young again! I will never forget that experience. The band finally burst onto the stage and played a feverish set, right from the start: boom, boom, boom – one great song after another, with hardly any let up. It was powerful and moving to share that feeling of exhilaration with so many people. Best. Show. Ever. Jimmy’s playing was consistently brilliant throughout.

The second time I saw them was on Valentine’s Day 1982 at another iconic California venue: The Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino. The Rolling Stones played their first ever US concert there in 1964 and the venue subsequently played host to many famous, historic shows. The place was demolished back in the 90s after a light plane crashed into it…

I took a girl named Beth to that show, hoping I’d get some action later, but it was not to be. Still, the Swing show was an incredible thing to behold. Virtually the same set as Santa Monica, but with even more intensity.

Bow Wow Wow opened both Pretenders shows that I saw in ’81 and ’82. They were sort of like Adam and the Ants with the two drummers and the Burundi beats. Their big hit at the time was a remake of I Want Candy. They were good players, and the 14-year-old chick singer with the Mohawk put on a good show, as I recall…but they couldn’t touch the headliners.

The Pretenders were ROCK band with a punk attitude – but they were not punk. They were such a great band with so many incredibly well-crafted songs but the thing that really made them great – besides producer Chris Thomas’ production – was James Honeyman-Scott. His unique guitar style is what defined their sound on those first two LPs, and that is why it isn’t really The Pretenders without Jimmy.

I don’t care what anybody says.

His sublime riffs on songs like BRASS IN POCKET, KID, TALK OF THE TOWN and TATTOOED LOVE BOYS are as iconic as any in the ‘rock and roll cannon.’

But even though Jimmy was irreplaceable, I never understood why Chrissie never bothered to find a guitarist who at least tried to emulate his style. Okay, she had Robbie McIntosh for the third album, Learning To Crawl, but although he was good enough to be poached by Paul McCartney for his touring band, Robbie’s style was nothing like Jimmy’s. The only big name guitarist I can think of whose style is even close is maybe Lindsay Buckingham. He plays with his fingers but his solos are similarly melodic and tuneful in structure.

The Smith’s former guitarist Johnny Marr is another guitar great who is on record as an admirer of Honeyman-Scott, and he adapted the ‘jingly-jangly’ sound from the early Pretenders songs for his own style.

To his credit, Pete Farndon came up with some pretty iconic bass lines, too.

I’m glad I was able to see the original band in action. One of the high points of my life! They were all thoroughly entertaining to watch, and they were clearly enjoying themselves.

I recall that drummer Martin Chambers was incredibly exciting to watch and he was throwing in some crazy fills throughout the set. He appeared to be wearing a pair of white long johns!

Pete was in full-on Kamikaze mode; he wore a rising sun headband for the shows. His bass was emblazoned with the same insignia. I have no idea why.

And of course Chrissie Hynde was simply mesmerizing. She wore those black leather pants at every show with that fluffy white blouse and she sang like an angel: an angry, badass angel. She played her sky blue Telecaster most of the night except when she took it off entirely for DAY AFTER DAY and BRASS IN POCKET.

But it was James Honeyman-Scott who really stood out in my mind. His playing was transcendent both times I saw him; he was throwing in extra licks and enhancing what was on the original recordings with big, beefy, solid solos. He was probably the most entertaining guitarist I’ve ever seen. He never wavered. After years of jamming on those songs, Jimmy seemed to find new avenues to explore, and he was able to add some new twist to every song.

For the longest time it seemed like The Pretenders were the ultimate underrated band…but they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame over a decade ago. I always felt like they were my ‘little secret’ back then – and they’re still sort of a ‘cult’ band. I thought the same thing about the early Police and U2 until they exploded onto the world stage…

Even though The Pretenders are finally getting some recognition, James Honeyman-Scott is still the ultimate underrated guitarist. In my book, he ranks right up there with the best of them: Hendrix, Page, Beck, Townshend, Honeyman-Scott. Versatility was the key to his playing. His style was fluid and melodic and he played with ingenuity, virtuosity, subtlety and soul.

Someday the music world will catch up and Jimmy will finally get the credit and recognition he deserves. His passing was a tragic loss.

I still miss him.