Retro Video of the Week: "Back On the Chain Gang" by The Pretenders

Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the release of The Pretenders' third studio album, Learning to Crawl.  It was the band's first album in nearly two and a half years, after the deaths of two founding band members, guitarist James Honeyman-Scott in 1982 and bassist Pete Farndon in 1983 (though he had been fired from the band in 1982), both of whom died of overdoses.  The album got its name because lead singer Chrissie Hynde's then-infant daughter was, in fact, learning to crawl.

It ended up being a big success for the band, reaching #5 on the Billboard album chart -- still their highest-charting album in the U.S. (and eventually going platinum in the U.S.) -- and #11 in the UK, as well as the Top 10 on the album charts in several other countries.

The album featured several songs that became signature songs for the band:  "Middle of the Road," "Back On the Chain Gang," "2000 Miles," their cover of "Thin Line Between Love and Hate," "My City was Gone," and "Show Me."

I'm gong with the first single off the album, "Back On the Chain Gang," which hit #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 -- also the band's highest-charting single in the U.S.  It's a poppy little ditty, and the video was filmed in London.