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Cover of Learning to Crawl by The Pretenders
Cover: Learning to Crawl

Song · The Pretenders

“Back on the Chain Gang” by The Pretenders

From the album Learning to Crawl (1983)

“Back on the Chain Gang” by The Pretenders appears on 83 radio countdowns from 29 stations between 1982 and 2026. It was first released in 1983 on the album Learning to Crawl. Its best result is #15 on the 102.9 The Whale Rocktober: Women That Rock 24. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #63 alternative song of 1982, #583 alternative song of all time and #365 of the '80s.

83countdowns
29stations
#15best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1982–2026years charted

Watch

Pretenders - Back on the Chain Gang (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (Pretenders). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Back on the Chain Gang" is Chrissie Hynde's song, and the Pretenders released it as a single on Sire in September 1982, long before it ended up on their third studio album, Learning to Crawl. In between, it landed on the soundtrack of The King of Comedy.

Hynde wrote it, sings lead and plays guitar alongside Billy Bremner, with Tony Butler on bass and Martin Chambers on drums; Hynde, Butler and Chambers stack up the backing vocals. Chris Thomas produced, with Steve Churchyard engineering, and the sound is crisp and bittersweet: chiming guitars, a steady, trudging beat that gives the song its chain-gang swing, and Hynde's voice riding over it, tough and tender in the same breath.

It reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, the band's biggest hit in America, as well as 4 on the rock tracks chart and 17 in the UK. The B-side, "My City Was Gone", with its lyrics about Ohio, went on to become a big American hit of its own.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1982 43 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1982 107

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 78 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1988 244 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1989 98 WFNX WFNX Top 101 Songs of the Decade (December 1989) 101
1989 223 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1990 152 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 443 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) 500
1992 330 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 267 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 248 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1995 240 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 63 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 156 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1998 187 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 798 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 225 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 480 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 476 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 816 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 224 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 867 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 869 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 397 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2001 468 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 869 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 99 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2002 192 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2002 229 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 867 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 440 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 867 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 525 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2004 295 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2004 191 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2005 867 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 330 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2006 267 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 613 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2009 335 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 235 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2011 237 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 355 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 239 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 119 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2012 499 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 97 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 183 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 403 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 132 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2014 326 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 443 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 227 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 403 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 15 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Rocktober: Women That Rock 24 24
2016 327 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 708 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2016 367 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 145 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2017 154 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 155 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 614 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2019 440 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2020 570 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 1876 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 537 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 667 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2022 276 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 770 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 356 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2022) 500
2023 532 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 723 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 767 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 429 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 490 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2023) 500
2023 315 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2024 53 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 438 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2025 438 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) 498
2025 773 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 428 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 433 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500
2026 544 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180
2026 325 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917

Also listed as: Back On The Chain Gang; Back On the Chain Gang.

Charting alongside it in 1982

Best songs of 1982 →
  1. 1Town Called MaliceThe Jam
  2. 2Rock the CasbahThe Clash
  3. 3Should I Stay or Should I Go?The Clash
  4. 4Promised You a MiracleSimple Minds
  5. 5TemptationNew Order
  6. 6I Ran (So Far Away)A Flock of Seagulls

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