RockLists.com
Cover of Pretenders II by The Pretenders
Cover: Pretenders II

Song · The Pretenders

“Talk of the Town” by The Pretenders

From the album Pretenders II (1981)

“Talk of the Town” by The Pretenders appears on 31 radio countdowns from 10 stations between 1980 and 2023. It was first released in 1981 on the album Pretenders II. Its best result is #59 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1980. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #59 alternative song of 1980 and #1,236 alternative song of all time.

31countdowns
10stations
#59best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1980–2023years charted

Watch

Pretenders - Talk Of The Town (Official Music Video)

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

"Talk of the Town" appeared first as a single, then on the 1981 EP Extended Play, before a slightly trimmed version landed on Pretenders II that same year, and it's Chrissie Hynde at her most wistful, all ringing guitars and aching restraint. She named it after a London nightclub, but the heart of it is a fan: a kid who used to hang around outside the band's soundchecks on their first tour, someone she never spoke to and last saw standing in the snow. She has said she wrote it with him in mind.

Hynde wrote it alone and Chris Thomas produced. It went to number 8 in the UK, and critics have singled it out as one of the high points of Pretenders II.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1980 59 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1980 106

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 184 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1994 160 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 339 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 154 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 486 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 663 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 183 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 1427 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 771 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 1427 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1429 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 1427 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 1413 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 586 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 1413 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 1412 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 1428 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1384 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1399 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 403 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2010 1431 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1494 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1556 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1595 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2016 781 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2019 1009 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2019 1009 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2021 158 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2022 1348 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2023 217 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850

Also listed as: Talk Of The Town.

Charting alongside it in 1980

Best songs of 1980 →
  1. 1And the Cradle Will RockVan Halen
  2. 2Another One Bites the DustQueen
  3. 3Whip ItDevo
  4. 4Don't Stand So Close to MeThe Police
  5. 5Once in a LifetimeTalking Heads
  6. 6You Shook Me All Night LongAC/DC

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Talk of the Town" by The Pretenders.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.