n 1981, Pretenders followed up their massive eponymous debut album with Pretenders II. The last album with Pretenders’ original line-up, the band continued the tremendous form of their debut album.

Following their debut album, Pretenders released two singles in the UK, TalkOfThe Town and Message Of Love before Pretenders II arrived, with the former reaching #8 and the latter #11 in the UK singles charts. The appetite in the US maintained too, with Pretenders releasing an EP in the interim named “Extended Play”, containing five tracks that would later be on the Pretenders II album. With a clamouring for more Pretenders material, Pretenders II was released on 15thAugust 1981 to great fanfare. The album would end up peaking #7 in the UK, and #10 in the US, being certified Silver and Gold respectively in the process. Further highlights of the album include another cover of The Kinks, in the form of I Go To Sleep.