Recorded in July of 1982, not long after the death of lead guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and the firing of bassist Pete Farndon, "Back On the Chain Gang" would become one of the Pretenders' most successful singles. The song was recorded by an interim line-up; Rockpile guitarist Billy Bremner and Big Country bassist Tony Butler joined Chrissie Hynde and Martin Chambers for the session.

The single was released in the Fall of 1982, and became a Top 5 hit in both the US and Canada, while charting at #17 at home in the UK.

The song was included on the band's next full album, Learning To Crawl, released early in 1984. Bremner and Butler played on a couple of other tracks, as well, but the bulk of the album was recorded by the band's new permanent line-up, which had Robbie McIntosh on guitar and Malcolm Foster on bass. The album went platinum and reached the Top 5 on Billboard.

Tabbed here is the Intro.

THE PRETENDERS - "Back On the Chain Gang"      (C. Hynde) 

https://www.angelfire.com/planet/zerofret/annesblog/varriffs.txt

Audio (studio version):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzWNY1zwrjY