Reckless: My Life by Chrissie Hynde

Whoa - you are in for a bumpy ride with this rock memoir. Chrissie Hynde: the tough yet vulnerable pioneering rock chick with the heavy dark fringe and androgynous beauty, as well as haunting and distinctive vocals. Hynde does not hold back in this frank, funny, and at times harrowing account of her life, from a 1950's childhood in Ohio to forming her band the Pretenders. Reckless is the perfect title really....she certainly paid her dues before finding just-in-time success.

Coming from a safe middle American upbringing, her teenage hippie rebellion and passion for music made her desperate to get out of Ohio.  It is unsurprising that Hynde waited until her parents had died to write this memoir (she was every parents worst nightmare!).

Reckless reads like a who's who of the late 70's and early 80's music scene. Hynde worked for Vivienne Westward and Malcolm McClaren at the birth of the Punk scene, wrote for the famous New Musical Express, and was nearly in bands that went on to become The Clash and the Damned.

Drugs and alcohol, violence and sexual assault, living in vile squats or dossing anywhere with anyone, how this woman stayed alive seems against the odds.

Troubled by self doubt, and depression, she sought solace in many substances. Her dealings with a notorious motorcycle gang in the US and UK left me horrified, however she places blame on no one but herself, and was clearly in a space where it was all about the drugs and didn't care how she got them. Excellent read, although probably not for everyone...I await a sequel!

Posted by Katrina

Catalogue link:  Reckless