The band’s first single, a cover of The Kinks song “Stop Your Sobbing,” was released in January 1979 and gained critical attention. It was followed in June with “Kid,” and then in November, the band got to number one in the U.K. with “Brass in Pocket,” which was also successful in the U.S., reaching number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. Their debut album, Pretenders, was released in 1980, and was a success in both the U.K. and the U.S., both critically and commercially. It reached number one on the U.K. Albums chart and number nine on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and was certified platinum by the RIAA. In 1981, the EP, Extended Play was released, containing “Message of Love” and “Talk of the Town” and a live version of “Precious,” recorded in Central Park. Released in 1982, their version of “Back on the Chain Gang,” became their biggest success in the U.S., staying at number five for three consecutive weeks. Learning to Crawl was released in 1984, featuring “Middle of the Road,” which reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album went to number five on the Billboard 200 and number 11 on the U.K. Albums chart. When Last of the Independents was released in 1994, it had reasonable overall commercial success, certifying gold in the U.S. and peaking at number eight on the U.K. Albums chart. Break Up the Concrete was released through Shangri-La Music in 2008. It was the band’s first Top 40 album in the U.S. in more than two decades. The Pretenders still tour, performing their healthy catalogue of hits.