"Don't Get Me Wrong" is a song released by British-American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

group

The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...

. It was the first single taken from the group's 1986 album, ''

Get Close ''Get Close'' is the fourth studio album by rock band the Pretenders, released on 20 October 1986 in the United Kingdom by Real Records and on 4 November 1986 in the United States by Sire Records. The album contains the band's two highest-ch ...

''. It can also be found on the band's '' The Singles'' album, released in 1987.

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

said she was inspired to write the song for her friend

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

Background

The song features a jangly

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

sound and an emphasis on melody. Hynde's lyrics contain literary references in addition to the more relationship-based subject matter typical for

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

Reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' said that although Hynde is the only original Pretender remaining, this song represents "a pretty upbeat, strutting, confident Pretenders." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' praised Hynde's "sultry vocal" and "powerful songwriting." ''Classic rock review'' describes "Don't Get Me Wrong" as a "jaunty rock track". ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Matt Wardlaw rated it the Pretenders 8th greatest song, saying that it " ammershome the point rather succinctly that when it comes to love from the female point of view, it's best to expect the unexpected."

Music video

The music video for the song is a tribute to the British 1960s TV spy series '' The Avengers'', with Chrissie Hynde playing

Emma Peel Emma Peel is a fictional spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series '' The Avengers'', and by Uma Thurman in the 1998 film version. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight. She ...

searching for

John Steed Major The Hon. John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed usually known as John Steed, is a fictional character and the central protagonist on the 1960s British spy series '' The Avengers'' and its 1970s sequel '' The New Avengers'', played by Patr ...

, while being diverted by body doubles and rival agents. She drives a 1983

Reliant Scimitar SS1 The Reliant Scimitar SS1 is an automobile which was produced by British manufacturer Reliant from 1984. Aiming to fill a gap in the small sports car market, Scimitar SS1 was launched in 1984 at the British International Motor Show in Birming ...

. Steed actor

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...

appears in the original series' footage, with Hynde electronically inserted. Two edits to the video were made, the second edit adds alternate shots (including a scene of one of the body doubles being revealed to be a woman) and inserts footage of the band performing in a studio.

Personnel

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

Robbie McIntosh Robbie McIntosh (born 25 October 1957) is an English guitarist. McIntosh is well known as a session guitarist and member of The Pretenders from 1982 until 1987. In 1988 he began doing session guitar work for Paul McCartney joining his band fu ...

–

s *

T. M. Stevens Thomas Michael "T. M." Stevens (born July 28, 1951) is an American bass guitarist from New York City. Stevens has worked with an array of rock, R&B, and pop acts as a session musician, and also leads his own groups and works as a solo performer ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Additional Personnel

Chucho Merchán Jesús Alfredo Merchán (born December 24, 1952)), known professionally as Chucho Merchán, is a session jazz and rock bassist and guitarist. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cambridge University in 1980. He has performed with Nucl ...

– bass guitar * Steve Jordan – drums, percussion *

Paul "Wix" Wickens Paul Wickens (born 27 March 1956) is an English musician, composer, and record producer, professionally known as Wix. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Wickens has worked with artists including Nik Kershaw, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Bon ...

– synthesizer, piano

Charts

In the US, "Don't Get Me Wrong" became the group's second Top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 10. Whitburn, Joel (2004). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 505. Their first Top 10 pop hit, "

Back on the Chain Gang "Back on the Chain Gang" is a song written by Chrissie Hynde and originally recorded by her band the Pretenders, and released as a single by Sire Records in September 1982. The song also was released on '' The King of Comedy'' soundtrack album i ...

", had reached No. 5 in 1983. "Don't Get Me Wrong" also spent three weeks atop the ''Billboard'' Album Rock Tracks chart in November 1986. It also reached No. 5 on the

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

CHR/Pop Airplay Chart on December 12, 1986 staying on that position for a week and remaining on the chart for eleven weeks. In the UK, the song also peaked at #10 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was most successful in Australia, where it reached No. 8.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Covers

* British pop singer

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings public ...

covered the song for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

's 40th-anniversary celebrations in 2007 and was released on the subsequent

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

. *

Leigh Nash Leigh Anne Bingham Nash ( ; born June 27, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the Christian alternative rock band Sixpence None the Richer and was also a member of Fauxliage. Her debut solo album, '' Blue on ...

released a version in 2018. * Hale Appleman covered the song in musical episode "All That Hard Glossy Armor" (Season 4, Episode 10) of The Magicians

Feature

The song was also featured in the 1997 movie

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion ''Romy and Michele's High School Reunion'' is a 1997 American comedy film directed by David Mirkin and starring Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, and Janeane Garofalo. The plot revolves around two 28-year-old girls who appear to have not achieved much s ...

, but this and a few other songs were omitted from the movie's soundtrack album due to copyright issues.

References

{{authority control 1986 songs 1986 singles The Pretenders songs Songs written by Chrissie Hynde Sire Records singles Song recordings produced by Jimmy Iovine Song recordings produced by Bob Clearmountain Lily Allen songs