Peter Granville Farndon (12 June 1952 – 14 April 1983) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
bassist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...
and founding member of the rock band
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 ...
. In addition to playing bass with the group, Farndon sang
backup vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...
and co-wrote two of the group's songs ("The Wait" and "Space Invader"), before a drug problem resulted in his dismissal from the group in 1982 and his death a year later.
Career
Farndon attended
Hereford Cathedral School
Hereford Cathedral School is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school for pupils of ages 3 to 18 years, from Nursery to Sixth Form. Its headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school's premi ...
in his home city of
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
, before embarking on his musical career. Farndon's musical influences included
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jaz ...
and
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...
. Farndon played with
Cold River Lady until the middle of 1976, and then toured with Australian
folk-rock band The
Bushwackers
Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare common during the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, American Civil War and other conflicts in which there were large areas of contested land and few governmental resources to control these tra ...
in 1978.
Farndon joined the Pretenders in early 1978 and was the first member of the 1978–82 lineup to be recruited by
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 ...
. Farndon recalled their first rehearsal: "I'll never forget it, we go in, we do a soul number, we do a country and western number, and then we did 'The Phone Call' which is like the heaviest fuckin' punk rocker you could do in 5/4 time. Impressed? I was very impressed."
A guitarist was still needed, and Farndon recruited lead guitarist
James Honeyman-Scott
James Honeyman-Scott (4 November 1956 – 16 June 1982) was an English rock guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the band The Pretenders.
With the band, Honeyman-Scott established a reputation, in the words of AllMusic, as "one of the ...
into the group that summer.
Farndon, Honeyman-Scott, and bandmate
Martin Chambers
Martin Dale Chambers (born 4 September 1951 in Hereford) is an English musician, who is best known as a founding member and drummer of the rock band the Pretenders. In addition to playing the drums with the group, Chambers sings backing vocals ...
all hailed from
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
.
Chambers worked with Farndon to adjust to Hynde's timing: "Pete and I did a fair amount of work on our own, in terms of the rhythm section being able to play Chrissie's odd timing things. So Pete and I would come in a couple of hours ahead of the others and baby talk our way through the songs. You know, 'da dad da, boom boom.' She didn't count in the traditional way so we had to reinterpret the counts. Once we made the adjustment and learned to go with her flow, so to speak, it became second nature. It's the bedrock of Pretenders music."
Farndon played a large role in shaping the Pretenders' tough image, often wearing his
biker
Biker or bikie may refer to:
* A cyclist, a bicycle rider or participant in cycling sports
* A motorcyclist, any motorcycle rider or passenger, or participant in motorcycle sports
** A motorcycle club member, defined more narrowly than all motor ...
clothing, or later,
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
gear onstage. Hynde later acknowledged that two Pretenders' songs, "Biker" and "Samurai" had "references to a Pete Farndon type of character".
As a performer, Hynde recalled that "Pete was fantastic. Pete was blagging it a lot because technically he wasn't any kind of great musician. But he had real heart, like in boxing terms, he could win the fight on heart alone. And he had a great energy, borne of a kind of desperation."
By early 1982, Farndon's drug use was causing strained relations with his bandmates. He became increasingly belligerent and according to Hynde, "was in bad shape. He was really not someone you could work with."
The situation came to a head when guitarist
James Honeyman-Scott
James Honeyman-Scott (4 November 1956 – 16 June 1982) was an English rock guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the band The Pretenders.
With the band, Honeyman-Scott established a reputation, in the words of AllMusic, as "one of the ...
threatened to quit the band if Farndon was not fired. On 14 June 1982, band manager Dave Hill, on the orders of Hynde, fired Farndon. Two days after Farndon's dismissal, Honeyman-Scott was found dead of
heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
caused by a
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
overdose. Four years into the career of
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 ...
, Hynde and drummer
Martin Chambers
Martin Dale Chambers (born 4 September 1951 in Hereford) is an English musician, who is best known as a founding member and drummer of the rock band the Pretenders. In addition to playing the drums with the group, Chambers sings backing vocals ...
were the only original members left, and less than a year later, the only two living members.
After his dismissal from the Pretenders, Farndon worked with former
Clash drummer
Topper Headon
Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955) is an English drummer, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his instrumental contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...
, guitarist
Henry Padovani
Henry (or Henri) Padovani (born 13 October 1952) is a French musician (from the Mediterranean French isle of Corsica), noted for being the original guitarist of English rock band The Police. He was a member of the band from January 1977 to Augus ...
, organist
Mick Gallagher
Michael William Gallagher (born 29 October 1945) is an English Hammond organ player best known as a member of Ian Dury and the Blockheads and for his contributions to albums by the Clash. He has also written music for films such as ''Extremes ...
, and vocalist Steve Allen (formerly of
Deaf School
Deaf School is an English art rock/ new wave band, formed in Liverpool, England, in January 1974.
Overview
Between 1976 and 1978, the year in which they split up, Deaf School recorded three albums for the Warner Brothers label. The first alb ...
) in a short-lived band they called Samurai.
Death
![Pete-Farndon-Grave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Pete-Farndon-Grave.jpg)
On 14 April 1983, at the age of 30, Farndon was found by his wife drowned in the bath at his home in London, having lost consciousness after
overdosing
A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. on
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
.
He is buried at St. Peter's Church,
Withington, Herefordshire
Withington is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, about north-east of Hereford at .
History
One of the historical features of Withington is the Roman mile post situated on the Worcester road. The only thing that can still be ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Discography
;
The Bushwackers
The Bushwhackers are a professional wrestling tag team who competed first as the New Zealand Kiwis and then as The Sheepherders during their 36-year career as a tag team. They wrestled in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation, Jim Crockett Promoti ...
*1977 – Murrumbidgee
;
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 ...
*1979 – ''
Pretenders
Pretenders may refer to:
* The Pretenders, a rock band
** ''Pretenders'' (album), the 1980 debut album by the group
* ''Pretenders'' (TV series), a 1972 British television series
* ''The Pretenders'' (play) (Norwegian: ''Kongs-Emnerne''), an 18 ...
''
*1981 – ''
Extended Play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. ''
*1981 – ''
Pretenders II
''Pretenders II'' is the second studio album by British rock band The Pretenders, issued on Sire Records in August 1981. It incorporates two songs that had been released as singles in the UK and placed on an EP in the US. It peaked at #7 on t ...
''
References
External links
Pretenders 977 Radio*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farndon, Pete
1952 births
1983 deaths
English rock bass guitarists
Male bass guitarists
English new wave musicians
People from Hereford
People educated at Hereford Cathedral School
The Pretenders members
Deaths by drowning in the United Kingdom
Deaths by heroin overdose in England
Accidental deaths in England
20th-century English musicians
20th-century English bass guitarists
20th-century British male musicians