Brass In Pocket
Encyclopedia
"Brass in Pocket" is a single by The Pretenders
. It was written by Chrissie Hynde
and James Honeyman-Scott
, and produced by Chris Thomas
.
for two weeks in January 1980 (making it the first number-one single of the 1980s), number one in Australia during May 1980, and number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart in the United States. The song takes its title from an expression Hynde heard from a member of Strangeways a Yorkshire
-based support band who was looking for his money ("brass", meaning money).
During an interview with The Observer
in 2004, Hynde revealed that she was initially reluctant to have the song released: "When we recorded the song I wasn't very happy with it and told my producer that he could release it over my dead body, but they eventually persuaded me."
for the single, Hynde portrays a waitress working in a greasy spoon
who encounters a sleepy customer.
She suddenly sees three men (her band members) approaching in a car outside. Hynde attempts to look elegant on their entrance and is clearly seen flirting with one of the men (Pete Farndon
) after they've been seated. Pete doesn't respond to her overtures. Just then, three seductively dressed women (the men's girlfriends) enter the greasy spoon, sit at the men's table and begin to kiss their partners. Farndon's girlfriend isn't impressed when he appears to respond to Chrissie's flirting. Suddenly, the couples decide to leave the cafe without eating. Hynde is saddened and watches them outside leaving in their car, not feeling remotely "special".
It was the seventh video played during MTV
's launch on August 1, 1981.
by Nazareth
, Suede
(for NME
s charity compilation Ruby Trax), Kelis
(for the soundtrack to the 2005 film Just Like Heaven), Ashlee Simpson
(during concert performances), Ultra Naté
, Ted Leo
(during WFMU
's 2007 fundraising drive), and Alaina Alexander (on American Idol 6
Top 20 night), amongst others.
Oliver Grainger
performs this song as the character D.W. Read from the PBS Kids series Arthur
, and on the soundtrack Arthur's Really Rockin' Music Mix
.
Scarlett Johansson
(as Charlotte) sings a karaoke
version of "Brass in Pocket" in Lost in Translation
.
On November 27, 2010, "Brass in Pocket" was performed on The X Factor
by Mary Byrne
.
On June 2011, Suede
released a remastered edition of their debut album
including a version of "Brass in Pocket".
as part of an advertising campaign by National City Bank
during the late 1990s-early 2000s. The Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde
is a native of Akron, Ohio
, while National City was based in nearby Cleveland.
In Australia around 2006, "Brass in Pocket" was used to inspire an advertisement for Kellogg Company
's Special K
. The song has a distinctive "call and response
" bridge where Chrissie Hynde sings "I'm special (so special)/I gotta have some of your attention give it to me."
"Brass in Pocket" is used in a 2011 TV commercial for the Blackberry PlayBook
.
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
. It was written by Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde
Christine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an US musician best known as the leader of the rock/new wave band the Pretenders. She is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history.-Early life and career:Hynde is the daughter of a part-time...
and James Honeyman-Scott
James Honeyman-Scott
James Honeyman-Scott , commonly referred to as "Jimmy", was an English rock guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the band The Pretenders....
, and produced by Chris Thomas
Chris Thomas (record producer)
Chris Thomas is an English record producer who has worked extensively with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Badfinger, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pulp and The Pretenders. He has also produced breakthrough albums for The Sex Pistols and INXS.Thomas is quoted as saying -Early life:Thomas was...
.
Release
The band's third single was their first success, scoring number one on the UK Singles ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
for two weeks in January 1980 (making it the first number-one single of the 1980s), number one in Australia during May 1980, and number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in the United States. The song takes its title from an expression Hynde heard from a member of Strangeways a Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
-based support band who was looking for his money ("brass", meaning money).
During an interview with The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
in 2004, Hynde revealed that she was initially reluctant to have the song released: "When we recorded the song I wasn't very happy with it and told my producer that he could release it over my dead body, but they eventually persuaded me."
Music video
In the accompanying music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the single, Hynde portrays a waitress working in a greasy spoon
Greasy spoon
Greasy spoon is a colloquial or slang term originating in the United States to mean a small, especially cheap, archetypal working class restaurant or diner. The term is now used in many English speaking countries to mean the same thing...
who encounters a sleepy customer.
She suddenly sees three men (her band members) approaching in a car outside. Hynde attempts to look elegant on their entrance and is clearly seen flirting with one of the men (Pete Farndon
Pete Farndon
Pete Farndon was an English bassist and founding member of the rock band The Pretenders. Farndon attended Hereford Cathedral School in his home town of Hereford, before embarking on his musical legacy with The Pretenders...
) after they've been seated. Pete doesn't respond to her overtures. Just then, three seductively dressed women (the men's girlfriends) enter the greasy spoon, sit at the men's table and begin to kiss their partners. Farndon's girlfriend isn't impressed when he appears to respond to Chrissie's flirting. Suddenly, the couples decide to leave the cafe without eating. Hynde is saddened and watches them outside leaving in their car, not feeling remotely "special".
It was the seventh video played during MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's launch on August 1, 1981.
Covers
The song has been coveredCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Nazareth
Nazareth (band)
Nazareth is a Scottish hard rock band, founded in 1968, that had several hits in the UK in the early 1970s, and established an international audience with their 1975 album Hair of the Dog. Perhaps their best-known hit single was a cover of the ballad "Love Hurts", in 1975...
, Suede
Suede (band)
Suede are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up featured singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Bernard Butler, bass player Mat Osman and drummer Simon Gilbert. By 1992, Suede were hailed as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted...
(for NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
s charity compilation Ruby Trax), Kelis
Kelis
Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers (born August 21, 1971 is an American musical artist. She is a BRIT Award, Q Award and NME Award winner and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She has had nine top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart...
(for the soundtrack to the 2005 film Just Like Heaven), Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Nicole Simpson is an American singer and actress. In 2004, she rose to prominence with the success of her number-one debut album Autobiography and the reality series, The Ashlee Simpson Show. In October 2005, following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released...
(during concert performances), Ultra Naté
Ultra Naté
Ultra Naté is an American house music, Dance-pop and sometimes R&B musician who has achieved a respectable amount of success on the pop charts with songs such as "Free" and "If You Could Read My Mind" as part of Stars on 54....
, Ted Leo
Ted Leo
Theodore F. Leo , called "Ted," as a short form of "Theodore," is an American punk rock/indie rock songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, though he is most known for his singing and guitar playing...
(during WFMU
WFMU
WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting at 91.1 MHz FM, presenting a freeform radio format...
's 2007 fundraising drive), and Alaina Alexander (on American Idol 6
American Idol (Season 6)
The sixth season of American Idol premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and January 17, and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned to judge once again, and Ryan Seacrest returned as host...
Top 20 night), amongst others.
Oliver Grainger
Oliver Grainger
Oliver Grainger is a Canadian child voice actor.He is the voice actor for the character Dongwa, Sagwa's older brother, on Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat....
performs this song as the character D.W. Read from the PBS Kids series Arthur
Arthur (TV series)
Arthur is an American/Canadian animated educational television series for children, created by Cookie Jar Group and WGBH for the Public Broadcasting Service...
, and on the soundtrack Arthur's Really Rockin' Music Mix
Arthur TV soundtracks
The children's television show Arthur has released three Arthur soundtracks.-Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD :...
.
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
(as Charlotte) sings a karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
version of "Brass in Pocket" in Lost in Translation
Lost in Translation (film)
Lost in Translation is a 2003 American film written and directed by Sofia Coppola; her second feature film after The Virgin Suicides and it stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson...
.
On November 27, 2010, "Brass in Pocket" was performed on The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
by Mary Byrne
Mary Byrne (singer)
For other people named Mary Byrne, see Mary Byrne .Mary Byrne is an Irish singer-songwriter from Ballyfermot, Dublin. She rose to fame in 2010 after becoming a finalist on the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010. Following her elimination in the live semi-final, she signed a record deal with...
.
On June 2011, Suede
Suede (band)
Suede are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up featured singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Bernard Butler, bass player Mat Osman and drummer Simon Gilbert. By 1992, Suede were hailed as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted...
released a remastered edition of their debut album
Suede (album)
Suede is the debut album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in March 1993 on Nude Records. At the time the fastest-selling debut album in British history, Suede debuted at the top of the UK Album Chart, won the 1993 Mercury Music Prize, and is often credited with starting the Britpop...
including a version of "Brass in Pocket".
Uses in popular culture
"Brass in Pocket" was used in the background of several commercialsTelevision advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
as part of an advertising campaign by National City Bank
National City Corp.
National City Corporation was a regional bank holding company based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, founded in 1845; it was once one of the ten largest banks in America in terms of deposits, mortgages and home equity lines of credit. Subsidiary National City Mortgage is credited for doing the first...
during the late 1990s-early 2000s. The Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde
Christine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an US musician best known as the leader of the rock/new wave band the Pretenders. She is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history.-Early life and career:Hynde is the daughter of a part-time...
is a native of Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, while National City was based in nearby Cleveland.
In Australia around 2006, "Brass in Pocket" was used to inspire an advertisement for Kellogg Company
Kellogg Company
Kellogg Company , is a producer of cereal and convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles, and vegetarian foods...
's Special K
Special K
Special K is a lightly toasted breakfast cereal manufactured by the Kellogg Company. The cereal was introduced to the United States in 1956. It is made primarily from rice and wheat....
. The song has a distinctive "call and response
Call and response (music)
In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...
" bridge where Chrissie Hynde sings "I'm special (so special)/I gotta have some of your attention give it to me."
"Brass in Pocket" is used in a 2011 TV commercial for the Blackberry PlayBook
BlackBerry PlayBook
The BlackBerry PlayBook is a tablet computer by Research In Motion , best known for the BlackBerry smartphone. It competes against Apple's iPad and a slew of Android-powered tablets....
.
See also
- List of number-one singles from the 1980s (UK)
- List of number-one hits (Sweden)