Chrissie Hynde has released a new duet with k.d. lang, covering the 1972 classic originally sung by Billy Paul, ‘Me & Mrs Jones’. The song features on Duets Special, the forthcoming new album by Chrissie Hynde & Pals. Due 17th October via Parlophone, the new record consists of 13 extraordinary Chrissie Hynde duets featuring a host of world-class collaborators including the late Mark Lanegan, Dave Gahan, Cat Power, Brandon Flowers, Debbie Harry, Shirley Manson, Alan Sparhawk and more. ‘Me & Mrs Jones’ premiered on BBC Radio 2 this morning and is available to listen to HERE. The single ‘Always On My Mind’ featuring Rufus Wainwright is also out now HERE.
Speaking about the origins of the Duets Special album, Chrissie says: “I never thought about doing a Duets album before. I think the idea came about in 2023. I was talking to Jörn, Rufus Wainwright’s husband, on the phone. I think we were recommending novels to each other and for some reason I said hey, maybe Rufus and I should do something, and quickly scribbled out 10 songs off the top of my head. So Jörn asked Rufus, who was up for it, and that’s how it started. A spontaneous and what I thought would be a fun thing.”
Remembering the first connection with k.d. lang, Chrissie said: “I met k.d. on a tour we did. Very early days. It was up in Canada and we bonded right from the start because of our mutual interest in animal welfare.”
The artists that perform with Chrissie Hynde on Duets Special are 13 uniquely distinct voices. The theme connecting all of the songs is simply, great melodies. Each celebrated through stripped down, intimate arrangements and minimal, refined instrumentation.
Duets Special isn’t just Chrissie Hynde’s fourth studio album under her own name. The new record presents an exciting and unexpected left turn amidst one of the most creative chapters of Chrissie Hynde’s career. Duets Special closely follows The Pretenders’ latest studio album Relentless – described as “at their melodic best” by The Guardian. The world tour that followed also created a new live record, Kick ’em Where It Hurts. When Chrissie performed at the Mark Lanegan 60 Celebration Concert at the Roundhouse last year, The Times suggested Chrissie’s voice “should have Unesco world heritage status by now.”
Outside of the studio, painting has become an inseparable part of Hynde’s creative life. In the last seven years, her artwork has been exhibited to acclaim in London, New York and Massachusetts. It has also graced the sleeve of her 2019 album of cover versions Valve Bone Woe, as motifs on garments in Vivienne Westwood’s Spring-Summer 2021 collection, and most recently through a new exhibition of paintings titled Hynde Sight. The latest installment, Hynde Sight II was recently shown at Harvey & Woodd, Edinburgh www.chrissiehynde.art.
