Learning To Crawl  by Pretenders

The Pretenders returned in early 1984 with their third album titled Learning To Crawl after a three-year absence. The drug-related deaths of James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon had preceded this, and the band picked up the pieces and recorded what would become the best album of their career.

Learning To Crawl is an album of ten new wave compositions where each one complements the other, making the entirety seem greater than what the listener expects. Chrissie Hynde's voice is at its best, giving her distinctive touch to all the songs. The album's producer was Chris Thomas. Five out of the ten songs were released as singles and were commercially successful, with the standout being the single Middle Of The Road.

The album reached No. 11 in the UK and No. 5 in the USA, where it was and remains their greatest commercial success with sales of around 1,000,000 copies. Learning To Crawl was the album that saved and continued the career of The Pretenders in every aspect.