Synopsis
Chrissie Hynde watches Martin Chambers move through a London crowd, following him from the bridge toward an apparently ordinary office building. The setting then shifts into a stark quarry, where Chambers is revealed among workers breaking rock with pickaxes. Hynde walks through the labor camp as images of people leaping through the air interrupt the narrative. The video's dreamlike transitions turn the song's themes of loss, separation, and forced perseverance into a visual journey from everyday London life to symbolic imprisonment.
Factoids & Trivia
- This was the Pretenders' first music video after guitarist James Honeyman-Scott's death and bassist Pete Farndon's departure. At the time, Chrissie Hynde and Martin Chambers were the only remaining original members.
- The bridge scenes were filmed around London Bridge and Waterloo Bridge. The video contrasts recognizable city locations with a surreal quarry sequence.
- Hynde was pregnant with her first daughter, Natalie Ray, during the video's production. Her pregnancy is visible beneath her clothing.
- The song was recorded in July 1982 and released as a single on September 17, 1982, several months before it appeared on the album Learning to Crawl.
- The video mirrors the song's emotional background: Hynde wrote it during a period of upheaval, and it became associated with the loss of Honeyman-Scott and the struggle to continue the band.
- The hammering and chain-gang elements connect the track to Sam Cooke's 1960 song "Chain Gang." The sound of metal striking metal was created during the recording session with pieces of studio equipment and weights.