James Honeyman-Scott
James Honeyman-Scott (born November 4, 1956 in Hereford , † June 16, 1982 in London ) was a British rock musician who became known as the guitarist of The Pretenders .
Life
Honeyman-Scott started taking piano lessons at the age of seven, and when he was ten, he began to play guitar while listening to Eric Clapton and Hank Marvin recordings . As a teenager he played in a number of bands, including the Cheeks, where he met Verden Allen , a later founding member of Mott the Hoople , bassist Pete Farndon and drummer Martin Chambers . During this time, Honeyman-Scott earned his living as a vegetable gardener, guitar seller and studio guitarist for musicians like Tommy Morrison and Robert John Godfrey .
At the end of the seventies he began to be interested in punk rock and new wave , he was mainly a fan of Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe . When he received a request from Farndon a little later whether he would like to audition for a new band called The Pretenders, which he had founded with Chrissie Hynde , he was able to convince Hynde with his audition, but initially hesitated himself. Only when Hynde Honeyman-Scott's idol Nick Lowe was able to win the Pretenders' debut single, Stop Your Sobbing , did he accept and in 1979 joined the Pretenders as a permanent member.
On the debut album The Pretenders he combined stylistic devices from reggae , country and punk rock . The album became a worldwide hit, but both he and Farndon had become drug addicts.
In March 1981 he married model Peggy Sue Fender. After the release of the nameless second album and two days after Farndon's subsequent exclusion from the band due to persistent drug problems, Honeyman-Scott was found dead on June 16, 1982. He died of a cocaine and heroin overdose .
Shortly after his death, Hynde wrote the song Back on the Chain Gang as a tribute to him , which would become one of the biggest hits for the band. The song 2000 Miles is also dedicated to him. Honeyman-Scott's successor at the Pretenders was Robbie McIntosh , whom Honeyman-Scott wanted to bring the Pretenders closer to before his death.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Honeyman-Scott, James |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British guitarist; Member of the Pretenders |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th November 1956 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hereford , Herefordshire , England , UK |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 16, 1982 |
| Place of death | London , England , UK |