TALK OF THE TOWN

Although officially a Pretender, Londoner James Walbourne is very much the real deal. The lead guitarist in Chrissie Hynde’s band since 2008, Walbourne is also one half of The Rails, a folk duo that also features his wife, Kami Thompson. We catch up with James in his local pub, The Boogaloo in Highgate – not just a convenient location to talk gear, swap road stories and photograph his enviable guitar collection but also a significant setting in terms of his career.

“I met [Pretenders drummer and founding member] Martin Chambers in here,” James reveals. “I was playing here with a little rock ’n’ roll duo most nights of the week. Martin liked my guitar playing and invited me down to the studio one day for the Break Up The Concrete sessions and we went from there. That would have been around 2008.”

Soon after, James hit the road with the band. Opening up a case with as many battle scars as the guitar it contains, he tells us about the black Stratocaster that has become his main stage guitar. “This guitar was a gift from Chrissie Hynde and I absolutely love it,” he says. “I think