"Get Close" is the fourth studio album by the Pretenders, released on 20 October 1986 in the UK and on 4 November 1986 in the US. The album features the band's two highest-charting Mainstream Rock Tracks entries, "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "My Baby," both reaching number one.
The Pretenders' previous album, Learning to Crawl (1984), was a critical and commercial success, and the band performed at Live Aid in 1985. Chrissie Hynde also collaborated with UB40 on their number-one single "I Got You Babe" that same year.
Get Close was recorded during a transitional period for the band, involving multiple personnel. The initial recording sessions, produced by Steve Lillywhite, featured the lineup from Learning to Crawl, including guitarist Robbie McIntosh and bassist Malcolm Foster. These sessions included a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Room Full of Mirrors," which became the album's closing track. Hynde eventually felt that drummer Martin Chambers' playing had deteriorated and decided to part ways with him.
After Chambers' departure, Hynde was the only remaining original member, and Foster left soon after, leaving the band without a rhythm section. Jimmy Iovine and Bob Clearmountain took over production, with half of the album recorded by Hynde and McIntosh alongside high-profile session musicians. Various bassists and drummers contributed, including Bruce Thomas, Chucho Merchán, and Simon Phillips.
Later sessions included T.M. Stevens and Blair Cunningham, who were recruited full-time toward the end of the recording. Upon release, Get Close was credited to a lineup of Hynde, McIntosh, Stevens, and Cunningham, though the latter two only played on half the album. The cover art featured all four musicians, but Hynde was the only member on the front, emphasizing her prominence.
Musically, Get Close incorporated a strong funk element, differing from the New Wave sound of previous albums. It also included the band's first power ballad, "Hymn to Her," inspired by Hynde's schoolfriend Meg Keene. The band recorded a Carlos Alomar song, "Light of the Moon."
During the 1986 tour supporting the album, Bernie Worrell joined the live band on keyboards. However, Hynde quickly realized that the new lineup's style did not suit her vision for the band. Midway through the tour, she dismissed Stevens and Worrell, keeping Cunningham. Malcolm Foster and Rupert Black were rehired to complete the live commitments, and Robbie McIntosh left at the end of the tour.
Later, McIntosh and Cunningham reunited in 1991 as members of Paul McCartney's backing band, with Linda McCartney recommending McIntosh to him.
