Besides the Allman Brothers, perhaps the only other rock band to lose bandmembers under exactly the same circumstances (and almost exactly one year apart) was the Pretenders, when guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon both succumbed to drug overdoses during the early '80s. Farndon was born on June 2, 1952, and hailed from Hereford, England. After traveling around the world during the early-mid '70s, which included a stint in Australia (where he was a brief member of the folk rock outfit, the Bushwackers) and Hong Kong (where he indulged so heavily in drugs that his teeth rotted away), Farndon returned back to Hereford by the end of the decade. With England still caught up in the punk craze, Farndon looked to form a new group, and met guitarist/singer/songwriter Chrissie Hynde through a local drummer friend. After jamming on a few soul obscurities and Hynde originals (at a rehearsal space Farndon described as "the scummiest basement I've ever been in my life"), Farndon was welcomed onboard as a bassist