Don't Get Me Wrong" is a song released by the pop-rock group The Pretenders. It
was the first single taken from the group's 1986 album, Get Close. It can also
be found on the band's The Singles album, released in 1987.
In the US, "Don't Get Me Wrong" became the group's second Top 10 hit on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #10.[1] Their first Top 10 pop hit, "Back on
the Chain Gang", had reached #5 in 1983. "Don't Get Me Wrong" also spent three
weeks atop the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in November 1986.[1] In the UK,
the song also peaked at #10 in the UK Singles Chart.[2]
This song was more commercial than the band's usual sound, with a jangly guitar
sound and a pop melody. However, the lyrics were still as biting as their
earlier material.[citation needed] It was covered by British pop singer Lily
Allen for BBC Radio 1's 40th anniversary celebrations in 2007 and was released
on the subsequent compilation album.
The music video for the song is a clear tribute to the British 1960s TV spy
series The Avengers, with Chrissie Hynde playing Emma Peel in search of John
Steed (Patrick Macnee appears in the original series' footage, with Hynde
superimposed).Hynde stated in the VH1 Story Tellers series that she got the
inspiration for the chorus' melody while on a British Airways flight. The
airlines distinct "tone" jingle, which was played at certain times in the flight
(for announcements from the pilot, seatbelt attention, etc.) had the same series
of tones/notes as the chorus: DON'T- GET- ME- WRONG.
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