The Pretenders – 2000 Miles (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“2000 Miles” is a song by English-American rock band The Pretenders that was released in 1983 as the preceding single to their 1984 album, Learning to Crawl. It was most popular in the UK, where it peaked at No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1983. In the US, it was released as the B-side of both the 7-inch single and 12-inch single remix of the band’s hit, “Middle of the Road”.

Considered a Christmas song, it has been released on various Christmas compilation albums. While most people believe the title to refer to the distance between two long-distance lovers who miss each other over the holidays, it is actually meant to be for James Honeyman-Scott, the group’s original guitar player, who died the year before the song was released.

The official video features Hynde dressed as a member of the Salvation Army in a snowy location.

SIDE A:
2000 Miles 3:38
Written By – C. Hynde*

SIDE B:
Fast Or Slow (The Law’s The Law) 3:14
Acoustic Guitar – Billy Bremner
Bass – Andrew Bodnar
Written-By – M. Chambers*

Money (Live) 4:49
Keyboards – Chris Thomas
Written By – Berry Gordy, William Bradford*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Real Records (2) ‎– ARE 20T
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1983
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Alternative Rock

CREDITS:
Design [Sleeve] – Peter Barrett (3)
Mastered By – Tim Young
Photography By – Bay Hippisley
Producer – Chris Thomas

NOTES:
B2 Recorded at US Festival May 1983 by Westwood One.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
Phono Pre-amp:
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube:
Tung-Sol 12AX7 TubeGold Pins
Soundcard:
Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

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RonNasty64
RonNasty64
December 23, 2017 6:40 am

Thanks for this one, and all your great work again this year. I hope you have safe, healthy and happy one next year.

ps. I think Brian Setzer also wrote a song about James on his solo album way back when as well.

Retro Hound
Retro Hound
December 22, 2017 11:24 pm

Thank you DjPaulT for this post and for all that you do. Your website shows how much you lovingly and caringly post vinyl as well as taking care of the BTG community. Happy Holidays to you and all your loved ones!

hato
hato
December 21, 2017 6:34 pm

this is the greatest of all Xmas song
thanks Paul!

Barry
Barry
December 21, 2017 2:05 pm

Nice post! I had forgotten about this song!

Also forgot about the sweet cover art. Memories of flipping through the 12″ import bins at the downtown record store on a Saturday afternoon. *sigh*

The record store’s still there. Think I’ll order the new Professionals cd this weekend, after the last-minute crowds have died down.

Merry Xmas Paul!!

David
David
December 21, 2017 12:19 pm

It was even more popular in The Netherlands where the single reached number 8.

memoryboy
memoryboy
December 21, 2017 12:19 pm

What a wonderful surprise Paul. I love The Pretenders, and I’m really loving these single versions… The 7″ edits and stuff that you’re posting this week. I will say I love remixes, some are better than others, but I also really love the album versions and the radio edits. I love it all! Thank you for posting this one.

Jeff
Jeff
December 21, 2017 11:43 am

I love these holiday posts as they really get one nostalgic for one’s musical past and, of course, it’s Christmastime. I get a jolt out of hearing these yuletide chestnuts from their original incarnation: VINYL. You make these sonic ornaments, sparkle with your skills. Thank you Paul for all the hard work you do to give us so much happiness and excitement.

Jeff

Alex G
Alex G
December 21, 2017 10:59 am

“A Christmas Thomas Production”, indeed.

Incidentally, I believe this is the first time they used “The Pretenders” on the label, although even then they were maddeningly inconsistent with it, as the sleeve still just lists “Pretenders”. Not the last time this would happen, either. And then when they gave up on the “The” and went back to being plain old “Pretenders” full-time, everybody kept on calling them “The Pretenders” anyway. They just can’t win…

Omar
Omar
December 21, 2017 10:34 am

I loved the sleeve for this single.