The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde joins bandmate James Walbourne busking in Covent Garden

As a founding member of The Pretenders she’s achieved international fame.

So, onlookers were taken aback to see Chrissie Hynde, 69, busking with bandmate James Walbourne, 41, in London‘s Covent Garden on Thursday afternoon.

The musician whipped her guitar out in the West End for a street performance ahead of her two acoustic shows at the nearby Royal Opera House next month.

The singer opted for a low-key outfit as she wore a light navy blue jacket over a black and white T-shirt.

She wore a pair of blue denim jeans and a pair of red tartan shoes.

She looked inconspicuous as she hid behind a pair of red sunglasses as she played her guitar and belted out her tunes.

James, the current lead guitarist of The Pretenders and one-half of The Rails, could be seen standing alongside her in a similar get-up.

The pair performed for passersby ahead of Chrissie’s two socially-distanced acoustic performances at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 July.

Chrissie shared the promotional artwork for the concerts on Instagram on Tuesday.

The image states Chrissie will be joined by other performers to sing songs from her new album Standing In The Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan, as well as some of The Pretenders’ classics.

Chrissie will be supported by James’s band The Rails on both dates, and an orange train with the American flag can be seen featured in the image.

The Instagram post read: ‘Great news – pre-sale tickets are now available for Chrissie’s two acoustic, socially distanced shows on Thursday 29th & Friday 30th July 2021 at the @royaloperahouse in London, with support from @TheRails.

‘Chrissie will be performing tracks from her latest album Standing In The Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan as well as some Pretenders favourites.’