Rock 'n' Roll royalty Chrissie Hynde will give an exclusive performance of her first ever solo album in St Albans this Thursday.

The Pretenders frontwoman will be singing tracks from Stockholm, which was recorded in the Swedish capital and features cameos from Neil Young and John McEnroe, ahead of its release on June 2.

It comes six years after the last Pretenders album, and Chrissie says: "I wanted to make a power pop album you could dance to - Abba meets John Lennon.

"So much of rock n roll has become what I would call Glory Rock, with family values. It’s the irreverence in rock that was always the turn-on.

"I disagree with people who say you shouldn’t take yourself too seriously. I think life is serious, and you should take it seriously, but in rock n roll either have a f*****g laugh or f**k off."

The 62-year-old has always said she "would never be a solo artist" and never wanted to see her name in lights, so what prompted this album?

"I met songwriter JP Jones in a bar at an art party. He said that he thought we could write a great album together. I was on tour with the Pretenders, but it sort of planted the seed - to collaborate and try something different from what I was used to. And so we wrote the songs and recorded it like an experiment and toured the states under the name The Fairground Boys. I was practically anonymous, playing to clubs with a 200 capacity."

"It showed me that I could work outside of my usual framework, something that I’d already started to explore with the last Pretenders album."

She worked with co-writer guitarist and producer Bjorn Yttling, Joakim Åhlund from a band called the Caesars and a "kid she dragged in off the street" Zacharias Blad on the album and says: "It’s more of a collaboration than any of the Pretenders albums - so there’s some irony that it’s my solo album now".

The twice divorced singer, who has a daughter with Ray Davies of The Kinks and another with Jim Kerr of Simple Minds, says of the inspiration behind the songs: "I’ve had enough experience in my life that I can call from a vast well of disappointments.

"It’s not like a break-up album, though there’s a lot of longing, a lot of angst, probably a lot of disappointment - but if this album is about relationships then I’m just having fun with it actually"

"The songs are certainly adult and I’m way past writing my break-up album. I’ve got 30 years of break-ups to call from. The thing is, I’m at a stage where I’m happy. I really enjoy life."

Chrissie will perform to a sold out gig at The Horn on Thursday, April 10 with support from The One Hundred and Brocker.