“And how can they justify the fact that half the world is starving when there is enough food for everybody? We’re feeding grain to cows while people die of hunger. How can people not see that is wrong?”

When she’s not playing big Summer Pops style gigs, Chrissie likes taking off unannounced.

“I love to go off the radar and play small gigs – just a few people,” she grins.

Hynde has a daughter, Natalie Rae Hynde, with Ray Davies of The Kinks, born in 1983. She then married musician Jim Kerr, of the band Simple Minds in 1984, and had a daughter, Yasmin, with him in 1985. They divorced in 1990 and she married artist Lucho Brieva in 1997, and lived with him in London until they separated in 2002. She now lives alone in London.

““I’ve gathered myself a few albums to listen to tonight. I’ll sit on my own, listen to some early Tim Buckley. I’ve always enjoyed solitude – sitting in the dark, listening to music. I like my own company.”

She also has an apartment in her hometown of Akron, where she owns a vegan restaurant called The VegiTerranean, serving fusion Italian-vegetarian food.

“Yeah, I have a vegan restaurant in America,” she grins. “I love it. One day I’d like to see more of them, so wherever you go, there’s always good food. I want one in London, Liverpool, everywhere.

“I like France. I listen to a French radio station in the morning.

“They always have a good mix of music on the radio. That’s kind of unique to the French.

“And it’s not hurting my French. Everything else, I kind of tune out.”

THE Pretenders play the Summer Pops at the Echo Arena Liverpool, alongside Squeeze, on July 16. For bookings, see listings on Pages 12-13.

jade.wright