Chrissie Hynde has said that she does not mind getting older and feels more “relaxed now”.
The Pretenders frontwoman, 71, said that “ageing is like being a pothead again” and revealed she is now the “real mellow” version of herself.
Speaking to The Observer, she said: “There’s only one thing we know of that is definitely going to happen to us.
“That’s all the information we have in this life. You know, a lot of my friends didn’t get old.
“I’m not a worrier, by nature – and there are so many great things about getting older.
“For example, I don’t think there’s very many things that I know now that I didn’t know when I was 16 – but there’s a big difference between knowing something and realising it.
“Realising something takes 50 years.
“I’m more relaxed now, if you can believe it. This is the real mellow version of me.”
In response to a question from Catherine Mayer, co-founder of the Women’s Equality party, Hynde also spoke about seeing herself as a “poster girl for feminism” and discussed whether the movement is needed in 2023.
She said: “There’s nothing about me that is not feminist, through and through. Is feminism needed?
“It has a different agenda every decade, as it must and as it should. When I grew up in the 60s, as a teenager, I thought we fixed it.
“You know, I thought we could move on from that and women could do what they wanted.
“The big change for me was pre-birth control and after.
“Only 80 years ago, women might have had 30 pregnancies including miscarriages by the time they were 50.
“I think modern feminists sometimes forget that.
“Some of the problem since has been what people are watching on television, you know, Sex and the City, things like that. That put it way back.
“I mean, who talks about dating? I never went on a date in my life.
“In certain areas, yes, of course, there’s equality that has to be addressed. But in the arts, I don’t see that.”
The Pretenders’ debut album, which was self-titled, was released in 1980 and the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
Hynde performed at Glastonbury Festival in June and brought on stage The Smiths musician Johnny Marr and Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters.
In September, The Pretenders will release their new album Relentless.