A CONSTANTLY changing image may be a prerequisite of pop stardom for most performers - but not in the case of Chrissie Hynde.

Nearly 25 years after first taking the UK charts by storm, the Pretenders frontwoman looks and sounds almost exactly the same.

What's more, she's still giving the big boys of rock a run for their money.

Long, lean and still sporting that trademark fringe and eye make-up, the outspoken rock legend is back this month with just five UK tour dates in support of the Pretenders' eighth studio album, Loose Screw.

Another product of the creative partnership between Hynde and her guitarist Adam Seymour, the album offers a familiar mix of reggae rhythms and rock 'n' roll swagger - all topped off by Hynde's unmistakable vocals.

"When we were writing the songs for this album we pulled out some of our old records and stuff we really liked and I'd say 'Well, this is the kind of rhythm I want', so Adam would programme something similar," explains Hynde, 52.

Born in Ohio, Hynde's arrival on British shores coincided with the emergence of the scary new phenomenon of punk rock.

Working as a writer on the NME and at the Sex clothes shop in London's Kings Road - epicentre of the punk movement - Hynde started forming her own bands, including early versions of The Clash and The Damned.

By 1978, Hynde had begun demoing her own songs and bringing together the first line-up of the as yet unnamed Pretenders.

Their first two singles, Stop Your Sobbing and Kid, just scraped into the top 40, but their third effort, Brass In Pocket, signalled a dramatic reversal of fortunes, shooting to the top of the charts in January 1980.

They followed this up with a string of hits through the 80s and 90s, including Talk of the Town, I Go To Sleep, Don't Get Me Wrong and I'll Stand By You.

3 October, Southampton Guildhall. Performance: 7.30pm. Tickets: £17.50. Box office: 023 8063 6201.