The band were originally formed under the name 'Buckshee' in 1973. They rehearsed in drummer Steve Nicol's garage in Rochford, Essex. Bassist Rob Steel was known by his nickname, 'The Hustler'. They changed their name to Eddie and the Hot Rods after Dave Higgs joined. He was more experienced, and it was his input at this early stage that helped them to gel and get gigs, eventually, in 1975, hitting the London pub rock circuit. They are often considered as one of the many punk rock bands that sprang from that city in the mid 1970s, but in fact saw themselves as more influenced by groups like The Who and The Kinks, and other pub rock acts such as Dr Feelgood or Graham Parker & the Rumour. Their brand of energetic r&b was over-trumped massively by the punk explosion, and they withered away. The repertoire consisted of Chicago style blues, mainstream rock and soul covers, plus tunes in a similar vein written by the band's guitarist, Higgs.Before rising to semi-stardom in 1977, the Hot Rods underwent several changes in personnel: One of the first members to leave the band was Eddie himself, a dummy that featured prominently in the Hot Rods' early gigs and was discarded as the joke had worn thin. Otherwise, the band consisted of Barrie Masters on vocals, Pete Wall and Dave Higgs on guitar, Rob Steel on bass and Steve Nicol on drums. Ed Hollis, brother of Talk Talk's Mark Hollis became their manager, and the band were signed to Island Records.
By 1976, Lew Lewis (harmonica) and Paul Gray had replaced Wall and Steel. Lewis's tenure in the group lasted for the release of their first two singles before he too left. With this new line-up, the Hot Rods played a set at London's famous Marquee Club - their opening act was a young band named Sex Pistols. During a residency at the club in the summer of 1976 they duelled for alternate weeks with AC/DC, to see who could cram more bodies into the Marquee during one of the hottest summers on record. They first appeared in the UK Singles Chart the end of that year with the "Live at the Marquee" EP and the single "Teenage Depression", an energetic rock'n'roll song.
After the release of the Teenage Depression album, which gave them their first appearance in the UK Albums Chart, they recorded another EP called "Live - At the Sound Of Speed". During the gig from which this EP was recorded, Graeme Douglas (formerly of The Kursaal Flyers) joined the band onstage and jammed along adding extra lead lines. Afterwards his membership of the band was made permanent, and they set about writing and recording for their second album. The live recording of the "Sound of Speed" EP featured Douglas on only one track, he therefore set about recording additional lead guitar overdubs in the studio, though to keep in with the essence of a live release, he was only given one attempt at recording each song. With the addition of Douglas, the band was moved in a more radio-friendly direction. Their biggest hit came with the Douglas/Hollis collaboration "Do Anything You Wanna Do" in the summer of 1977, under their shorter, snappier name, The Rods. This single made the British Top 10 (number 9 in August 1977) and also proved popular with the then predominant punk audience, as did that year's album Life on the Line. Still in 1977, the Hot Rods toured the United States. When it came to recording a follow-up album, the band tried to recapture the success of "Do Anything You Wanna Do", but to no avail. They found themselves sacked by their record company in 1979, and after Fish'n'Chips, another misguided effort for EMI, the Hot Rods disbanded in 1981.
At this point, Gray and Douglas had already left the band, the former joining The Damned. Masters teamed up with The Inmates. Ed Hollis went on to work with some of the best known acts of the punk era including The Damned, Elvis Costello, and Stiff Little Fingers. In the 1990s the 'classic' line-up (Masters, Nichol, Higgs, and Gray) re-grouped to record the album Gasoline Days; plus in 2005 a Masters-led outfit recorded Better Late than Never in preparation for a 30th anniversary tour. The band is currently enjoying renewed popularity throughout Europe with regular tour dates, and has also performed in the U.S. after a 25-year sabbatical.
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(1976) Teenage DepressionGet Across to You / Why Can't It Be / Show Me / All I Need is Money / Double Chekin' Woman / The Kids Are Alright / Teenage Depression / Horseplay (Wearing of the Schmaltz) / Been So Long / Shake / On the Run.
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(1977) Life on The LinePart. 1 & Part. 2
Do Anything You Wanna Do / Quit This Town / Telephone Girl / What's Really Going On / Ignore Them All (Still Life) / Life on the Line / (And) Don't Believe Your Eyes / We Sing... The Cross / Beginning of the End / I Might Be Lying / Ignore Them (Always Crashing in..) / Schoolgirl Love / 'Till the Night is Gone (Let's Rock) / Flipside Rock / Do Anything You Wanna Do (Live) / What's Really Going On (Live) / Why Can't It Be (Live). / Distortion May Be Expected.
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(1979) ThrillerThe Power & The Glory / Echoes / Media Messiahs / Circles / He Does it with Mirrors / Strangers / Out to Lunch / Breathless / Take it or Leave it / Living Dangerously / Horror Though Straightness / Highlands 1 Hopefuls 2.
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(1990) Curse of the Hot RodsPart. 1 & Part. 2
At Night / I See the Light / Wide Eyes Kids / I Got Mine / Romance In A Used Car Lot / You Better Run / Making the Body Respond to the Brain / Observations of the 2nd 2nd Time Around / Hit or Miss / Looking Around / Red Light Blue Light / Act Sharper / Boxes / Pompeii Lovers / Ties That Bind.
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(1994) Ties That BindPart. 1 & Part. 2
Get Across to You / G.l.o.r.i.a. / Wooly Bully / Double Checkin' Woman / Get Out of Denver / Ties That Bind / Wide Eyed Kids / Hit Or Miss / I Got Mine / Red Light Blue Light / At Night / Hey Tonight / Teenage Depression (Live) / Quit This Town (Live) / Do Anything You Wanna Do (Live).
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(1994) The End of the Beginning: The Best of Eddie & The Hot RodsPart. 1 & Part. 2
Do Anything You Wanna Do / Quit This Town / Telephone Girl / Teenage Depression / The Kids Are Alright / Get out of Denver / Till the Night is Gone / Schoolgirl Love / Hard Drivin' Man / On the Run / The Power and The Glory / Ignore Them / Life on the Line / Circles / Take It Or Leave It / Echoes / We Sing the Cross / The Beginning of the End / Gloria / (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.
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(2002) Get Your Rocks OffPart. 1 & Part. 2
The Kids Are Alright / He Came Out Of the Sky / On the Run / Cruisin' the Lincoln / Wooly Bully / Writing on The Wall / Horseplay / Gloria / Double Checking Woman / Get Out Of Denver / Moving On / Bye Bye Johnny / Satisfaction.
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