Gig 012 Eddie & the Hot Rods



Eddie & the Hot Rods
17 September 1976
London Marquee


Eddie & the Hot Rods were great at Reading, their Live at the Marquee ep had been a massive favourite all summer, they were obviously about to break big but for the moment were still playing a monthly residency at the Marquee Club in Soho. Rob and I decided to go, and miraculously our parents didn’t seem to have a problem with that. I’d left school and had a job, I could do what I liked. Train to London, tube to Piccadilly, join a long queue in Wardour Street, bingo, we’re in.


I still didn’t really know what punk was but the Hot Rods seemed a decent approximation inasmuch as they were young, had short-ish hair and played fast, short songs. They were from Southend and a bit like Dr Feelgood but younger and more snotty. In fact they were, at least at this time, a souped-up r’n’b act playing old rock’n’roll tunes and garage-punk numbers such as 96 Tears, plus their own songs which were patchy but showed promise. The venue was small, packed and very sweaty but the crowd was good-natured and from what I remember it was a great night. Not that I remember that much, except a tribute to recently-deceased bluesman Jimmy Reed and a stupidly fast and rowdy version of crowd-pleaser Get Out of Denver, singer Barrie Masters climbing on the PA speakers and gurning. Wholesome rambunctious fun, nothing revolutionary; not the future, just a speeded-up version of the present. Then we’re out on Wardour Street again, soaked in sweat, and heading for the tube station. Next morning was another ‘what was that all about?’ moment.

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