Eddie And The Hot Rods

The Island Years

Their downfall? Their trousers. Neither one thing nor t’other, Eddie And The Hot Rods missed out on biblical hugeness by being on the losing side of a quick-fire game of evolutionary leapfrog in ‘76. The Hot Rods grew out of the gruff R&B end of pub rock, four Canvey Islanders who came on like a snot-nosed junior Dr. Feelgood. Their highenergy live onslaught earned them a residency at Soho’s Marquee club, where they played speed-laced covers of what used to be called ‘punk rock’ (96 Tears, Wooly Bully) to frustrated and surly metropolitan louts of no fixed haircut. One night their support band was the Sex Pistols, who had the foresight not to wear flares. The rest is history.

The five-CD The Island Years box (featuring three albums – Teenage Depression, Life On The Line, Thriller – three Peel sessions, two Radio 1 In Concerts and a ‘Fan Club’ disc of live and studio rarities) is only a joy. The electrifying Live At The Marquee EP’s retro/proto-punk exuberance adds sting to Teenage Depression’s tail, while Life On The Line’s summer ‘77 hit Do Anything You Wanna Do has lost none of its fizz.

Eddie And The Hot Rods deserve so much more than their footnote. On the right night they were utterly invincible.