ONE of THE anthems from the new wave era is Do Anything You Wanna Do, by Eddie and the Hot Rods.

The 1977 hit is fondly remembered by thousands of music fans, so many were left feeling bereft when the band’s singer, Barrie Masters, died at the end of last year.

It also left the rest of the band contemplating their future – but they soon decided to play on, in tribute to the man who had fronted the band since it was formed in 1975.

“If I’m totally honest, after Barrie died we had no intention of carrying on,” says drummer Simon “Basher” Bowley. “We had done a few shows with Ian “Dipster” Dean singing while Barrie was ill, but he was standing in so we didn’t have to cancel anything.

“Those gigs were outstanding. People took to it and it went down so well that we walked away thinking it was still an option. The idea was that Barrie would come along and sing Do Anything You Wanna Do, Quit This Town and few others, as he still wasn’t well enough to do a whole set.

“After he died, we said that’s it, we’ve had a great run, we’ve played some great gigs. It was only after the dust settled and we’d had the funeral, that we started getting lots of messages through Facebook saying ‘please tell me you’re going to carry on’.

“We sat there and said well if people want us to carry on, let’s do it. We’ve been together so long and it’s a great band. The energy and attitude is still there but, sadly, Barrie isn’t. The songs are played with the same passion and the same speed.”

One of the first shows without Masters will be at the Undercover Festival in Woking, which is on Friday and Saturday 6 and 7 March.

The current Hot Rods line-up includes guitarist Richard Holgarth and recent recruit Mick Stoner, who used to be with Chords UK, on bass.

The Hot Rods play during the festival’s Saturday sessions at the Fiery Bird in Woking. The Friday line-up includes Johnny Moped, Subhumans, Roddy Radiation and the Skabilly Rebels, Chelsea, XSLF, Menace and many more.

For the full story get the 20 February edition of the News & Mail