The British pub rock/punk rock band Eddie & the Hot Rods was originally for… Read Full Bio ↴The British pub rock/punk rock band Eddie & the Hot Rods was 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-Seventies, 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 Blues or Soul covers, plus tunes in a similar vein written by the band's guitarist Dave 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. 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 LP, 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 Americas. When it came to recording a follow-up album, Thriller, the band tried hard 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 1985 the band reform with Masters and Nichol joined by Warren Kennedy (guitar) and Russ Strutter (bass)and release a single and live mini-album, but after a couple of years this version of the band fizzles out.

In early 1991 the 'classic' line-up (Masters, Nichol, Higgs, Douglas, and Gray) regrouped to play some live dates, by the mid 90s Masters, Gray and Nichol are joined by Manfred Mann guitarist Mick Rodgers 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 is also performing in the U.S. after a 25 year sabbatical.

Been So Long
Eddie & The Hot Rods Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

'Cause it's been so long
Since I held you tight
When we said good night
It's been so long
Honey, can't you see
What you've done to me?
I've been in a kind of daze
For days and days and days

Feelin' blue, missin' you
In, oh, so many ways
'Cause it was so nice
When we had that date
Every night at eight
It was so nice
Then we said good-bye
What a fool was I

Let me get back in your arms where I belong
'Cause it's been, oh, so long

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Eddie & The Hot Rods's song "Been So Long" are a classic example of a love song in which the singer is expressing his feelings of missing his lover. The song opens with the singer reminiscing about the last time he held his lover tight and said good night to her, and how it has been so long since then. He asks his honey if she can see what she has done to him by being away for so long, and how he has been in a daze for days and days, feeling blue and missing her in so many ways.

The singer then remembers the good times they had together, going out on dates every night at eight and how nice it was to be together. However, they had to say good-bye, and the singer now realizes that he was a fool to let her go. He asks his lover to let him get back in her arms where he belongs, as it has been so long since he has felt her embrace.

Overall, the song speaks to anyone who has ever felt the pain of separation from someone they love and longs to be reunited with them.

Line by Line Meaning

'Cause it's been so long
It has been quite some time since we were together

Since I held you tight
I have not been able to hold you tightly for an extended period

When we said good night
When we bid each other farewell and went our separate ways

It's been so long
It has been too long since we last saw each other

Honey, can't you see
My dear beloved, do you not understand?

What you've done to me?
What type of impact have you had on me?

I've been in a kind of daze
I have been in a dream-like state

For days and days and days
For quite some time now

Feelin' blue, missin' you
I feel melancholic and I miss you

In, oh, so many ways
In countless different aspects