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.
Cruisin'
Eddie & The Hot Rods Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
4 5 6 Let's get your kicks and rollin', just rock n roll
Cruisin down the road and just havin fun
7 8 9 Drink up your wine
10 11 12 just ring in the bell and rollin, just rock n roll
Cruisin down the road and feel the rhytm loadin'
rockin rollin' feel it well, rockin rollin' ring the bell
Count the days and count the night
We're gonna rock, we're gonna roll to the broad daylight
Solo....
Well, rockin rollin' feel the beat, rockin rollin' feel the heat
Count the days and count the night
We're gonna rock, we're gonna roll to the broad daylight
1 2 3 Don't shout at me
4 5 6 Let's get your kicks and rollin' just rock n roll
Cruisin down the road and feel the motor roarin'
7 8 9 You're my sweet Valentine
10 11 12 we need it so well just rollin' well rock n roll
Cruisin down the road and just havin fun
Well, rockin rollin' feel the beat, rockin rollin' feel the heat
rockin rollin' feel it well, rockin rollin' ring the bell
Count the days and count the night
We're gonna rock, we're gonna roll to the broad daylight
Count the days and count the night
We're gonna rock, we're gonna roll to the broad daylight
The lyrics to Eddie & The Hot Rods's song Cruisin' are all about having a good time and enjoying the freedom of the open road while listening to some rock and roll music. The song appears to be directed towards a particular person - someone who doesn't want to come along for the ride or is hesitant to do so. The singer is imploring this person not to argue and just come along for the ride. The first part of the song is all about setting the scene and getting ready to go - "Let's get your kicks and rollin', just rock n roll."
As the song moves on, the lyrics become more about the experience of cruising down the road and feeling the rhythm of the music. There's a mention of drinking wine and ringing a bell, which sounds like the kind of fun that could be had on a road trip. The second half of the song is all about the power of rock and roll - "rockin rollin' feel the beat, rockin rollin' feel the heat." The lyrics basically revolve around the idea that when you're listening to good rock and roll music while cruising down the road, everything is all right with the world.
The lyrics to Cruisin' are relatively straightforward and simply seek to promote the fun and exhilaration of cruising down the road with good music. The song has a very upbeat and optimistic tone throughout, which is reinforced by the driving guitar solo that appears in the middle of the track.
Line by Line Meaning
1 2 3 Don't argue with me
Let's not waste time arguing, let's go out and have fun
4 5 6 Let's get your kicks and rollin', just rock n roll
Let's get moving and have a good time with some rock and roll music
Cruisin down the road and just havin fun
We are driving and enjoying ourselves
7 8 9 Drink up your wine
Let's have a drink and loosen up
10 11 12 just ring in the bell and rollin, just rock n roll
Let's celebrate and keep the good times rolling with more rock and roll music
Cruisin down the road and feel the rhytm loadin'
We are still driving and feeling the music
Well, rockin rollin' feel the beat, rockin rollin' feel the heat
We are really getting into the music and feeling the energy
rockin rollin' feel it well, rockin rollin' ring the bell
The music is really hitting us and making us want to celebrate
Count the days and count the night
We are enjoying ourselves so much that time is flying by
We're gonna rock, we're gonna roll to the broad daylight
We are going to keep having fun and partying until the morning comes
Solo....
Musical solo break
1 2 3 Don't shout at me
Let's keep the peace and continue to have a good time
4 5 6 Let's get your kicks and rollin' just rock n roll
Let's keep the party going with more rock and roll music
Cruisin down the road and feel the motor roarin'
We are still driving and feeling the excitement of the music
7 8 9 You're my sweet Valentine
Referring to a loved one who is also enjoying the moment
10 11 12 we need it so well just rollin' well rock n roll
We are having a great time and need more rock and roll to keep it going
Well, rockin rollin' feel the beat, rockin rollin' feel the heat
We are still feeling the energy of the music
rockin rollin' feel it well, rockin rollin' ring the bell
The music is still making us want to celebrate
Count the days and count the night
Time is flying by because we are having so much fun
We're gonna rock, we're gonna roll to the broad daylight
We are going to keep partying until the morning comes
Count the days and count the night
Time is still flying by
We're gonna rock, we're gonna roll to the broad daylight
We are still going to keep the party going all night long
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Andrew Peters
MAGIC☺👍👍
frflinstone
I had that poster on my wall back in 76. Great days.