Eddie and the Hot Rods are a pub rock band from Essex founded in 1975. They are best known for their 1977 UK top ten hit "Do Anything You Wanna Do", released under the shortened name Rods. The group broke up in 1985, but reformed in 1996. Singer Barrie Masters was the only constant member until his death in 2019. The band continue to tour, fronted these days by their former bassist, Ian 'Dipster' Dean. History Formation The band was formed in Canvey Island, Essex, England, during 1975 by guitarist Dave Higgs (who had previously played in the Fix with Lee Brilleaux), with drummer Steve Nicol, bassist Rob Steele, and singer Barrie Masters (born in Rochford, Essex; 4 May 1956 – 2 October 2019). 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, which was 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 Steele on bass and Steve Nicol on drums. Ed Hollis (brother of Talk Talk's Mark Hollis) became their manager. In May 1975, after building a live reputation, they secured a Saturday-night residency at The Kensington in London. This was followed in October by a joint residency with the 101ers at The Nashville, playing alternate headline sets. In November, after positive press reviews of their live shows, they were signed by Island Records. Commercial success By 1976, Lew Lewis (harmonica) and Paul Gray (bass) had replaced Wall and Steele. 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 the Sex Pistols playing their first London gig, which descended into chaos with the Pistols smashing the Hot Rods' gear; The Pistols' support slot earned them their first music press review, in the NME, with no mention of the headlining Hot Rods at all. By way of revenge, the Hot Rods claimed in the next week's edition of the NME to have "sacked" the Pistols from an upcoming tour, which the NME pithily described as "what you get for mixin(g) with real punks." During a