Eddie and the Hot Rods Newcastle City Hall 1977
Support from Radio Stars
I looked forward to this gig with great excitement. I’d read a lot about Eddie and the Hot Rods in the music papers of the time, who compared them to The Sex Pistols and other punk bands of that era. In reality, and on reflection, they were closer to the Feelgoods and R&B than punk, but at the time I went along to any gig that closely resembled punk rock. The City Hall was packed to see The Hot Rods, and everyone was looking forward to a night of high energy punk rock n roll. Support act Radio Stars warmed the crowd up with their catchy pop/punk, frontman Andy Ellison going totally crazy, climbing up the speakers, jumping from the balcony and being every bit the mad punk star. I remember the song Dirty Pictures, which was good fun, and thought Radio Stars should have been more successful than they were. 
The Hot Rods live in 77 was pure energy. Singer Barrie Masters would run backwards and forwards across the stage at super speed, flanked by the guitarists who were throwing out Chuck Berry riffs at 1,000mph. The music was superfast R&B, blending pop, punk and garage; the Hot Rods were definitely a live force to be reckoned with in those days. Their set in those early days drew heavily from the first album Teenage Depression, and also included some well chosen covers, all played at breakneck speed: The Who’s “The Kids Are Alright”, Van Morrison’s “Gloria,” Bob Seger’s “Get Out of Denver,” ? Mark’s “96 Tears,” and the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction”. A good fun night guaranteed. And the Hot Rods were just that, good fun. No deep politics, no snarling or pretentiousness, just good clean, very very fast rock n roll. We all rolled out of the City Hall that night wringing with sweat, worn out and totally satisfied!
6 Nov
Vintagerock's Weblog. 
Posted by SICKS6SIX on August 31, 2024 at 10:14 pm
this was a great gig. The support band Radio Stars left a 45 under every third or fourth seat. I wasn’t lucky but the kid I was with was lucky and he got a copy of their first single. The title escapes me at the moment. This was the gig that people crossed over from headbanging to pogoing. Went from flares to straight leg jeans 👖 cheese cloth shirts to T-shirts .
Posted by vintagerock on September 1, 2024 at 11:12 am
Yes I went from flares to straight leg Levi’s, a Wrangler shirt and a Lewis leather jacket. My long hair down to my waist stayed which meant I looked out of place (and sometimes felt scared) at punk concerts particularly with bands like Sham 69. Happy days Peter