Vive Le Rock is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of long-serving EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS frontman Barrie Masters.
His death was announced by the band on Facebook with the words..... "It is with extreme sadness we announce the passing of the legendary Barrie Masters. As you can expect, this sudden news is a huge shock to the band and family. We welcome tributes posted to our Facebook and Twitter sites which will be passed on to Barrie's family. More news will follow."
Formed in Southend-on-Sea in 1975, and inspired by local heroes Dr Feelgood, their high energy rhythm'n'blues and Nuggets-influenced garage rock sound would soon have them mistaken for punk. Signing to Island, the Live At The Marquee EP and single 'Teenage Depression' would hit the charts paving the way for the Top 10 single and all-time classic 'Do Anything You Wanna Do' in August '77.
The band broke up in '81, with Masters replacing Bill Hurley in The Inmates for a few years before reforming the band. In recent years, with Masters at the helm, they maintained a heavy touring schedule across the UK and Europe, playing tours with Status Quo and Stiff Little Fingers. Announcing that 2018 would be the band's final year of touring, Masters accepted the Living Legend accolade at this year's Vive Le Rock awards.
A full celebration of Barrie will appeare in a future edition of the magazine. Our thoughts right now are with his bandmates, family, friends and fans around the world.
R.I.P.