The Wednesday Poem - Xmas of '77 (A Tribute to Barry Masters RIP)

Xmas of '77

Do anything you want to do?

For a few short months, that seemed true,

Christmas 1977, thought I'd gone to heaven,

Christmas Eve, Camden Town,

All my mate hanging 'round.

Teenage Depression, that was blown away,

We were on a high and wanted to play,

The Stukas started a solid set,

The Only One's? Didn't really get

Gloria, The Christmas Season,

In the year of the Pistols Treason,

The Rods came out, the place went mad

Best Xmas Eve I've ever had

Quit this town? I'm here to stay,

The Roundhouse is my place of play,

Barry Masters strutting like a king,

At his peak, it seemed a dream.

The Kids are alright, so they say,

But the abiding memory to this day, 

was when they released plastic snow,

Couldn't breath, went up my nose.

I might be lying, I don't know, 

But that night was an awesome show,

It was never quite the same again,

They fell as quickly as they came.

Writing on the wall, I should have seen,

'77 was just a passing dream,

But the Rods will hold a special place

In my heart till the end of days.

Copyright 2019 - Roger Tichborne

I couldn't let Barry Masters, Lead Singer of Eddie and The Hot Rods pass without a mention. I was at the Xmas Eve gig at the Roundhouse. Went with my FCHS mates, recall John Whelan and Brian Shillibeer and a few others being there. It was a brilliant night. We were fifteen or sixteen, but had a few beers and an amazing laugh. The Rods were brilliant, my most abiding memory is the Polystyrene snow, that was so thick no one could breath. It went up your nose and half the audience started choking. A surreal moment. We liked the Stukas, but didn't really get The Only Ones. It took a long time before I realised that Another Planet is a work of genius. The Rods seemed like the best band in the whole world that night. The whole place did the clap along for Do Anything You Wanna Do. I thought the Rods would go on to be megastars, a new Rolling Stones. Sadly that was probably as good as it got for them. Whereas many punks were quite scary and unapproachable, Barry was always a bloke, always part of the gang. I bought the First two albums, Teenage Depression and Life on The Line. The first is far better. A blast of pre punk amphetamine charged R&B. I've always thought their cover or The Kids Are Alright was far better than the Who. 

The band seemed to lose their way after Life on The Line. I saw them quite a few times, but they were never as good again for me. I also developed a preference for slightly more experimental music, but at the end of 1977, they were my favourite British band. A week later, I went to see The Ramones on New Years Eve at The Rainbow with Gen X and The Rezillos. That was the end of 1977. In truth, it was never quite as good again after that. 

When I saw that Barry had passed away, I was really gutted. Another part of my youth that won't come back. I'd always hoped that they'd do a tour to reprise the Teenage Depression and Life on The Line Albums.  Sadly that will never happen. 

I couldn''t find a video of the Roundhouse, this will have to do. If you were around in '77 it is pretty evocative.