Blink-182‘s Mark Hoppus has shared an unreleased cover of The Cars’ ‘Just What I Needed’ in tribute to the late Ric Ocasek.
The frontman of the cult US band died on Sunday at the age of 75. It was later confirmed that he passed away at his New York home after battling heart disease.
Posting on SoundCloud, Hoppus explained how he’d been asked to record the cover for a television show, but it was never used.
“A couple years ago, I was asked to record a creepy cover of ‘Just What I Needed’ for a TV show,” explained Hoppus.
“They wanted moody and strange, dark, and drony, with space for dialogue to go over it. I went into the studio with my friend James Ingram and this is what we came up with. The show was cancelled so quickly the episode never aired, but if you can imagine a grim and grizzled detective determinedly working a murder case that shook them to the very core of their being, this is the music the show requested. It’s been sitting on a hard drive ever since, and with the sad news of Ric Ocasek’s passing, I thought I’d put it up here. Enjoy it. And go listen to The Cars.”
You can listen to it in full below.
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In the wake of Ocasek’s death, tributes began to pour in from the likes of Weezer, Courtney Love, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The Killers’ Brandon Flowers also hailed Ocasek as his “first king”.
Flowers, who inducted The Cars into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, said: “I just wanted to reach out and make you aware of my gratitude for you and your bands contribution to my life.
“My family was visiting my sister Amy in Layton Utah when I was 13 or so. Her husband Kenny was stationed there at the air base. While we were out one day running errands and getting a feel for the town, my mother Jeannie gave me 10 bucks to buy a cassette for the ride home. It was a rite of passage!
“All my buddies at that time were listening to grunge or gangster rap. I didn’t feel like much of a gangster and I was too tender for the heavy stuff. I knew exactly what I wanted. My brother Shane was 12 years older than me and would play me bits and pieces of his record collection when I’d stay with him on occasional weekends. Independence and even adrenaline rushed through me on my way to the register to purchase The Cars Greatest Hits.
“It set me on the path towards the adult I would become, towards the job I have (which is the greatest job in the world), even towards the woman that I would be blessed to marry.
“So… THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!”
You can watch footage of The Cars’ final performance at their Hall of Fame induction here.