Reformed rockers The Cars have been struggling with the memory of their late bassist BENJAMIN ORR as they record their first new material in 24 years.
Frontman Ric Ocasek admits he was initially reluctant to bring the band back together because they wouldn't be able to replace Orr, who sang the group's Live Aid anthem Drive.
But they agreed not to bring in a new bassist - and keyboard player Greg Hawkes has stood in for Orr on the new tracks, playing one of his bandmate's guitars.
Hawkes says, "Ben would have been there if he had been alive. That's the only way we could think about it."
But Ocasek tells Rolling Stone magazine he missed his old friend when it came to laying down vocals.
He adds, "I was aware that on half the new songs, Ben would have done better than I did."
And the frontman hopes fans understand when he has to perform tracks Orr sang, like Drive and Just What I Needed, if the reunited group decides to hit the stage.
He adds, "People would just say, 'He doesn't sing it as good as Ben, but what the f**k - he's the guy who wrote it.'"
Orr lost his battle with cancer in 2000.