Motörhead were an English heavy metal band from London. Formed in 1975, the group originally featured former Hawkwind bassist and vocalist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, former Pink Fairies guitarist and vocalist Larry Wallis, and drummer Lucas Fox. The band went through several lineup changes, before settling on its final incarnation of Lemmy, guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee in 1995. Motörhead disbanded upon Lemmy's death on 28 December 2015.
Bassist and vocalist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister was sacked from space rock group Hawkwind in May 1975, after he was arrested for suspected possession of cocaine (later determined to be amphetamines) during a North American concert tour. [1] After moving back to London, Lemmy quickly formed Motörhead (named after the final song he wrote for Hawkwind) with guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. [2] By December, Fox had been replaced by Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor after his performances had been deemed "unreliable" during early recording sessions. [3] Taylor re-recorded all songs the band had tracked earlier (with the exception of "Lost Johnny", following an arrest which prevented him from being able to get to the studio in time), which were later issued in 1979 as On Parole . [4]
In March 1976, Motörhead auditioned "Fast" Eddie Clarke, a friend of Taylor's, as an intended second guitarist; however, after rehearsing just one song as a four-piece, Wallis decided to leave and Clarke took over as the sole guitarist. [4] The lineup of Lemmy, Clarke and Taylor became known as the "classic Motörhead lineup", releasing five successful studio albums between 1977 and 1982 including Ace of Spades . [5] Prior to any of these releases, however, the group almost broke up in April 1977 due to poor reviews of their live shows and little to no interest from record companies. [6] They remained together though, and their self-titled debut album followed in August. [6]
After a string of successful releases, Clarke left Motörhead in May 1982 due to his disapproval with the recording of the EP Stand by Your Man with singer Wendy O. Williams. [7] His place was soon taken by former Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian "Robbo" Robertson, initially to complete the touring cycle, after which he accepted a full-time role with the band. [8] Robertson only remained for a year and a half, however, playing his last show on 11 November 1983 before leaving the band. [9] In subsequent interviews, Lemmy claimed that working with Robertson on Another Perfect Day as "fucking torture", [8] as well as criticising him for "dress[ing] like a cunt" on stage. [10]
Motörhead became a quartet at the beginning of 1984, when both Michael "Würzel" Burston and Phil "Wizzö" Campbell were hired to take over Robertson's place in the band, following a string of auditions. [6] The new lineup recorded a new version of "Ace of Spades" for the TV series The Young Ones in February, after which Taylor also left the band. [11] He was replaced by Pete Gill, formerly of Saxon. [12] After recording four new tracks for the No Remorse compilation and issuing one full-length album, Orgasmatron , Phil Taylor returned to Motörhead in March 1987 to replace Gill, who left "by mutual agreement ... for business reasons". [13] Lemmy would later claim that Gill had tried to get him fired from Motörhead. [10]
With "Philthy Animal" Taylor back on drums, Motörhead released Rock 'n' Roll in 1987 and 1916 in 1991. [14] After recording just one song for the band's 1992 follow-up March ör Die , however, he was fired, with Lemmy later explaining that "I would never have fired Phil if he had been pulling his weight, but he wasn't, and I couldn't make him do it." [15] Much of the rest of the album's recording was completed by session drummer Tommy Aldridge, most recently departed from Whitesnake. [16]
Towards the end of sessions for March ör Die, former King Diamond drummer Mikkey Dee was brought in to take over from Phil Taylor, initially on a temporary basis but soon as a permanent replacement. [17] [18] He featured only on the album's lead single, "Hellraiser". [16] With Dee in place, Bastards and Sacrifice followed in quick succession. [19] After the recording of the latter finished in early 1995, Motörhead went through its final lineup change when guitarist Würzel left the band, which Lemmy claimed "became clearer every day" during the sessions. [19] Following his departure, Würzel was not replaced and Motörhead returned to their "classic" three-piece setup. [20]
The lineup of Lemmy, Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee remained constant from 1995 to 2015, the longest in the band's history. [21] During summer 2003, Campbell was substituted at two shows by former Danzig guitarist Todd Youth after his mother had died, before joining him for a third date and performing as a four-piece. [22] In September 2009, former Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum filled in for Dee, who took part in the Swedish TV show Kändisdjungeln . [23] Lemmy later cited a "breakdown in communication" as the reason for Dee's absence, explaining that "Our management didn't know that he'd signed up for this when they booked the tour." [24]
On 28 December 2015, Lemmy died of what was later revealed to be prostate cancer, cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure. [25] The next day, Mikkey Dee confirmed that "Motörhead is over, of course," adding that "Lemmy was Motörhead." [26] Several other former members of the band have also died – Michael "Würzel" Burston on 9 July 2011, [27] Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor on 11 November 2015, [28] "Fast" Eddie Clarke on 10 January 2018, [29] and Larry Wallis on 19 September 2019. [30]
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister | 1975–2015 (until his death) [2] |
| all Motörhead releases | |
Larry Wallis | 1975–1976 (died 2019) [2] [4] |
| On Parole (1979) [31] | |
Lucas Fox | 1975 [2] [3] | drums |
| |
Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor |
|
| ||
"Fast" Eddie Clarke |
|
|
| |
Brian "Robbo" Robertson | 1982–1983 [8] [9] |
|
| |
Phil "Zööm/Wizzö" Campbell | 1984–2015 [6] |
| all Motörhead releases from No Remorse (1984) [45] onwards | |
Michael "Würzel" Burston | 1984–1995 (died 2011) [6] [19] |
| ||
Pete Gill | 1984–1987 [12] [13] | drums |
| |
Mikkey Dee | 1992–2015 [17] [18] | all Motörhead releases from March ör Die (1992) [37] onwards (except Live at Brixton '87 and BBC Live & In-Session) [38] [39] |
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
Garry Bowler | 1992 (session) | drums | Bowler recorded a number of demos with guitarists Würzel and Phil Campbell in February 1992, and was asked to join the band but he was unable to joined due to civil unrest. [48] | |
Tommy Aldridge | Following the departure of Phil Taylor, Aldridge performed drums on the majority of 1992's March ör Die . [16] | |||
Todd Youth | 2003 (touring) (died 2018) | guitar | Youth stood in for Campbell at several dates in the summer of 2003, after the guitarist's mother died. [22] | |
Matt Sorum | 2009 (touring) | drums | Sorum filled in for Mikkey Dee on a September 2009 tour, as the drummer took part in Kändisdjungeln . [23] |
Period | Members | Releases |
---|---|---|
June – December 1975 [2] [3] |
| |
December 1975 – March 1976 [3] |
|
|
March 1976 [4] |
| |
March 1976 – May 1982 [4] [7] |
|
|
May 1982 – November 1983 [8] [9] |
|
|
January – February 1984 [6] [11] |
|
|
Spring 1984 – March 1987 [12] [13] |
|
|
March 1987 – April 1992 [14] [15] |
|
|
April – May 1992 [16] |
|
|
May 1992 – early 1995 [17] [18] [19] |
| |
Early 1995 – December 2015 [20] [21] [26] |
|
|
Motörhead were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precursor to the new wave of British heavy metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Though several guitarists and drummers have played in Motörhead, most of their best-selling albums and singles feature drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor and guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke.
Inferno is the seventeenth studio album by British rock band Motörhead, released on 22 June 2004. It was their eighth with the Steamhammer label, and second under Sanctuary Records and its subsidiary Metal-Is in North America and certain territories.
On Parole is a studio recording released by British rock band Motörhead. It was intended as their first album and left unreleased at the time of its completion in 1976, and it was not released until over three years later, in October 1979, after the commercial success of Overkill and Bomber that same year. It was released without the band's permission, and they consequently distanced themselves from it. As a result, it was not considered an official release by the band at the time and they did not want it released, as they had moved on, since then, first to Chiswick Records and then to Bronze Records. The LP entered the UK charts on 8 December, where it peaked at No. 65.
25 & Alive Boneshaker is a live DVD released in November 2001 featuring Motörhead's 25th anniversary concert at Brixton Academy on 22 October 2000. The concert has also been released as a double live CD entitled Live at Brixton Academy in December 2003.
Iron Fist is the fifth studio album by English rock band Motörhead, released in April 1982 by Bronze Records. It was the final album of the classic Three Amigos lineup of Lemmy Kilmister, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, and Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. The album peaked at No. 6 on the UK album charts. It was preceded by the release of the title track "Iron Fist" as a single, which entered the UK charts on 3 April, and peaked at No. 29.
No Remorse is a compilation album by English rock band Motörhead, released in September 1984. The album provides an overview of the band's time with Bronze Records and also includes four newly recorded tracks. It is the final album the band released on Bronze Records, with the new material being the first to feature the band's new line-up of Lemmy, Phil Campbell, Würzel, and Pete Gill.
Rock 'n' Roll is the eighth studio album by English rock band Motörhead, released in August 1987. It is their last album with the GWR label, as more legal issues embroiled the band with yet another label. Reaching only No. 34 in the UK Albums Chart, Rock 'n' Roll was, in that respect, the worst performing of all of Motörhead's top 40 chart hits.
Philip John Taylor, better known as "Philthy Animal", was an English drummer. He was a member of the rock band Motörhead from 1975 to 1984 and 1987 to 1992, recording eleven studio albums and four live albums with the band. The Motörhead line-up consisting of Taylor, Lemmy and "Fast" Eddie Clarke is generally regarded as the 'classic' line-up of the band.
Sacrifice is the twelfth studio album by British rock band Motörhead. It was released on 27 March 1995 via SPV/Steamhammer, the band's first release on the label. It is the second and final album to feature the four-piece lineup of Lemmy, Phil Campbell, Würzel, and Mikkey Dee, as Würzel left the band after the album's recording.
Overnight Sensation is the thirteenth studio album by British rock band Motörhead. It was released on 15 October 1996 via Steamhammer, their second on the label. It is their first studio album to not feature guitarist Würzel, and returning to usual three-piece format, instead of four-piece on the past six albums.
Snake Bite Love is the fourteenth studio album by British rock band Motörhead. It was released on 10 March 1998 via Steamhammer, their third with the label.
We Are Motörhead is the fifteenth studio album by British rock band Motörhead. It was released on 15 May 2000 via Steamhammer, their fifth with the label, equalling their Bronze Records total of full length original album releases.
Hammered is the sixteenth studio album by British rock band Motörhead, released on 9 April 2002 via Steamhammer, their sixth with the label and beating the Bronze Records era total of original full-length album releases. It was also the beginning of distribution in North America, and other territories, under Sanctuary Records and their subsidiary Metal-Is.
25 & Alive: Live at Brixton Academy is the seventh live album by the band Motörhead, released as a double live CD in December 2003 on Steamhammer, featuring their 25th anniversary concert at Brixton Academy in London on 22 October 2000. This is their second live album and seventh album released with the label and the first live album under distribution with Sanctuary Records and their subsidiary Metal-Is for North America and certain territories.
"Hellraiser" is a song written by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, and Lemmy Kilmister. The song was recorded by Osbourne for his 1991 album No More Tears and also by Motörhead for their 1992 March ör Die album. Motörhead's version was released as a single.
Kiss of Death is the eighteenth studio album by British rock band Motörhead, released on 29 August 2006 via Steamhammer, their ninth with the label.
Stone Deaf Forever! is a 5-CD box set collection by the band Motörhead, released in 2003.
Better Motörhead than Dead: Live at Hammersmith is the ninth live album by the band Motörhead, and is the entire concert of their 30th anniversary show at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on 16 June 2005. It was released on 16 July, 2007, on Steamhammer as a double CD, and is the third live album, tenth album in total, with the label.
Bastards is the eleventh studio album by British rock band Motörhead. It was released on 29 November 1993 via ZYX Music, the band's only release on this label. It is the band's first studio album to featured the drummer Mikkey Dee, who also featured as guest drummer on the previous album.
The Aftershock Tour was a concert tour performed by the heavy metal band Motörhead in support of their album, Aftershock.