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Motorhead biography
MOTORHEAD BIOGRAPHY
Boasting a 126 decibel sound, 180mph guitar riffs and enough drugs and alcohol to incapacitate the citizens of a small country, Motorhead emerged in the late 70s, paving the way for much heavy metal that was to follow. Nihilistic and apolitical, the band took no prisoners and in 1980 anthem Ace Of Spades, they pretty much wrote the metal blueprint. Mega fan Dave Grohl of The Foo fighters once said: "Beyond the speed, the riffs and Lemmy, it was the attitude. There was nothing glamorous about it, it was dark and mean and intense as f**k." And in many ways, he was right on the money.
Motorhead were formed in 1975 and took their name from a song written by bassist Lemmy (aka Ian Kilminster) for his former group, astral prog-rock enthusiasts, Hawkwind. Lemmy was sacked after five years with the band when he was detained in Canada on drugs charges. Even then the Lemster was a notorious speed freak. Following his departure, Lemmy hooked up with guitarist Larry Wallis of The Pink Fairies and drummer Lucas Fox but by early 1976 these two were replaced with Fast Eddie Clarke and drummer Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor who would form the classic Motorhead lineup. Abortive recording deals with United Artists and Stiff were followed by an eponymous debut album on the Chiswick label. With tracks like White Line Fever, Vibrator and Born To Lose, Motorhead’s amphetamine-fuelled, pummelling riffs and take-no-prisoners lyrical nihilism was quickly established. Strangely, their headbanging musical fury also attracted punks. 1979's follow up Overkill cemented the band's reputation as heavy metal iconoclasts. A stint in jail, following some playful destruction at a Finnish rock festival also did nothing to harm the band's hellraising reputation.
Following 1979's speedy follow up, Bomber, the band released the album that would cement their place in heavy metal folklore. 1980's Ace Of Spades set laid the foundations of thrash metal with blistering, testosterone fuelled, jackhammer anthems like the title track, Live To Win, Fast and Loose and er, Jailbait. The title track, released as a single, hit the UK top 20 while the album went to No.4 proving how quickly the band had risen through the metal ranks. While Clarke and Taylor provided the filthy musical fuel, Lemmy was the group's main draw, a handlebar-moustached, mutton-chop sideburned, warts 'n' all, heavy metal beast with style and chicks to spare. Lemmy bypassed all conventional notions of singing, preferring instead to emit a gutteral, phlegm-filled rasp that shook your very foundations. Luckily Lemmy never fell prey to parody as his sharp wit and put-downs made him a celebrity in his own right. Motorhead gained er, more column inches in the press when they hooked up with rock chicks Girlschool for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP.
Motorhead's blistering live set was captured on record for 1981 album, No Sleep 'til Hammersmith. It was the band's first and only UK No.1 album and captured them at their relentless best. Recorded during the band's 1981 Short, Sharp Pain In The Neck tour, if you closed your eyes, you could almost picture their signature WWII bomber attacking its targets. The band ran through their favourites from Stay Clean to Iron Horse, Lemmy's tribute to Hell's Angel leader, Tramp. The lineup recorded one more album, the slightly disappointing Iron Fist in 1982 before Clarke left to form his own outfit, Fastway. His replacement was ex-thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson who played on only one album, 1983's Another Perfect Day. After Phil Taylor departed, ex Saxon drummer Pete Gill replaced him, joined by Phil Campbell and Michael Burston to make the new look Motorhead a fourpiece. The new lineup made their debut on 1984's No Remorse, a collection of greatest hits and four new tracks including the grinding Killed By Death.
The band made The UK top 30 with the Bill Laswell produced Orgasmatron album in 1986. Taylor returned to the fold the following year for the Rock 'n' Roll album with one track, Eat The Rich used on the Comic Strip film of the same name, in which Lemmy made his acting debut. Another live album, 1988's No Sleep At All, failed to make the impact of its predecessor. Following a move to LA the band were back in the charts with 1991's 1916 album. The title track was a mini epic as Lemmy narrated the tale of a young soldier lost in battle. The song actually featured Lemmy trying to sing as opposed to his trademark gutteral growl, against, wait for it...a string quartet?!
1992 album March Or Die also saw Lemmy indulging his passion for war themes while Motorhead's most recent releases Bastards (1993) and Sacrifice (1995) have seen Motorhead in less than inspiring form. After 1998's disappointing Snake Bite Love, the band returned in 2000 with We Are Motorhead as loud and obnoxious as ever proving you ignore their metal mayhem at your peril.
